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Saying that the obstructive efforts of environmentalists have made it too dangerous for its whalers to stay on the high seas, Japan canceled the rest of its winter whaling season. |
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The move is being called a victory for the environmental group Sea Shepherd, which employed confrontational tactics and slick marketing to thwart Japanese whalers. |
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日本表示，環保人士的百般阻撓已使得在公海上作業的日本捕鯨業者面臨太大風險，因此取消日本今年剩下的冬季捕鯨季。此舉被環保團體「海洋守護者協會」視為一次勝利，該團體採用對峙戰術和精明的行銷手段來阻撓日本捕鯨業者。 |
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Japanese Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Michihiko Kano announced Friday that Japan was halting whaling because of actions taken by Sea Shepherd. |
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He stressed that Japan did not want to take such action, but it had no other choice. |
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日本農林水產省大臣鹿野道彥週五宣布，日本是因為海洋守護者協會所採取的行動而停止捕鯨。他強調，日本並不希望採取此中止行動，但日本並無其它選擇。 |
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"From the viewpoint of our crew's safety, we have decided to cut short the research whaling at this time, against our will," he said. |
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他表示：「從船員安全的角度來看，我們決定縮短這次捕鯨研究行動，雖然這有違我們的意願。」 |
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The move marks the first time that Japan has canceled its annual whale hunt off Antarctica since beginning the practice in 1987. |
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Japan's winter whaling season typically extends into mid-March. |
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In 2005, Sea Shepherd, which began as a more radical splinter from the environmental organization Greenpeace, began monitoring Japanese whaling vessels and occasionally taking direct action to disrupt their activities. |
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此舉是日本自一九八七年開始捕鯨以來，首次取消其一年一度的南極捕鯨行動。日本的冬季捕鯨季通常會進行到三月中旬為止。海洋守護者協會原為「綠色和平」環保組織中一個較為激進的分支，二○○五年開始監控日本的捕鯨船，並且偶爾會採取直接行動以擾亂捕鯨作業。 |
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Japan's fleet of four whaling vessels remained in the Antarctic as the government decided what to do about the winter hunt. |
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Capt. Paul Watson, who helms the Sea Shepherd vessel called the Steve Irwin off the coast of Antarctica, said he and his crew had just learned of the Japanese announcement while following the whaling ships. |
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在日本政府決定該如何處理這次冬季捕鯨行動時，這支由四艘捕鯨船組成的日本船隊仍繼續留在南極地區。船長保羅．華生負責在南極洲外海駕駛海洋守護者協會船隻「鱷魚先生」號，他和隊員們在跟蹤捕鯨船時得知日本宣佈的消息。 |
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"If it's true, this is great news," said Watson, who is in charge of Sea Shepherd's operations in the Antarctic. |
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"But we'll keep tailing them until they leave these international waters." |
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負責海洋守護者協會南極行動的華生表示：「如果這是真的，那就是個天大的好消息，但是我們會繼續尾隨他們，直到他們離開這裡的公海為止。」 |
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Watson said he and his fellow anti-whaling activists have gained the upper hand in the Southern Ocean in recent years, while the Japanese whaling industry has suffered economic setbacks. |
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He suggested that his group was able to "bankrupt" the fleet so that it wasn't economically feasible to keep going. |
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華生表示，他和反捕鯨人士的夥伴們，近幾年來在南極海取得了優勢，日本捕鯨業則是蒙受了經濟損失。他指出他的團隊有能力讓日本船隊「破產」，好讓繼續捕鯨這件事在經濟上變得無利可圖。 |
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