Greenpeace will not be continuing its cat-and-mouse battles with the Japanese whaling fleet in the Antarctic this year.

“Greenpeace believes the decisive battle to end whaling in the Southern Ocean is in Japan, and that’s where we want to focus our efforts,” says Steve Shallhorn, Greenpeace Australia-Pacific’s chief executive (Sydney Morning Herald).

Greenpeace also has to defend two of its activists, Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki, over charges they stole whale meat, which may also be influencing the decision to avoid a high profile conflict on the high seas. “This is a politically motivated prosecution and so anything we do to campaign against whaling could be used against Junichi and Toru,” Takumi Kobayashi, a Greenpeace Japan official, told AFP.

The news has not been well received by the more militant Sea Shepherd group.

“As a Greenpeace co-founder, I am deeply offended that Greenpeace has been raising millions of dollars in the name of defending whales all year and now two weeks before the Japanese whaling fleet is scheduled to depart, they announce they will not be going,” say Captain Paul Watson, head of Sea Shepherd.

“In my opinion they collected funds under false pretences and now they have abandoned the whales. Shame on them.”

Greenpeace sees things differently.

“We have not won yet, but whaling in Japan is now clearly moving toward the endgame – and we are moving our campaign to the place where we believe that endgame will be played out – in Tokyo,” says a statement from the environmental group. “We can stop future whaling fleets before they even leave the port and we can end whaling in the Southern Ocean forever.”

Image: NOAA