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Japan fleet misses whaling target Japan fleet misses whaling target
(about 2 hours later)
For the first time in 20 years protest action has prevented Japan's whalers from meeting their quota, the country's Fisheries Agency says. Japan's whaling fleet has failed to catch its quota, after being disrupted by clashes with anti-hunting activists.
The fleet caught only 60% of the whales they planned to - for what they say is scientific research purposes. The fisheries agency said the fleet caught 60% of the minke whales they had planned - 551 from a target of 850.
The ships are due to return to port in the next few days. The ships, which were followed around the Antarctic by activists, are due to return to port in the next few days.
Japan's fleet was followed around the Antarctic by anti-whaling protesters from several different groups in an increasingly bitter dispute. The BBC's Chris Hogg, in Tokyo, said it was the first time in 20 years that protests had prevented the whalers from reaching their targets.
The protesters were branded environmental terrorists by the Japanese. But their attacks on the whaling ships and efforts to disrupt the hunt by boarding them worked. Japan's fleet set sail for the Antarctic last November. But officials said they lost 31 days of hunting as a result of the protests.
Japan says 551 minke whales were caught this winter, far short of the 850 it said it needed to catch for research purposes. "Sabotage by activists is a major factor behind our failure to achieve our target," a fisheries agency official said.
No fin whales were caught. The quota for that species was 50. Repeated attacks
Officials are blaming the poor catch on what they call a series of offshore protests. In all, whaling was suspended for about one month as a result of these actions. Environmental group Greenpeace, which tailed the whalers for weeks, said it was disappointed the fleet had still managed to cull so many animals.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society which was involved in the most violent clashes with the whalers has claimed its campaign saved hundreds of whales. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society - which was involved in violent clashes with the whalers - claimed its campaign saved hundreds of animals.
But in Tokyo the environmental group Greenpeace, which also tailed the whalers for weeks, said it was disappointed the fleet had still managed to cull so many. At one point, Sea Shepherd activists threw bottles of foul-smelling substances at a whaling ship in an attempt to disrupt the hunt, resulting in three sailors complaining of eye irritation.
The incident followed a high-profile standoff in January in which two activists boarded another Japanese whaling ship.
The protesters were branded environmental terrorists by the Japanese.
As well as failing to reach its quota for minke whales, no fin whales were caught - though officials said that was because none were sighted.
Last year fewer whales were culled than had been planned because of a fire on one of the Japanese vessels.Last year fewer whales were culled than had been planned because of a fire on one of the Japanese vessels.
This is the first time since 1988 that protest activities have been blamed for Japan not meeting its quota. Tokyo says it carries out whaling for scientific research, but critics say the same data can be collected without killing the animals.