The City of Reykjavík has asked the Ministry of Industries and Innovation for their reasoning behind decreasing the whale watching area of Faxaflói Bay, which surrounds the capital.
As reported, one of former Minister of Industry and Innovation Steingrímur J. Sigfússon’s last official acts in office was to increase the area of Faxaflói Bay designated as whale-watching only; whale hunting would be prohibited in the space. However, new Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson reversed the decision, and decreased the size of the whale-watching area.
Vísir now reports that City Hall is demanding answers as to what the reasoning was behind the decision.
According to the minutes of a meeting held of the Cultural and Tourism Committee, the city emphasised that whale watching is an important part of Iceland’s tourist industry, and that any decrease in the size of the whale watching area must consider the effects that this will have on Iceland’s tourism.
No response has yet come from the ministry at the time of this writing.
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