Japan's Fisheries Agency said the fleet was on its way home from the Antarctic "on schedule", but admitted the catch was way down on expectations.
Whalers killed 266 minke whales and one fin whale, the agency said, well below the approximately 900 they had been aiming for when they left Japan in December.
"The catch was smaller than planned due to factors including weather conditions and sabotage acts by activists," an agency official said. "There were definitely sabotage campaigns behind the figure."
Militant environmentalist group Sea Shepherd had pursued the Japanese fleet for much of the season. (telegraph.co.uk)
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