Minke whale caught by the whaling ship working out of Isafjordur, North West Iceland. Whalers cut the whale on board and place it in containers.
Greenpeace's flagship, the Rainbow Warrior, has almost completed its tour of Iceland. Since the tour began, public support for whaling has decreased. As a result, the Government looks set to review its "scientific" whaling programme.
Over the past few days, the Icelandic Government announced the review and the Prime Minister indicated that if no whale meat export markets can be secured in future, Icelandic whaling may end altogether.
Meanwhile, 71% of respondents to a web poll operated by the national TV and radio network said that the Government should accept Greenpeace's offer to help promote Iceland as a nature-based tourism destination.
Campaigner Frode Pleym welcomed the developments: "The Icelandic people, particularly the younger generation, are obviously starting to question their government's whale hunting agenda. We know that Greenpeace will not change opinion in a week, but this is a promising start."
We sent the Rainbow Warrior to Iceland when the Government announced plans to kill 38 Minke whales this month. Throughout the tour, the crew met with Icelandic people in a bid to promote whale watching as a viable alternative to whale hunting.
The Warrior has now reached Seydisfj?rdur in the north of Iceland, on its tour of the country. The crew have been encouraged by the reaction so far, as support for the government seems to be falling in the towns we've visited.
The town of Husavik is one such example: "The Greenpeace proposal is good for the Icelandic people, for tourism and for the environment," says Fridrik Sigurdsson, Chairman of the Husavik Marketing Council. "I want to send a short message to the government: Stop whaling and don't start again. Whale watching is extremely important to us but it is impossible to expand when we do such a wrong thing as whale hunting. For us in Husavik it could be a disaster."
Greenpeace UK oceans campaigner Willie Mackenzie joined the Warrior in Husavik. Read his diary entry here.
