A fin whale being processed in Hvalfjörður, Iceland in June. Micah Garen / Four Corners Media

Iceland is one of just three countries, along with Norway and Japan, that still allows commercial whaling in its waters, but that may be about to change. The Icelandic government will put forward a bill in February that could ban the practice.

The Icelandic government will allow for as many as 134 minke whales and 150 fin whales to be killed this year by its last remaining whaling company, Hvalur. While minke whales are not a threatened species, fin whales are classified as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

So far this year, 80 adult fin whales have been killed in Iceland, where authorities have found that harpooned animals often endure immense suffering.…