An endangered fin whale, harpooned in 2006 shortly after Iceland resumed commercial whaling. The marine mammal was butchered in the harbor of Hvalfjörour.
Iceland launched another summer of whaling in defiance of international pressure for it to stop slaughtering the marine mammals.
The country is one of only two worldwide that still conducts commercial whaling. Japan claims its whale hunts are for research purposes.
The Icelandic whaling ship Johanna left port on Tuesday, and is expected to kill the first whales of the season just offshore and away from areas where whale-watching businesses conduct tours.
“The first batch of meat will be in stores by the weekend,” said Gunnar Bergmann Jonsson, manager of the minke whaler association.
In February, the country said it would catch up to 150 fin whales and up to 150 minke whales per year, despite outrage from other countries and environmental groups.
Photo: Greenpeace