In Japan, environmental group Greenpeace says it has uncovered evidence of wide-spread theft of whale meat from the country's scientific whaling program.

As North Asia correspondent Shane McLeod reports, Greenpeace has intercepted a box of whale meat it says was illegally taken off the the whaling ship, the Nisshin Maru, by a member of its crew.

Spokesman Junichi Sato says the meat could be worth thousands of dollars on the black market.

Greenpeace has given the meat to prosecutors and is calling on them to investigate the alleged theft of many more boxes.

The company that operates the whaling ship says there is no wrongdoing, because crew members are allocated an amount of whale meat at the end of the season.

It says it will investigate whether some crew members took more than their share.

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