Anti-whaling eco-activist group Sea Shepherd has announced that it is currently struggling to keep up with the activities of its sworn enemy, the Japanese whaling fleet conducting its activities in the Southern Ocean, according to BBC News.
The group's flagship vessel, the Steve Irwin, left Western Australia for the Southern Ocean back in January, with the goal of intercepting the Japanese fleet, which is set to initiate its annual whaling operations in the area.
Sea Shepherd has continuously disrupted Japan's whaling activities for about a decade, and its activities have been so brazen that it left the Japanese no choice but to abandon its 2014-2015 hunt after the International Court of Justice declared that the annual hunts were commercial activities masquerading as research, reports the Associated Press via Yahoo! News.
This year, however, Japan opted to do something different. By seemingly expanding its operations across a wider area, its activities have become very difficult for Sea Shepherd to track, reports Radio New Zealand.
Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson has expressed his aggravation about the current situation.
"The Japanese whaling fleet has greatly expanded their area of illegal operations in the Southern Ocean. This makes finding them very difficult," he said.
The activist group has asked Australia and New Zealand for support, requesting the countries provide them with the coordinates of the Japanese fleet. Though Australia has stated that it does not condone the practice of whaling, the statements of its Environment Minister Greg Hunt have so far been non-committal.
