The Icelandic whaling vessel Hvalur 8 returns to Hvalfjordur port with the first fin whale catch of the 2013 season, signaling a resumption of commercial whaling by Icelandic whaler Kristján Loftsson. Loftsson's company Hvalur plans to hunt up to 180 fin whales in the 2013 season in an operation backed by the Icelandic government.
Greenpeace is opposed to the commercial hunt, stressing that the operation is being carried out despite a ban on commercial whaling introduced by the International Whaling Commission (IWC). The fin whale is also listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of threatened species.