Iceland Breaks Ban on Commercial Whaling (kills first endangered fin)

[flvegan]

Iceland broke a global moratorium on commercial whaling, killing an endangered fin whale for the first time since the 1980s, local media reported Sunday.

Iceland's RUV television showed footage of a large fin whale being towed by a whaling boat. It said the whale was harpooned in the north Atlantic about 200 miles west of Iceland.

Iceland announced last week that it would resume commercial whaling, ignoring a worldwide moratorium that came into effect in 1986.

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Fin whales are on the International Conservation Union's "red list" of endangered species, but Iceland says they are plentiful in the country's coastal waters.

More at link:
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=2598387

also, here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6074230.stm