Karsten Klepsvik, press spokesman at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (UD), said that the department was assuming that everyone would adhere to the law until the opposite was proven.
Iceland's government does not interpret the utilization sector of the Svalbard Treaty the way Norway does and fully supports their boats continuing to fish for herring in the area. Iceland has promised to react if the Norwegian coast guard intervenes.
This could mean a 'herring war' in effect from Monday morning. Norwegian authorities say the quota of 80,000 tons has been reached while Iceland refuses to accept the unilateral limit.
Fisheries Minister Svein Ludvigsen said Wednesday that other nations fishing herring in Svalbard have respected the quota while Iceland has refused to sign. Several coast guard ships were sent to the area the same day.
Kolbein Arnason, director of the international division of the Icelandic Fisheries Ministry, said that the Svalbard Treaty of 1933 did not grant Norway the right to stop fishing and neither did other conventions or laws.
