MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Australia to join with others to fight Japan's plan to boost whale catches

Australia will join forces with New Zealand, the United States and Britain to protest against Japan's plans to increase whaling, Prime Minister John Howard said.

Howard also cast doubt on Japanese claims that its current whale catches are for the purposes of scientific research.

He told a radio programme the four countries would try to change Japan's attitude through diplomatic means. "We are friendly with Japan, we have a good relationship with Japan, but this is an issue where we disagree with Japan and we disagree very strongly."

Japan says it will seek approval to expand its catch at the annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) opening on May 30 in South Korea.

Japanese media reports have said it will seek to nearly double its annual catch of Minke whales, currently set at 440, in the Antarctic and to catch the larger humpback and fin whales which are considered endangered by the World Conservation Union.

Japan, where whale meat is part of culinary culture, reluctantly halted commercial whaling in line with a 1986 IWC moratorium. The next year it resumed catches under a loophole that allows "research whaling" despite international protests.

"We find it hard to believe a cull of 400 Minke whales -- and we're talking about Minkes not the humpbacks -- is scientific," Howard said.

Environment Minister Ian Campbell said at the weekend Japan risks damaging its reputation in the eyes of most Australians if it persists with plans to hunt humpback whales.

He said Canberra would press for reform of the IWC when it meets next month, in a bid to have all forms of whaling banned.

New Zealand is considering taking Japan to the World Court over its plans to hunt humpbacks in Antarctic waters, Conservation Minister Chris Carter said at the weekend. Australian operators of whale-watch tours reacted with dismay.

Chris Bramley, from the Coffs Harbour-based Sea Experience charters, said humpback populations have been recovering slowly in the past 30 years from 200 in the early 1960s to about 2,000.

"To be on boats and to watch these animals just come out of the water, it's just absolutely fantastic," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "To think that anybody would realistically consider that it would be wise to kill them for any purpose... it's just unbelievable