The government Wednesday confirmed earlier reports by saying this year's whale hunt has ended early and the fleet off the coast of Antarctica was heading home, after weeks of struggling to recover from a deadly fire on board the mother ship.
The fire aboard the Nisshin Maru two weeks ago killed one crew member and left the vessel crippled for 10 days, causing protests from New Zealand and environmental group Greenpeace over fears of oil and chemical spills, and danger to penguin colonies.
"This is the first time in 20 years that we've had to cancel our research," said Takahide Naruko, the head of the Fisheries Agency's Far Seas Division. "We are very disappointed."
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