TOKYO (AFP) - The haul from Japan's whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean was a "record low" this year, a government minister said on Friday, blaming "unforgivable sabotage" by activists.

The hunt netted just 103 Antarctic minke whales, less than half its tally last year and no fin whales, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said, adding it was the lowest total since "research whaling" began in 1987.