The Icelandic government has announced that commercial whaling can resume after the activity was suspended for more than two months.

Commercial hunting of fin whales can resume but with stricter requirements on hunting methods and increased supervision, the government said. In June, Svandís Svavarsdóttir, the country’s minister of food, agriculture and fisheries, postponed this year’s planned whale hunt until August 31 due to animal welfare concerns.

Animal rights groups responded to the decision with dismay and called it “shameful.”

The Icelandic government said in a statement that whaling will be able to recommence and it has been reported that two whaling vessels belonging to Hvalur hf, the only company that currently holds a whaling license in Iceland, are preparing to go out and hunt fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus).

Photo: Wikimedia commons

“Hardly anyone eats whale meat”

Along with Norway and Japan, Iceland is one of the only countries still practising commercial whaling. The country has annual quotas for the fin whales and minke whales fishermen are allowed to hunt in its waters. It exports most of its whale meat to Japan, but demand there has dwindled since Japan left the IWC.

“Hardly anyone eats (whale meat) here in Iceland … People don’t want this, people don’t want the killing of these animals,” said Micah Garen in AP, a climate campaigner and director of a documentary called “The Last Whaling Station.”

In a statement to the Guardian, Iceland’s minister of food and agriculture, Svandís Svavarsdóttir, said: “Irrespective of my personal or political standpoint on whaling, evaluation of its future remains ongoing and the official process continues.”

Hvalur hf’s whaling license is set to expire in 2023. It’s unclear if Iceland will allow whaling to continue in the coming years.