Key facts
- Iceland will propose a bill in February to ban whaling.
- The proposed ban would leave Norway and Japan as the only countries continuing commercial whaling.
- The bill includes a permanent ban on whaling.
- As of September 9, 80 fin whales had been caught in Iceland's current hunting season.
- Iceland's quota allows for 150 fin whales to be killed this year.
- Fin whales are classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Iceland's government plans to introduce legislation in February that would ban whaling, potentially leaving Norway and Japan as the world's only nations continuing the practice. The proposed bill aims for a permanent ban, citing ethical, veterinary, legal, and conservation reasons, according to a government statement.
Fin whales, the primary species targeted by Iceland's whaling industry, are classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This year's hunting season, which runs from June to the end of September, had seen 80 fin whales caught as of September 9, against a quota of 150. Iceland's interim government had issued a five-year license to its sole remaining whaling company in 2024.
According to the International Whaling Commission's records, only Iceland, Norway, and Japan have engaged in commercial whaling in recent years. Norway restarted its whaling activities in 1993, and Iceland resumed in 2006, both operating under an international moratorium that took effect in 1986 to protect whale populations. Japan withdrew from the commission in 2019 and subsequently resumed commercial whaling within its own waters. The international moratorium does permit whaling by indigenous peoples in specific regions, such as Greenland and Alaska, where whale products are crucial for their sustenance and cultural practices.