In August 2007, less than a year after resuming a commercial whale hunt, Iceland announced that it would end the hunt. They listed low market demand and lack of access to the Japanese market for whale meat as reasons for the decision.

The change in policy came nearly a year after an Oct. 17, 2006 announcement by the Icelandic Fisheries Ministry saying that Iceland was resuming commercial whale hunts.

Iceland has consistently rejected international efforts to conserve whales, and its "scientific" whaling was widely criticized as commercial whaling in disguise.