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Japanese whalers aim to catch 260 whales
Two Japanese whaling vessels left Friday for the northwestern Pacific aiming to catch 260 whales for "scientific research", a fisheries ministry official said.
The Japanese harpooning vessel Yashin Maru No 2 uses a loophole in the law where "lethal research" in the name of science can be used to conduct otherwise illegal whaling activity
The Yushin Maru and Yushin Maru No. 2 departed from Shimonoseki port in Yamaguchi, western Japan, to join the mother vessel Nisshin Maru, which has already set sail, the official said.
The fleet is scheduled to catch around 260 mammals, including 100 minke whales and 10 sperm whales, between now and early August.
Though commercial whaling is banned under an international treaty, Japan has been using a loophole where "lethal research" may be carried out in the name of science since 1987.
Japanese whalers faced a series of high-seas confrontations with anti-whaling activists in the Antarctic Ocean, but have not so far experienced any violent resistance in the Pacific.
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The crooket crooks, they don"t care for future generations.260 mammals thats what they say all the time, but actualy it will be a lot more.
