ST. HELIER, Jersey, UK, July 12, 2011 (ENS) - The seas around Antarctica will be the scene of confrontations over whaling again this year.

Japan will send its whaling fleet to the Antarctic again, a senior Japanese official has told BBC News, and the Sea Shepherd's anti-whaling vessels will be there to disrupt the hunt.

SAINT HELIER, Jersey (AFP) – Japan and the anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd on Tuesday swapped angry words at the world whaling conference here over the hunting of cetaceans around Antarctica.

In a plenary session of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), Japanese delegation chief Kenji Kagawa blasted Sea Shepherd's pursuit of Japanese whaling ships as "sabotage" and "violent and illegal acts".

Amid scrambling to presentations at the World Science Festival and a United Nations screening of a remarkable new film, the “Journey of the Universe,” I slipped in 45 minutes to interview Paul Watson. He’s the founder of the anti-whaling Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and central character in the popular “Whale Wars” show on Animal Planet, which began its fourth season on Friday night and may have a new focus next year. Here’s part one of the interview:

http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/04/whale-wars-leader-arrest-me-or-shut-up/