The Sea Shepherd group says the Japanese whaling fleet appears to be heading back to the Southern Ocean for the final days of the hunting season.
Sea Shepherd says the fleet was heading north since the weekend, but a tracking device placed on one of the Japanese ships, the Sun Laurel, shows it has turned back.
The group says that means the Japanese factory ship, the Nisshin Maru, has also headed back to the Southern Ocean. It intends to intercept them in a day or two.
Only a few days of the season are left.
