Iceland resumed whale hunting after a two-year hiatus, according to SCMP. Iceland is one of only three countries that still openly permit whaling, alongside Norway and Japan. A protester attached himself to a whaling vessel before it left the port of Reykjavik and climbed down from the vessel in the evening, after which he was escorted away. Whales are animals that live in all oceans, are warm-blooded and air-breathing mammals. They play an important role in the marine environment, and their waste fertilises the ocean, contributing to carbon dioxide absorption through their ecological role. Whales have been hunted for thousands of years for their meat, blubber and bones. In the 20th century, they were hunted on a large commercial scale due to factory ships and explosive harpoons. By 1930, 50,000 whales were killed yearly. The International Whaling Commission held a landmark conference in Brighton in 1982 that decided to pause commercial whaling, a decision known as a whaling moratorium. Iceland's whaling is opposed by international public opinion and animal welfare groups.