REYKJAVIK, June 11, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Iceland's government said Tuesday that it had granted a license to hunt 128 fin whales for the country's sole whaler amid widespread criticism of the practice.

"The Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Bjarkey Olsen Gunnarsdottir, has issued a license to Hvalur for the hunting of fin whales," the government said in a statement. The license for the 2024 season permits the hunting of 128 whales, down from 161 whales the previous year.