The International Whaling Commission banned the commercial killing of whales in 1986 amid alarm at the declining stock of the marine mammals.
Iceland and Norway are the only two countries still openly practising commercial whaling in defiance of the moratorium.
Japan hunts the ocean giants for what it claims is “scientific” purposes, even if most of the meat ends up on the market for consumption.
Iceland’s Marine and Freshwater Research Institute has recommended a reduction in the number of whales harpooned this season, which runs from mid-June to mid-September.
The 2026 annual number of fin whales killed should not exceed 150 animals, a 28% drop on the recommended annual catch for the period 2018–2025, it said.
The fin whale is the second largest animal on Earth after the blue whale.
The institute set an annual quota of 168 animals for the minke whale hunt this year, a 23% drop.
The Government is due this northern autumn to table a bill on banning whaling altogether.
– AFP