Iceland has today authorized two of its whalers to continue whaling for the next five years, a controversial practice that is only followed by Norway and Japan.
The arrest in Greenland at the end of July of the American-Canadian whale defender Paul Watson has highlighted this practice, which has been subject to a moratorium since 1986, but is contested by these three states, which kill around 1,200 whales annually, according to the International Whaling Commission (IWC).
In Iceland, the authorization allows the annual hunting of 426 animals per season, from mid-June to September, announced the government, which is resigning after losing the legislative elections last Saturday.
"The management of the use of marine living resources in Iceland is subject to strict limits", assured the Ministry of Fisheries and Food, in a statement, at a time when the majority of the population is opposed to this practice.
Last year, the country suspended whaling for two months after a government inquiry found that the methods used violated animal welfare laws.
In particular, it was found that the explosive harpoons used by hunters caused the animals hours of agony.
Environmental associations protested against this decision taken by a government that was supposedly reduced to day-to-day management.
Once heavily dependent on fishing and whaling, the economy of the North Atlantic island now relies heavily on the tourism industry, with whale-watching excursions enjoying great success.
In Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, Paul Watson has been in pre-trial detention since July 21, awaiting a decision on his extradition to Japan, in connection with his fight to defend whales.
Japan, which re-released an arrest warrant issued in 2012 through Interpol, accuses him of being jointly responsible for damage and injuries on a Japanese whaling ship two years earlier, as part of a campaign launched by Sea Shepherd.
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