Back to sea after hunting two fin whales, these ships mark the start of the whaling season in Iceland. 

             

The hundred day season is underway shortly after failed talks at the International Whaling Committee (IWC) on replacing the current moratorium on whaling with a controlled cull. 

             

Whaling nations say catching whales is their birthright, but the sharp decline in whale numbers triggered international condemnation.              

              

Environmental activists say hunting brought the blue, the humpback and the right whale close to extinction and numbers are only now recovering due to the moratorium introduced 24 years ago. 

             

Iceland and Norway are the only two nations in the world that officially authorise commercial whaling, while Japan permits whaling for what it deems scientific research.