Iceland Plans Permanent Ban on Commercial Whaling

Iceland’s government plans to introduce a bill in February that would permanently ban commercial whaling, a move that could leave Norway and Japan as the world’s only countries continuing the practice. The government, which holds a parliamentary majority, said there is significant political and public support for the proposed ban. Whaling in Iceland has faced years of opposition from animal welfare and conservation groups.

Iceland’s current whaling season runs from June to around the end of September, with 80 fin whales reportedly caught as of September 9 against an annual quota of 150. Fin whales, the main target of Iceland’s whaling industry, are classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Animal welfare groups have welcomed the proposed legislation, citing ethical, legal and conservation concerns.

Iceland, Norway and Japan are the only countries known to have conducted commercial whaling in recent years. Norway resumed commercial whaling in 1993, while Iceland restarted in 2006 despite an international moratorium introduced in 1986. Japan withdrew from the International Whaling Commission in 2019 and resumed commercial whaling within its waters, while indigenous communities in some regions remain exempt from the moratorium for cultural and nutritional reasons.

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