Iceland's last remaining active whaling company said it believed it could survive a renewed push to ban ​the practice, given that previous attempts to outlaw whale hunting ‌had repeatedly failed.

The government said last week it would submit a bill in February that could permanently ban whaling, a move that would end the industry ​in one of only three countries, alongside Norway and ​Japan, that still allow commercial whale hunts.

"Over recent decades, bills ⁠to ban whaling have been discussed in parliament a few ​times, but every time it ended in nothing," Loftsson told Reuters ​on Monday. "I think we have good support for whaling in Iceland."

A similar bill to ban whaling was submitted for consultation in Iceland's parliament in October 2023, ​but did not result in legislation.

Hvalur is Iceland's sole remaining whaling ​company still in operation. It operates two catcher boats and employs about 150 ‌people ⁠during the whaling season, which runs from early June to late September.

The company has caught 85 fin whales so far this season, Loftsson said, against a quota of 150 animals.

Public opinion on whaling ​remains divided. Forty-one ​percent of Icelanders ⁠oppose the practice, one-third support it, and 26% are neutral, state broadcaster RUV reported in June, ​citing a Maskina poll for the Icelandic Nature Conservation ​Association.

Fin ⁠whales, the second-largest animal on Earth and the main target of Iceland's whaling industry, are classified globally as "vulnerable" by the International Union for ⁠Conservation of ​Nature.

In the North Atlantic, however, the ​species is listed as of "least concern", with populations considered healthy enough to sustain managed ​harvesting, according to the IUCN.