10月17日，冰島公開宣佈，該國計劃在2007年8月31日前捕捉9頭長鬚鯨和30頭小鬚鯨用於商業目的。10月22日，冰島在在北大西洋海域、冰島西側200英哩處，用魚叉捕殺一頭瀕臨絕種的長鬚鯨，此舉違反20多年前國際共同簽署的中止商業捕鯨條款。為抗議冰島再度進行商業捕鯨行為，24個國家連同歐盟執委會1日對冰島政府發出正式的外交抗議聲明。
反捕鯨國在抗議聲明中表示，長鬚鯨已被世界自然保育聯盟（IUCN）認定屬於瀕臨絕種紅名單生物，並列於瀕臨絕種野生動植物國際貿易公約（CITES）第一層級附錄中，禁止國際進行這類物種的一切商業貿易活動。
反捕鯨國提到，今年7月在祕魯舉辦的第22屆瀕危野生動植物物種國際貿易公約會議中，冰島在定期審查報告中提出北大西洋長鬚鯨的數量報告，獲得會議一致認同。「然而，現在冰島漁業部長直接跳過程序，不等審查結果出爐便自行開放捕捉上限，」抗議聲明中指出。
除了這30隻計劃捕捉的小鬚鯨，冰島政府自2003年起，即在國際捕鯨委員會同意下執行一項鯨魚研究計劃，得以研究目的捕捉鯨魚。冰島表示，研究用的小鬚鯨已捕捉了161頭，在2007年計劃預定結束之前，預估採樣數會到達200頭。
澳洲是堅定的反捕鯨國之一，也簽署了這份抗議聲明。澳洲環保部長坎貝爾（Ian Campbell）表示：「針對單一瀕危物種進行捕殺太沒有道理了，倘若此刻重新開放商業捕捉長鬚鯨，對於休養生息20多年仍未完全恢復數量的長鬚鯨族群而言，絕對會造成毀滅性的傷害。」
Twenty-four countries and the European Commission expressed their opposition to renewed Icelandic commercial whaling Wednesday by handing the Government of Iceland a formal protest, called a demarche.
Iceland broke the global moratorium on October 22, killing an endangered fin whale for the first time since the 1980s. The whale was harpooned in the north Atlantic about 200 miles (320 kilometers) west of Iceland.
On October 17, Iceland announced that it plans to take nine endangered fin whales and 30 minke whales for commercial purposes before August 31, 2007.
The anti-whaling countries object because, as they say in the demarche, fin whales "have been classified as 'Endangered' on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and are listed under CITES Appendix I," which bans international trade in endangered species.
At the 22nd Animals Committee meeting of CITES - the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora - which took place in Peru in July, Iceland's proposed inclusion of the central stock of North Atlantic fin whales in the periodic review was agreed, the anti-whaling countries acknowledge.
"Nevertheless, the Icelandic Ministry of Fisheries has now set its own catch limits, without awaiting the outcome of this review," they state in their protest document.
In addition to the 30 minke whales the Icelandic Government has declared it would take by next August, Iceland has been conducting research whaling since 2003 under a provision of the International Whaling Commission, IWC, regulations that allow taking of whales for scientific investigation.
Iceland says that since its research whaling began 161 minke whales have been taken and its research plan will be completed in 2007 when the sample size of 200 minke whales has been obtained.
Staunch anti-whaling country Australia is among those that signed the demarche. “Deliberately targeting an endangered species simply does not make sense," said Australian Environment Minister Senator Ian Campbell. "To resume hunting of fin whales now will have a devastating impact on an already struggling population that has still not recovered from the plundering days prior to the moratorium, he said.
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In my healing journey and learning to attain the breath awareness, I become aware of the reality that all the creatures of the world are breathing the same breath. Take action, here and now. From my physical being to the every corner of this out of balance's planet.
