Bermuda's humpback whales are safe from being hunted by Greenland natives for at least another year.

The International Whaling Commission has voted to reject a request by Greenland to allow it rights to kill ten humpback whales each year as part of a subsistence quota for its aboriginal population.

Conservationists in Bermuda and elsewhere were keeping a close watch on the proceedings which might have meant that some of the giant sea creatures that migrate past the Island heading north each Spring would have been killed once they reached the sea around Greenland.

It had appeared that Greenland's request would be held back by the IWC, along with other contentious whaling issues, for a detailed report to be prepared. However, the matter was put to the vote late on Thursday and was rejected by the majority of the IWC countries.

Europe, except for Denmark which speaks for Greenland, voted as a bloc against the move. The bloc voting tactic was criticised by Japan and a number of Caribbean countries.

Greenland says it will try again next year to have humpback whales included in its subsistence aboriginal whaling quota, which presently allows it to catch a small number of minkie, fin and bow whales.

A recent international report has added to the controversy surrounding aboriginal whaling after showing that up to 25 percent of the whale meat currently taken by Greenland as part of its subsistence rights ends up being sold commercially in supermarkets.