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Anti-whaling protesters returning from the Southern Ocean say they may have saved more than 500 whales this season.
The Sea Shepherd Preservation Society's protest ship Steve Irwin began the trip back to Melbourne overnight after running low on fuel and should arrive on Saturday, said the vessel's captain Paul Watson.
He said this year's protest had been successful, with Japan probably taking less than half its stated quota of 935 minke and 50 endangered fin whales. Japan has refused to release the number of whales killed this season, citing security reasons.
Watson said only about nine days were left for whaling before icy conditions in the Southern Ocean put a stop to the hunt.
Tension between the Sea Shepherd protesters and the whaling ships was high this year, and the Japanese threw loud thunderflash devices at the Sea Shepherd ship on one occasion.
Watson described the Japanese weapons as "concussion grenades".
The action came after protesters threw stink bombs of butyric acid, and paper bags filled with powder designed to make ships' decks slippery, at the main whaling vessel.
During the clash, Watson claimed he was shot by Japanese Coast Guard officers and the bullet lodged in his Kevlar vest, a claim rejected by Japanese authorities.
Watson said that after he arrived in Melbourne he would co-operate with the Australian Federal Police if they wished to perform analysis of the bullet he said was fired at him.
The bullet would remain in Melbourne, but he would leave within days so his ship could go to Canada to protest against the seal hunt.
Greenpeace's protest ship, Esperanza, left the Southern Ocean in January after it ran out of fuel.
JAPAN WANTS CHARGES
Australian authorities should take action against Sea Shepherd activists when they return to Melbourne from the Southern Ocean, Japanese whalers say.
Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR) said Australia agreed at a recent meeting in London to take action under international laws to stop offenders who risked life and property at sea.
ICR spokesman Glenn Inwood urged Australia to bring charges against the protesters.
Inwood said the Australian people had been misled by most of the country's media, which had portrayed Sea Shepherd activists positively.
The head of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Paul Watson, said he did not think any of his crew members risked the prospect of arrest on their return to Australia this weekend.
"The ICR don't decide what Australia does. The Australian Government decides what Australia does," Watson said.
He said he thought it was likely that a deal to let Japan undertake limited commercial whaling near its shores was near and, if such an agreement was struck, he would not need to protest at all next year.
- AAP
