Britain's ambassador to Iceland has delivered the statement to Iceland's foreign ministry, expressing their extreme disappointment.
Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Britain, Chile, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the United States and the European Commission (EC) were signatories to the protest.
"We call upon Iceland to respect the moratorium and halt its commercial whaling operations," the statement added.
Iceland is also criticised for setting a quota which was not approved by the International Whaling Commission's scientific committee.
On October 17, Iceland said it had authorised its whalers to hunt 30 minke whales and nine fin whales through to August 2007.
The decision made Iceland the second country after Norway to defy outright a 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling.
Iceland defended its right to carry out a limited commercial whale hunt.
"We have allowed a very limited, sustainable catch of whales and the number of whales is an indicator that we are listening to the concerns of ... these countries that are represented in this note," a state secretary at Iceland's foreign ministry, Gretar Mar Sigurdsson, told AFP.
Mr Sigurdsson said his country balanced the concerns of the international community and views of those in Iceland who supported a limited commercial hunt.
"We are continuously listening to concerns, and views also in this country that it is our inalienable right to make sustainable, environmentally-friendly usage of marine resources," Sigurdsson added.