Japanese whalers hunt humpbacks
A Japanese whaling fleet has set sail aiming to harpoon humpback whales for the first time in decades
The fleet is conducting its largest hunt in the South Pacific - it has instructions to kill up to 1,000 whales, including 50 humpbacks.
The humpback hunt is the first since a mid-1960s global ban and has drawn strong protests from environmentalists.
"Humpbacks are very sensitive and live in close-knit pods so even one death can be extremely damaging," Greenpeace spokesman Junichi Sato said.
Japanese fisheries officials insist both humpback and fin populations are back to sustainable levels.
Environmentalists say Japan's research programme is a pretext for keeping the whaling industry alive.
clipped from: news.bbc.co.uk 