The news that Japan's whaling fleet has temporarily suspended its operations and left his hunting in the Southern Ocean will be seen as a victory for direct action group conservation, Sea Shepherd. But the withdrawal of the whalers may have more to do with economic factors.
A spokesman for the Japanese Fisheries Agency told AFP: "We are now studying the situation, including the possibility of reducing the mission in early ... no [but] it has been decided at this time."
The factory ship Nisshin Maru, which processes the carcasses of dead whales, suspended operations last week after being successfully harassed by Sea Shepherd activists who were blocking the stern ramp.
Japan says it is no longer safe to operate due to the tactics of Sea Shepherd, which last year culminated in the collapse of its futuristic boat Ady Gil.
Alex Cornelissen, captain of the Sea Shepherd anti-whaling ship Bob Barker, told NZPA today: "I think this year will mark the most successful year in the history of the [Sea Shepherd] and can only hope that this will be time Japanese whaling fleet decided to throw in the towel and this will be an end to Japanese whaling in Antarctica. "
Japan gets around the international moratorium on whaling - presented by the International Whaling Commission in 1982 - by using a loophole that allows animals to be killed for scientific research, although it is well known that meat whales is sold for human consumption.
Japan is also under pressure from Australia, which is pursuing through the International Court of Justice.
However, the recent lack of Tokyo commitment to meet their quota of whales - that has captured less than its target in every year since at least 2007 - may have more to do with economic reality.
Whale meat is not as popular as it once was with the Japanese and much of it ends up being dumped in the form of school meals. Since 2009, the country had a stockpile of 5,000 tons of whale meat. In a nation that is the most indebted in the developed world - because 200 percent of its gross domestic product - is it possible to subsidize their losses from the whaling industry is no longer sustainable.
Sea Shepherd believes that the Japanese whaling fleet is starting to bother the Japanese Fisheries Agency with its demands for more grant money.
It is true that the Japanese whaling fleet gives the appearance of being a force in decline. This year only four ships were sent by the National Institute of Cetacean Research - the weakest of the fleet has been, according to Sea Shepherd, to create a maximum of only 30 whales may have been taken so far.
Whatever the real reason for the whaling fleet to turn back - the economic reality or moral argument - that will undoubtedly be hailed as a stunning victory by Sea Shepherd and the justification for his much criticized the methods of direct action. These have included the use of lasers to temporarily blind whalers and butyric bombs harmless but foul-smelling acid.
Greenpeace, which uses peaceful methods against the whalers, said the leader of Sea Shepherd, Paul Watson - Greenpeace founding member who was expelled in 1977 - is a violent extremist. His success against the Antarctic whaling is bittersweet news to your ears.
