NISSHIN ACCOMPLISHED: Japan calls a halt to its annual whale hunt

March 1, 2007

Message source: [animal_net] <MaryFinelli

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NISSHIN ACCOMPLISHED

Burned Out of Business, Japan Calls a Halt to its Annual Whale Hunt

Daily Grist, Feb. 28, 2007

Japan's whaling fleet, unable to recover from a mid-February fire that

killed a crew member and disabled its main ship, has called off its

controversial annual hunt a month early. While protesters expressed

sympathy for the human loss, they also did a dance of joy that " no

more Southern Ocean whales will die from grenade-tipped harpoons this

season. " Observers had also feared that the floundering 8,000-ton

Nisshin Maru would cause an oil leak off Antarctica, and the

government of nearby New Zealand had asked Japan to haul ass outta

there. The whalers declined an offer from Greenpeace to tow the ship,

managing to restart it this weekend. Since undertaking the hunt in

November, the fleet had killed 508 whales -- about 350 shy of its

goal. " We have been research whaling for 20 years, but this is the

first time we have had to cut the expedition short, " said a Fisheries

Agency official. " It is very unfortunate. " Happily (for the fleet, not

so much the wh ales), there's always next year.

Bloomberg News Service, Stuart Biggs, 28 Feb 2007

The Washington Post, Reuters, Isabel Reynolds, 28 Feb 2007

html

BBC News, 28 Feb 2007

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