Last August, less than a year after resuming commercial whale hunts, Iceland announced that it would end the hunt. The government mentioned low market demand and lack of access to the Japanese market for whale meat as reasons for the decision. But Iceland has once again changed its mind, putting forth a plan to hunt up to 40 minke whales in 2008.
Iceland has consistently rejected international efforts to conserve whales, and its "scientific" whaling was widely criticized as commercial whaling in disguise. Now, the country is apparently claiming that the International Whaling Commission moratorium no longer applies to its fishery. Additionally, in June 2008 Iceland exported 80 tons of fin whale meat to Japan despite the trade in whale products being restricted under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES).
