One of Iceland’s two remaining whaling vessels left Reykjavík to begin hunting after a two-year interruption, reopening a practice that continues to face opposition from animal-welfare campaigners. Local media and activists reported the ship’s departure on Friday as the country entered a season scheduled to run from mid-June to mid-September.
A protester delayed the vessel by chaining himself to its mast before departure. He later climbed down and was escorted away by police, according to Icelandic broadcaster RÚV. The action reflected the persistent domestic and international dispute over whether commercial whaling should continue.
Iceland did not conduct whale hunts in 2024 or 2025. The pause was attributed in part to weak demand and questions about whether the industry remained economically viable. Its resumption places Iceland again alongside Norway as countries openly conducting commercial whaling despite the International Whaling Commission’s 1986 moratorium. Japan also hunts whales, although its program is described under a different rationale in the supplied report.
This season begins with lower catch recommendations from Iceland’s Marine and Freshwater Research Institute. The institute advised that no more than 150 fin whales should be killed in 2026, a reduction of 28 percent from its annual recommendation for 2018 through 2025. For minke whales, it set an annual figure of 168, down 23 percent. A scientific recommendation describes the proposed upper level; it does not establish how many animals will actually be taken.
Fin whales, the second-largest animals after blue whales, are the main focus of Iceland’s commercial operation. Critics argue that available killing methods cannot reliably avoid prolonged suffering and also question the market for the meat. Joanna Swabe of Humane World for Animals said the vessel’s return was disheartening and maintained that whales could endure painful deaths for a product with little demand among Icelandic consumers.
Supporters’ arguments were not detailed in the supplied report, limiting the basis for assessing the industry’s case for resumption. The evidence does show that the hunt is restarting under tighter recommended limits and continued public protest after an extended pause.
The policy itself may soon return to parliament. Iceland’s government was expected to introduce legislation in the northern autumn that would ban whaling altogether. Until lawmakers act, the departing vessel makes the immediate position clear: licensed commercial hunting has resumed, even as its economic rationale, welfare impact and political future remain contested.
The recommended figures also cover different species and should not be added together as a prediction of the season’s kill. The report provides neither a vessel-by-vessel allocation nor an issued government quota. What it establishes is the institute’s lower advice and the departure of one ship, leaving the eventual catch unknown.
