Whaling companies' compliance with Icelandic animal welfare laws will henceforth be regularly monitored by The Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority (MAST) , the Iceland Review reports.

This happens after the Icelandic Minister of Fisheries, Svandís Svavarsdóttir, introduced a new regulation. In practice, the country's Directorate of Fisheries will conduct the animal welfare inspections.

The inspectors will make video recordings of hunting methods and create a register of them. All of the inspection data will be sent to a supervising veterinarian.

Whaling resumed in Icelandic waters in June 2022 after a four-year hiatus.

Only one Icelandic company is actively whaling, and the Minister of Fisheries has indicated that its licence will not be reviewed after 2023. There is little evidence that whaling is economically beneficial to the country, Svavarsdóttir is said to have previously stated.