Twenty-five countries and the European Commission on Wednesday delivered a protest to the Icelandic government over its decision to resume commercial whaling in defiance of an international ban, the Swedish embassy in Reykjavik said.
Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Britain, Chile, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the United States and the European Commission (EC) were signatories to the protest.
In a statement the 25 governments and the EC said they were "extremely disappointed that the Icelandic government has decided to resume commercial whaling ... in spite of the internationally agreed moratorium."
Britain's ambassador to Iceland delivered the statement to Iceland's foreign ministry.
"We call upon Iceland to respect the moratorium and halt its commercial whaling operations," the statement added.
Iceland announced on October 17 it had authorised its whalers to hunt 30 minke whales and nine fin whales through August 2007 for export, thereby making it only the second country after Norway to defy outright a 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling.
The 25 countries also criticised Reykjavik for setting a quota that was not presented to or approved by the International Whaling Commission's scientific committee.
Meanwhile Iceland defended its right to carry out a limited commercial whale hunt.
"We have allowed a very limited, sustainable catch of whales and the number of whales is an indicator that we are listening to the concerns of ... these countries that are represented in this note," a state secretary at Iceland's foreign ministry, Gretar Mar Sigurdsson, told AFP.
Sigurdsson said his country balanced the concerns of the international community and views of those in Iceland who supported a limited commercial hunt.
"We are continuously listening to concerns, and views also in this country that it is our inalienable right to make sustainable, environmentally-friendly usage of marine resources," Sigurdsson added.