2011-2012 Antarctic Anti Whaling Campaign

Farley Mowat pursues the Japanese supply ship

Japanese whale hunt abandoned for second year

For a second year in a row the Japanese whaling fleet has abandoned its Antarctic hunt early.

Anti-whaling Sea Shepherd activists who've been shadowing the Japanese are claiming it as a victory.

The Sea Shepherd ship, Bob Barker, finally located the Japanese whaling factory ship in waters near Antarctica, after a fortnight's chase around the Southern Ocean.

Although the Japanese whalers did kill 266 minke whales and 1 fin whale, this new development is nonetheless a win for the whales; the whalers' total haul represents less than a third of Japan's (self-allocated) quota of 900 "takes" per year, despite a $30 million increase in the whaling fleet's security (drawn from tsunami relief funds).

Japan is blaming its comparatively meager catch on a combination of harsh weather conditions and the combined actions of various "saboteurs".