BBC News, 16 February 2011
Related Stories
- Whales and dolphins - 'resource' or 'right'?
- Culture clash over Japanese whaling
- Guide to oceans' great whales
Japan has suspended its annual Antarctic whale hunt following protests from a campaign group.
 |
| The Sea Shepherd group's vessel (r) blocked the main Japanese ship's loading bay |
Activists from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a US-based environmental group, have been chasing the Japanese fleet's mother ship.
An official at the country's fisheries agency said whaling had been halted "for now" because of safety concerns.
Commercial whaling was banned in 1986 but Japan uses a regulation permitting hunting for scientific research.
Iceland and Norway have lodged official objections to the ban and continue to hunt commercially.
'Unjustified interference'
It is unclear whether the entire hunt will be called off.
"Putting safety as a priority, the fleet has halted scientific whaling for now. We are currently considering what to do hereafter," Tatsuya Nakaoku, an official at the fisheries agency, told Reuters news agency.
Activists' ships have been harrying the fleet for weeks.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society says one of its boats has been blocking the main ship's stern loading ramp, preventing any harpooned whales from being loaded on to the ship.
According to the environmentalists, in recent days the whalers have left their usual hunting ground off Antarctica and headed towards the southern tip of South America.
Japan's fleet comprises of 180 people on four ships, which aim to cull some 850 minke whales in Antarctic waters during the southern winter season.
"Every whale saved is a victory to us, so we've gotten a lot of victories down here this year," Sea Shepherd captain Paul Watson told the AFP news agency by satellite phone from the Steve Irwin ship.
Commercial whaling has been banned worldwide since 1986.
Japan says it continues to hunt for scientific research, while not concealing the fact that much of the meat ends up on dinner plates, the BBC's Roland Buerk in Tokyo reports.
Few Japanese eat whale regularly, but many object to what they see as unjustified foreign interference in a cultural tradition, our correspondent adds.
Related Article:
