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Article: Whalewatching takes off in Iceland. (International Marine Mammal Project).(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Earth Island Journal
- Article date:
- September 22, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Earth Island Institute. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Husavik, a fishing community of 2,500 inhabitants on the northeast coast of Iceland, was until recently known only for a beautiful wooden church built in 1907. But in the last five years Husavik has become the whale watching capital of Europe, taking almost 23,000 tourists out to see the whales in our beautiful bay.
Even though whale watching is the fastest growing sector of the Icelandic tourist industry, with over 60,000 tourists last year, there is still a constant call for the resumption of whaling by old time whalers and a number, of Parliament members. In 2001 and again this year, Iceland tried and failed to get into the International Whaling Commission ...