海洋守护者协会

今年早些时候，日本捕鲸船队到达南极，他们被海洋守护者协会的船只驱逐。

The last time Japanese whaling ships went to the Antarctic earlier this year , they were driven out by boats of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society .

海洋守护者协会常规的反捕鲸活动引发了日本民众的不满。目前全球仅有三个国家还在捕鲸，日本是其中之一，而且日本政府表示捕鲸是该国重要的文化传统。

Regular attempts by Sea Shepherd Conservation Society to interrupt hunts have caused irritation in Japan , one of only three countries that now hunt whales and where the government says it is an important cultural tradition .

海洋守护者协会的代表还没有对此发表评论。

Representatives for Sea Shepherd were not immediately available for comment .

在海洋守护者协会开始骚扰日本捕鲸船队的母船之后，日本方面已于两周前便暂停捕鲸行动。

Japan had suspended the hunt last week after Sea Shepherd started to harass the fleet 's mother ship .

海洋守护者协会则形容日方的决定是鲸鱼的胜利，证明了干扰日本捕鲸船队运作的行动越来越有成效。

Sea Shepherd described the decision as a victory for whales and said the movement was proving increasingly effective at disrupting the Japanese fleet 's operations .

「我们所做的与过去没有太大的不同，也就是早点到达捕鲸地点，在捕鲸船真的开始行动之前，拦截并干扰他们。」海洋守护者协会澳洲分会长汉森在电话中表示。

" We didn 't do much differently , but got there early and intercepted them and disrupted them early before they could really begin ," Jeff Hansen , Sea Shepherd 's Australian director , said by telephone .

去年7月，日本一家法庭判处海洋守护者协会的一位环保人士两年监禁，缓期执行，罪名是擅自登上捕鲸船只。去年，因与一艘日本捕鲸船相撞，该团体的一艘舰船沉没。

A Sea Shepherd activist was given a two-year suspended jail term by a Japanese court in July for boarding a whaling ship , while one of the group 's ships sank last year after a collision with a Japanese whaling ship .