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Iceland has allowed its only remaining whaling company to continue hunting this season despite criticism from animal rights campaigners.

The Nordic country issued a new whaling permit to Hvalur hf, allowing the whaling company to hunt 99 fin whales in the Greenland and West Iceland region and another 29 in the East Iceland and Faroe Islands region this year.

That’s according to the country’s fisheries ministry on Tuesday (June 11).

Authorities said the decision is based on a “precautionary approach”

and reflects the government's increased emphasis on the sustainable use of resources.

However, animal welfare campaigners think otherwise.

Whaling in Iceland has sparked protests for years from animal rights activists and Hollywood celebrities.

Last year, the Icelandic government temporarily suspended hunting for two months after the country's Food and Veterinary Authority reported that the whales' killing time exceeded the limit set by local animal welfare laws.

International Fund for Animal Welfare director Patrick Ramage said it is “ridiculous” to target the whales for products that he says nobody needs.

But economic concerns have been taken into account.

Iceland, Norway, and Japan are the only countries that are still conducting commercial whaling in recent years,

according to the International Whaling Commission's catch list.

The whaling season in Iceland lasts from mid-June to late September, with the majority of the whale meat sold to Japan.

Kristin Ingvarsdottir is the Assistant Professor of Contemporary Japanese Studies at the University of Iceland.

She said Hvalur hf exported over 2,500 tons of whale meat to Japan last year.

“This was the largest export for approximately 35 years. So that kind of maybe fulfills the business requirement or the economic requirement."

“There have been two main conditions for giving the license that has been mentioned by the government or by the minister. Last year the main issue was animal welfare. Whaling was suspended because of animal welfare issues. One of the main issues was that it took too long to kill the animals. But before that the minister had also mentioned that it was important that there was a market for the products, that it wouldn't make sense to issue a license if there was no buyer for the for the whaling products basically."

Reuters was not immediately able to reach Hvalur hf for comment.