MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Japanese whaling fleet limps back home with lower catch

Japan’s Fisheries Agency said on Monday ships from the country’s whaling fleet returned to port from the Antarctic Ocean with a lower catch than planned after being harassed by anti-whaling campaigners. The agency also indicated that several ships report some damage from clashes with the conservationists.

The fleet’s catch was 679 minke whales and one fin whale, below its planned targets of up to 935 minke and 50 fin. Japan harvests the whales for what it terms “scientific research” with the permission of the International Whaling Commission.

“We had set a target of 850 minke whales but were only able to catch 679, and only one out of a quota of 50 fin whales,” said Hideaki Okada, a Fisheries Agency spokesman.

“One of our vessels was damaged in a dangerous attack, so we lost about two weeks of the season, so we could not reach our target,” he said. “We needed to reach the 850 quota to carry out effective scientific research, so we have lost that opportunity”.

The “dangerous” attacks refer to clashes with the hard-line group Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. The Yushin Maru No. 3 sustained damage to its stern in a collision with Sea Shepherd's MV Steve Irwin in February.

Japan officially stopped commercial whaling after agreeing to a global moratorium in 1986, but began what it calls a scientific research whaling programme the following year. Whale meat, a Japanese cultural tradition, can be found in some supermarkets and restaurants.

The agency has declined to comment on a recent report that Japan is considering reducing the number of whales it catches each year. Japan has a moratorium on catching humpback whales, a favourite with whale watchers, after international criticism.

Japan claims the annual hunt is designed to monitor the health and migration patterns of the whales, although environmentalists and many foreign governments say it is thinly disguised commercial whaling.