As Emma states, whale-watching is fast becoming big busines in Iceland as it has done in many other countries. The financial impacting of this tourst bringer can be seen very clearly in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.When the whale watching companies first started up anyone who had any sort of boat, Zodiacs being the optimal,would take the tourists out to see the whale (for a price, of course). However things got out of hand and several of the larger wale-watching companies were accused, with foundation in the accusations, of deliberately harassing the right whales and the orcas, indeed there was an incident of a whale watching boat getting between a right whale calf and it's mother, the result was not a pretty one, with the whale watching company demanding that the mother whale be killed as a menace. That whale watching company is no longer in business as a result of the incident.
The companies are now strictly regulated
This is an illustration the big money in this business, one that cannot be ignored, so the arguement about whale hunting providing hundreds and hundreds of jobs is fast becoming a myth. Don't let it be your issue in the up coming vote...it's a dead end.