Japan seems likely to return to the Southern Ocean later this year to continue its illegal and scientifically discredited whaling program.

But for the first time in a decade, the environment group Sea Shepherd will not be there to tail the Japanese fleet.

Instead, Sea Shepherd has decided to deploy its own nine vessel fleet to harass whalers in the North Atlantic.

Each northern summer, Norway and Iceland have a combined annual commercial kill quota of over 1,500 whales, including 154 endangered Fin whales, much of which is then exported to Japan.

The hunt has been repeatedly criticised at the International Whaling Commission, but it continues despite the IWC introducing a ban on commercial whaling in 1986.