Commercial whaling was banned internationally under a 1986 International Whaling Commission (IWC) moratorium. However, whaling was allowed for aboriginal ground who traditionally eat whale meat and a limited amount of whaling was allowed for scientific research.

The problem is that under these theoretically limited exceptions, Japnese hunters took an estimated 472 whales in 2013, Greenland hunted 198 whales and Norway took 594 and Iceland 169.

Japan was forced to cancel its 2014/2015 hunt after the International Court of Justice found that the countries massive whale hunt did not meet the criteria for scientific research. It was also shown that many of Japan’s “research” whales were winding up in commercial fish markets. This year, Japan has reworked its scientific exception and is hoping to restart the whale hunt next year.

Although there has been no court order yet, Denmark is facing similar scrutiny. According to critics, whales taken under the aboriginal exception are showing up on the dinner plants of tourists.

This week, these concerns and others will be addressed at the International Whaling Commission meeting in Slovenia. Among the countries pushing for a larger role for the IWC in conservation are the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

In anticipation of Japan’s renewed scientific research application, New Zealand has drafted a resolution that would place a larger onus on Japan to show that it’s whale harvest is being done for scientific purposes. The United States has made its position on the issue clear.

“Any scientific question that you need to ask that is required to conserve or manage a stock, population or species of whales can be addressed through non-lethal means,” said Ryan Wulff, deputy United States commissioner to the IWC according to Business Insider.

In addition to a discussion of the exceptions and the numbers of whales being taken, Japan is planning to introduce a plan for “small-scale” commercial whaling of its coast. A South Atlantic whale sanctuary has also been proposed but would require a three-quarters majority vote to pass.