Sea Shepherd claim Win

Anti-whaling activists claimed Tuesday that they have effectively ended this year’s Japanese hunt following a late-night altercation near Antarctica, but the whalers said their season will continue.

The activists said they finally found the main factory ship after playing cat-and-mouse with the whalers for the past two weeks.

The Sea Shepherd ship Bob Barker confronted the whaling ship Nisshin Maru at midnight Monday about 60 miles (97 kilometers) from the Antarctic coastline.

The activists said they used laser beams and flares to disrupt the ship. The whalers said they used small vessels and ropes to prevent the Bob Barker from getting close.

Sea Shepherd President Paul Watson says the Nisshin Maru will be prevented from further whaling with the Bob Barker disrupting it.

“They won’t get more than 30 percent of their quota,” Watson said.

But the whalers