Japanese whaling fleet heads for Antarctic

The Japanese whaling fleet has left southern Japan for its biggest hunt since commercial whaling was officially banned, aiming at humpback whales from Australian waters to its haul.

The factory ship Nisshin Maru and three chaser ships left after its ceremonial departure to newer levels of whaling from Shimonoseki. Humpback whales have not been legally hunted in the Antarctic since 1963 and never, since the moratorium on commercial whaling came into effect in 1986, have so many whales been earmarked for death. However, under the guise of scientific research 50 humpbacks have been added to the Japanese tally, with 50 giant fin whales, and up to 935 minkes. Tokyo's Institute of Cetacean Research disclosed that the hunt would take place in Antarctic waters south-west of Australia. Research shows that the humpbacks would mainly come from stocks that breed and migrate off the east and west coasts of Australia.
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