ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)<br/> Japanese whalers and protesters clashed on Wednesday (January 18) in the Southern Ocean, with activists saying three of their crew were injured by grappling hooks and a bamboo pole.<br/> The Japanese whalers said the anti-whalers tried to cut ropes and tangle propellers.<br/> The clash took place in the seas about 300 miles north of Mawson Peninsula off the coast of Antarctica, the anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd said in a statement on its website.<br/> Video released by the whalers showed a water cannon on the Japanese ship being fired at a black rubber dingy, while unidentified projectiles appeared to be thrown at the Japanese ship by activists on the small vessel.<br/> Reuters cannot independently verify the content of the video.<br/> Sea Shepherd, on their website, said three crew members were injured, ranging from "lacerations over the eyes" to "deep bruises".<br/> Last year, Australia filed a complaint against Japan at the world court in the Hague to stop Southern Ocean scientific whaling. A decision is expected in 2013 or later.<br/> Last season, Japan cut short its annual whale hunt with less than a fifth of their quota in response to Sea Shepherd harassment which saw an activist boat -- The Ady Gil -- sunk in a collision with a Japanese ship.<br/> Japan -- which along with Iceland and Norway is one of three countries that hunt whales -- introduced scientific whaling to skirt the commercial whaling ban under a 1986 moratorium.
