中國網站品牌欄目（頻道）
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Japanese whaling fleet vessel Yushin Maru No. 3 (C) sprays water cannons at Sea Shepherd vessel ''Gojira'' during their clash in the Southern Ocean February 4, 2011.(Agencies) |
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Japan has suspended its annual whale hunt in the Antarctic for now after a hardline anti-whaling group gave chase to its mother ship and it may call the fleet back home, a government official said. Regular attempts by Sea Shepherd Conservation Society to interrupt hunts have caused irritation in Japan, one of only three countries that now hunt whales and where the government says it is an important cultural tradition. "Putting safety as a priority, the fleet has halted scientific whaling for now. We are currently considering what to do hereafter," said Tatsuya Nakaoku, an official at the Fisheries Agency. When asked if Japan was considering bringing back the fleet earlier than planned, he said this remained an option and added that Japan's whaling plans were not going smoothly. Representatives for Sea Shepherd were not immediately available for comment. Japan introduced scientific whaling to skirt the commercial whaling ban under a 1986 moratorium, arguing it had a right to watch the whales' impact on its fishing industry. The fleet, consisting of some 180 people on four vessels, is aiming to cull about 850 minke whales in Antarctic waters this season, which is scheduled to end around March. In the same period last year, Japan killed 506 minke whales, well below its planned catch of around 850. Last year, Australia filed a complaint against Japan at the world court in The Hague to stop Southern Ocean scientific whaling. The decision is expected to come in 2013 or later. A Sea Shepherd activist was given a two-year suspended jail term by a Japanese court in July for boarding a whaling ship, while one of the group's ships sank last year after a collision with a Japanese whaling ship. (Read by Lee Hannon. Lee Hannon is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
日本某政府官員日前表示，由于捕鯨船隊母艦受到態度強硬的反捕鯨團體的追捕，將暫停本年度在南極海域的捕鯨活動，并可能下令捕鯨船隊返航。 海洋守護者協會常規的反捕鯨活動引發了日本民眾的不滿。目前全球僅有三個國家還在捕鯨，日本是其中之一，而且日本政府表示捕鯨是該國重要的文化傳統。 日本水產廳官員中奧達也說：“為安全起見，捕鯨船隊已暫停了以科研為目的的獵捕。我們正考慮今后怎么辦。” 在被問及日本是否會考慮提前結束捕鯨時，他表示有這種可能，還說日本的捕鯨計劃一直不順。 海洋守護者協會的代表還沒有對此發表評論。 日本借科研之名捕鯨，繞開了1986年禁止商業捕鯨的禁令，辯解稱有權觀察鯨魚“對日本漁業的影響。” 暫停捕鯨的船隊由4只捕鯨船組成，約有180名船員。船隊原計劃本季在南海海域捕殺850頭小須鯨，一直作業至三月。 日本去年同期共捕殺506頭小須鯨，遠低于原計劃的850頭。 澳大利亞于去年向海牙國際法庭起訴日本，要求其停止在南極海域的“科學捕鯨”。宣判結果預計將在2013年或更晚時間才能知曉。 去年7月，日本一家法庭判處海洋守護者協會的一位環保人士兩年監禁，緩期執行，罪名是擅自登上捕鯨船只。去年，因與一艘日本捕鯨船相撞，該團體的一艘艦船沉沒。 相關閱讀 （中國日報網英語點津 Julie 編輯：馮明惠） |
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Vocabulary: mother ship: a vessel or craft that services others operating far from a home port or center（母艦，漁業母船） skirt: to avoid a difficulty, etc（繞開，回避） moratorium: 暫停，中止，尤指經官方同意的。這里指1986年通過的《全球禁止捕鯨公約》。 Southern Ocean: 南極海域，也稱為Antarctic Ocean |
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