Iceland's government will put forward in February a bill that could lead to an end to whale-hunting, a ministry spokesman told AFP on Tuesday.

Iceland is one of three countries in the world that still kills the giant marine mammals, drawing fierce criticism from animal rights groups.

"In February, a bill aimed at amending the law on whale hunting... will go before parliament," a spokesman for Iceland's industry ministry told AFP.

The text would give "special attention to recommendations drawn up concerning a permanent ban on whale-hunting", he said.

Industry Minister Hanna Katrín Frioriksson told local media outlet Visir that whale-hunting was barely profitable, and animal protection was a priority.

She noted that, last year, "nobody went out" to hunt whales despite a permit being given.

This year, however, boats did go out after whales. Yet what they caught "was far below the fixed quota", she said.

Wendy Higgins, spokeswoman for an animal protection group called Humane World for Animals, hailed the proposed bill as a "really important step" towards ending a "cruel" practice.

Iceland, Norway and Japan are the only countries that still authorise commercial hunting of whales.