Japan's controversial whaling fleet returns to port this week with a smaller-than-expected haul, blaming disruptions by anti-whaling activists in the Antarctic, the fisheries agency said on Monday.

On its five-month mission, the six-ship flotilla caught 680 whales including 679 minke and just one fin whale -- well below a planned total haul of between 765 and 935 of the giant mammals, the agency said.

Some ships in its six-ship fleet have returned home after clashes with the group Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, including a collision that crushed a railing on one of the Japanese ships.

A Fisheries Agency official said ships could not carry out whaling for a total of 16 days because of bad weather and skirmishes with the activists.

Japan officially stopped commercial whaling after agreeing to a global moratorium in 1986, but began what it calls a scientific research whaling programme the following year. Whale meat can be found in some supermarkets and restaurants.

The agency has declined to comment on a recent report that Japan is considering reducing the number of whales it catches each year.

Japan has a moratorium on catching humpback whales, a favourite with whale watchers, after international criticism.


Agencies