On Thu, 17 Feb 2011 06:45:00 -0500, Harryk
wrote:

http://tinyurl.com/4uzsknt


JAPANESE whalers have suspended their Antarctic hunt citing harassment
by environmentalists, and are considering ending their annual mission early.

Japanese Fisheries Agency official Tatsuya Nakaoku said the Japanese
factory ship, the Nisshin Maru, had suspended operations since February
10 "to ensure the safety (of the crew)" following numerous skirmishes
with Sea Shepherd activists in icy Antarctic waters.

"We are now studying the situation, including the possibility of cutting
the mission early," Mr Nakaoku said in Tokyo.

Ever since the Japanese began their whale hunt in the Southern Ocean in
December, the Sea Shepherd's three vessels - the Steve Irwin, the Bob
Barker and the Gojira - have been harassing the whalers, trying to stop
them harpooning the giant mammals.

Whalers resorted to using water canons against activists who threw stink
bombs made up of butyric acid - rotten butter - as well as allegedly
aiming ropes at the rudders of the whaling vessels.

This summer the Japanese hoped to kill 935 minke whales, 50 fin whales
and 50 humpbacks, but Sea Shepherd's president and captain of the Steve
Irwin, Paul Watson, doubted the whalers had even reached 10 per cent of
their quota.

"They've probably killed between 30 and 100 whales - I doubt they've got
100," he said. "We've shut them down pretty much every day."

News of the suspension was last night welcomed by the Greens leader Bob
Brown saying Australians would be preparing to put champagne on ice.


Read mo
http://www.news.com.au/national/japa...#ixzz1EDQqXM17

That's great news.