Saguaro
11-17-2007, 10:12 AM
TOKYO (AFP) - A Japanese whaling fleet will set sail Sunday for the Antarctic Ocean, the Fisheries Agency said, on an expedition set to enrage environmentalists by expanding the hunt to famed humpback whales.
The 8,044-tonne Nisshin Maru, repaired after a disaster last year that forced Japan to cut short its controversial hunt, will lead the fleet leaving the western port of Shimonoseki, a Fisheries Agency statement said Saturday.
Japan kills more than 1,000 whales a year in the Antarctic and also the Pacific Ocean, causing bitter rows with mostly Western nations which call the hunt barbaric.
Japan plans this year to expand the catch to include 50 humpback whales, which are popular with whale watchers for their songs and acrobatic displays.
It will be the first time that humpback whales have been hunted since the 1960s. Western conservationists say that humpback populations are still vulnerable.
Australia has warned that killing humpbacks would be considered a provocative act and damage Japan's reputation among Australians.
The militant US-based Sea Shepherd Conservation Society earlier said it will treat the killing of humpback whales as a "declaration of war."
Last year, Sea Shepherd activists tracking the fleet hurled bottles of chemicals at the fleet in an attempt to disrupt operations.
A fire later broke out on the Nisshin Maru in icy waters, although both sides said the incident was not linked to the protests. One crewman was killed by the fire and Japan called off the hunt after killing little more than half the intended catch.
Japan has used a loophole in the two-decade international moratorium on commercial whaling that allows the killing of whales for research.
Japan makes no secret that the meat ends up on Japanese dinner plates and has led an international campaign to resume outright whaling, accusing Western nations of cultural imperialism.
Norway and Iceland are the only nations that defy the whaling moratorium altogether.
The Fisheries Agency denied charges by environmental group Greenpeace that it delayed the hunt due because of Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's visit Friday to the United States.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071117/wl_afp/japanwhaling;_ylt=AgzT7YuG3Gk2D_NDF3UR9uoPLBIF
The 8,044-tonne Nisshin Maru, repaired after a disaster last year that forced Japan to cut short its controversial hunt, will lead the fleet leaving the western port of Shimonoseki, a Fisheries Agency statement said Saturday.
Japan kills more than 1,000 whales a year in the Antarctic and also the Pacific Ocean, causing bitter rows with mostly Western nations which call the hunt barbaric.
Japan plans this year to expand the catch to include 50 humpback whales, which are popular with whale watchers for their songs and acrobatic displays.
It will be the first time that humpback whales have been hunted since the 1960s. Western conservationists say that humpback populations are still vulnerable.
Australia has warned that killing humpbacks would be considered a provocative act and damage Japan's reputation among Australians.
The militant US-based Sea Shepherd Conservation Society earlier said it will treat the killing of humpback whales as a "declaration of war."
Last year, Sea Shepherd activists tracking the fleet hurled bottles of chemicals at the fleet in an attempt to disrupt operations.
A fire later broke out on the Nisshin Maru in icy waters, although both sides said the incident was not linked to the protests. One crewman was killed by the fire and Japan called off the hunt after killing little more than half the intended catch.
Japan has used a loophole in the two-decade international moratorium on commercial whaling that allows the killing of whales for research.
Japan makes no secret that the meat ends up on Japanese dinner plates and has led an international campaign to resume outright whaling, accusing Western nations of cultural imperialism.
Norway and Iceland are the only nations that defy the whaling moratorium altogether.
The Fisheries Agency denied charges by environmental group Greenpeace that it delayed the hunt due because of Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's visit Friday to the United States.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071117/wl_afp/japanwhaling;_ylt=AgzT7YuG3Gk2D_NDF3UR9uoPLBIF