Anti-whaling group the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society claims that one of his members, Paul Watson, was shot in the chest by Japanese whalers.

Apparently, he escaped injuries due to his bulletproof vest. He could not see who shot him.

“If it wasn’t for the vest, it would have been pretty serious,” he declared for CNN.

Watson said that the crew was throwing acid at the whaling ship to try to prevent them from hunting whales, when the Japanese responded with flash grenades toward the Sea Shepherd’s ship. Two members of the group were injured after grenades exploded near them.

Officials said: “They might have mistaken that was a shooting sound. We are not shooting a gun or anything at them.”

The Japanese Fisheries Agency official denied the accusations and said that only loud explosive devices were thrown, to discourage the anti-whaling group.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Tomohiko Taniguchi said also that no shots were fired.

The Federal Government received assurances that the crew on the Japanese whaling ship Nisshin Maru did not fire gunshots.

The confrontation did not scare the activists and it would not stop Sea Shepherd's efforts to stop the whaling season Watson said. “It won’t deter us from trying to stop their illegal activities.”

Whaling is considered a cultural tradition for Japan. About 1,000 whales are killed every year under an internationally approved research program.