SANTIAGO, June 27 (Xinhua) -- The 60th International Whaling Commission meeting (IWC) concluded here on Friday without reaching an agreement on stopping whale hunting in the world, leaving conservationist countries and environmentalist groups seeking to stop indiscriminate whale hunting mainly by Japan, Iceland and Norway frustrated.

    "I think it was a frustrating week for the whales," said Ralf Sonntag of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

    "Japan comes back home without a vote or resolution against them and Iceland began a new round of commercial whale hunting just before this conference," Sonntag said.

    "So, they (Japan, Iceland and Norway) are not taking this seriously. Nothing has been achieved in favor of the whales," Sonntag complained.

    Countries against whale killing, led by Australia, expressed their deep shock because Japan will continue hunting hundreds of whales every year under the pretext of "scientific research", in defiance of the world moratorium since 1986.

    The Japanese fleet hunt some 1,400 whales per year, whose meat is commercialized in the country as local people traditionally consume the meat.

    But the meeting did not have a confrontational character, as it used to, because the IWC's 80 member countries declined to vote on prickly issues.

    Argentine delegate Miguel Iniguez said "we hope to finish the modernizing process of the commission to reduce the number of captured whales."

    Conservationists did get a small triumph, however, when they blocked Greenland's proposal on raising to 10 the hunchbacked whales the hunting fee for its natives.

    "Whaler countries still have the so-called scientific hunting, that it is not regulated and that they will continue hunting as they will," said Mick McIntyre, director of the conservationist group "Whales Alive".

    The Australian delegation was opposed to whales hunting and suggested that Japan conduct non-lethal research on whales. They also expressed their disagreement with the result of the IWC meeting.

    During the IWC meeting, Chile and Australia signed a memorandum to perform non-lethal scientific investigations on whales.