After suspending whaling in 2023 due to animal suffering concerns, Iceland's government has issued the Hvalur company a license to kill 128 fin whales, Balaenoptera physalus in the 2024 whaling season. The license is not renewable. The company asked for a 5 or 10 year license in its January application to the ministry of agriculture. This is the first time the ministry has only granted a license for one year, and the quota set is lower than it has been in the past. Hvalur is the only company licensed to hunt whales in Icelandic waters. A second application to hunt minke whales, Balaenoptera acutorostratais is under consideration.
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Whaling in Iceland is hanging by an economic thread. It is dependent on exports to Asia where whale meat still has a shrinking following. Advocates say that the commercial season on whales violates the international moratorium on whaling established by the International Whaling Commission in 1982. Iceland is a member of that commission. A representative of the International Fund for Animal Welfare told interviewers that the decision to resume whaling by Minister Gunnarsdottir may reflect the fact that there is no current legal provision for ending whaling. A committee set up by the previous prime minister to review the legal basis for whaling in Iceland is schedule to meet in October.
Japan and Norway also continue to hunt whales. Japan announced it will be sending a huge "mother ship" to support its operations in the Southern Ocean, and has set a quota of 59 fin whales for the 2024 season.