(CNN) Only two whaling companies remain in Iceland. It's a small industry that conservationists say is inhumane, has minimal economic benefits, and defies the international ban on killing whales.

But this week the Icelandic government announced it will allow up to 2,000 whales to be killed in the next five years.

A Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture statement released Tuesday said a maximum of 209 fin whales and 217 minke whales can be killed each year between 2018 and 2025.

Iceland's Fisheries Minister Kristján Þór Júlíusson said the new whale quotas are sustainable and based on research from the nation's Marine Research Institute and the University of Iceland.

"Whaling in Icelandic waters is only directed at abundant whale stocks, North Atlantic common minke whales and fin whales, it is science-based, sustainable, strictly managed and in accordance with international law," a ministry spokesperson said in a statement.

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