Halldór Ásgrímsson

Halldór Ásgrímsson is the minister of foreign affairs of Iceland. The following viewpoint is a speech he gave to the International Conference on Whaling in the North Atlantic in 1997, in which he argues that commercial whaling should be permitted. Not all whale species are in danger of extinction, he contends, and those species that are plentiful can be safely hunted because whales are a renewable resource. Ásgrímsson maintains that hunting should be permitted because many nations depend on marine resources like the whale for survival and have historically managed these resources wisely.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. Of the many groups with views on commercial whaling, which one does Ásgrímsson believe is smallest"
2. According...