June 20, 2023

A few hours after the crew of the John Paul DeJoria arrived in Icelandic waters. Svandís Svavarsdóttir, the Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture announced her decision to temporarily stop Kristján Loftsson’s illegal whaling operations.

“I have made the decision to temporarily stop whaling in light of the unequivocal opinion of the professional council on animal welfare,” said the Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture.

“The conditions of the law on animal welfare are inescapable in my mind, if the government and license holders cannot guarantee welfare requirements, this activity does not see a future.”

In Icelandic:

“Ég hef tekið ákvörðun um að stöðva hvalveiðar tímabundið í ljósi afdráttarlauss álits fagráðs um velferð dýra,” sagði matvælaráðherra. „Skilyrði laga um velferð dýra eru ófrávíkjanleg í mínum huga, geti stjórnvöld og leyfishafar ekki tryggt kröfur um velferð á þessi starfsemi sér ekki framtíð.“

Captain Paul Watson had sent a letter to every member of the Icelandic Althing in Sunday, June 18th, advising them of the arrival of the John Paul DeJoria:

June 18th, 2023

To: The Honourable Members of the Icelandic Althing.

Good day,

My name is Paul Watson. My crew and I onboard our ship the John Paul DeJoria will be in the waters off Iceland on Tuesday, June 20th.

Our intention in coming to these waters is to oppose the illegal operations of Kristján Loftsson, his Hvalur hf Company and his intention to kill up to 169 endangered Fin whales.

We have not come to Iceland to oppose the Icelandic government or the Icelandic people. Our argument is solely with this modern-day Captain Ahab, Kristján Loftsson.

There is the possibility that the Icelandic government may deploy the Icelandic Coast Guard to defend Mr. Loftsson’s interests in killing whales. That would be regrettable because we are committed to blocking Loftsson’s harpoons, and any confrontation would highlight the illegality and unpopularity of Loftsson’s unethically cruel activities.

We are 32 crew from 12 different nations onboard. If arrested for any reason, we will use the arrests to further focus attention on the illegality of Loftsson’s cruel operations. 

It is evident that Kristján Loftsson is seeking to provoke a nationalistic response to our interventions. However, we are confident that many Icelanders are impatient with his obsession with slaughtering endangered Fin whales and some Icelanders are concerned with the bad reputation that Iceland has suffered because of one man’s obsession.

What we can promise is that consistent with our unblemished record of non-violence, my ship and my crew will not cause any injury to any person employed on the whaling ships. Our long record of not causing injury to those we oppose is a record we are very proud of and intend to keep.

Our only concern is that Kristján Loftsson’s illegal whaling activities be shut down and that the endangered Fin whales be spared from his cruel and destructive harpoons. We have more rights in defending the whales than Loftsson has to kill them. It is in the interest of all of humanity that whales be protected because of their valuable contribution to providing nutrients to phytoplankton and sequestering enormous quantities of CO2. Killing the whales only benefits Kristján Loftsson and no one else.

I am confident that Icelanders are ecologically educated and thus concerned about the diminishment of whale populations in the sea. I am also confident that Icelanders are also concerned about the extreme brutality and cruelty of whaling.

Please cancel permits and permissions to Kristján Loftsson this year and every year after this year.

We trust that you as elected members of the Althing will reflect the compassion and concerns of the people of Iceland and will put an end to the cruel and destructive practice of whaling. 

Thank You

Captain Paul Watson

Founder – The Captain Paul Watson Foundation.

Although the Minister stated that this is a “temporary” halt, the reality is that this leaves little time for whaling to resume. A delay until August 31st means a delay until the whaling season is over.

Captain Watson and his crew will stand by in the event that Loftsson is able to find a way to resume whaling. We will not allow for any whales to be killed this year or next year and we will not rest until the whaling ban is permanent.

“This decision means that we will not have a confrontation with the Icelandic Coast Guard” said Captain Watson. “Iceland is well-aware of my reputation and that we are prepared to lose our ship and face arrest if need be, and that would give us a forum in the Icelandic courts to address the need to oppose the illegal whaling activities of Kristján Loftsson. 

We are happy with this decision and we will return if the decision is reversed. I do not want another whale to die at the hands of this modern-day Captain Ahab and his perverse desire to murder defenseless endangered whales.”

The John Paul DeJoria will remain outside of Reykjavik Harbor until we see all work halted on Loftsson’s whaling ships and the harpoons removed and stowed away.