Japan whaling fleet may cut annual hunt short this year

Feb 16, 2011, 7:19 GMT

Tokyo - Japan's controversial whaling fleet may quit its annual hunt in the Antarctic Ocean early this year due to increased interference from an anti-whaling group, a news report said Wednesday.

Japan is considering cutting short the season to let the fleet return home, although the hunt usually lasts until March, the Jiji Press reported citing unnamed government sources.

The fleet was expected to catch about 1,000 whales this season, but might fall far short of the goal, having suffered interference from the Sea Shepherd activist group nine times since the start of this year, Jiji reported.

Only 507 whales were captured in the previous season amid the group's protests.

Most Japanese do not eat whale meat regularly, leading to the accumulation of a huge stockpile. Government data showed there were 5,790 tons of whale meat in cold storage as of the end of August, the largest number since April 2006.

Japan halted commercial whaling in 1987, complying with an international moratorium which went into effect in 1986. But the nation has used a loophole in the agreement to continue whaling under the premise of conducting scientific research. Critics accuse Japan of doing it for money.

About 35,000 whales have been hunted down since the moratorium was imposed, environmentalists estimated.

Read more about Japan Ecology