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By Alex Lennane
The US Department of the Interior (DOI) has certified to President Obama, under the Pelly Amendment, that Iceland’s commercial whaling diminishes the effectiveness of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Commercial trading in fin whale meat is banned under the convention, yet Iceland exported more than 1.6 million kg of fin whale meat and products to Japan between 2008 and 2012. Under the Pelly Amendment, President Obama has 60 days to determine an appropriate response, including trade sanctions.
