Japan's whalers expect to return to the Antarctic, despite losing an International Court of Justice (ICJ) case Australia brought against them that bans their hunt.
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Tokyo's Institute of Cetacean Research wants to go back to the Southern Ocean for a continuing ''research program'', a court document filed in the US says.
The new program would comply with the ICJ decision, according to a filing made for the institute to a United States District Court in a case against the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
But Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson was sceptical. ''They're going to do lethal whaling. They need the meat to send back to pay for it.''
The ICJ found that Japan's Antarctic whaling program, called JARPA II, was not scientific research as permitted under International Whaling Commission rules. Instead, the ICJ meeting in The Hague concluded on March 31 that JARPA II violated the global moratorium on commercial whaling.
''It is to be expected that Japan will take account of the reasoning and conclusions contained in this judgment as it evaluates the possibility of granting any future permits,'' the court said.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott said after the decision he ''absolutely appreciated'' Australians' desire to see an end to Southern Ocean whaling. ''It's now up to Japan to appropriately reflect on the judgment and I'm sure that's exactly what will happen,'' he said.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he was deeply disappointed with the ruling but would abide by it, according to chief ICJ negotiator, Koji Tsuruoka.
Shortly afterwards, the Fisheries Agency of Japan said it would cancel planned ''research whaling'' next Antarctic summer because of the ICJ ruling.
The Institute of Cetacean Research disclosed plans to go south again in a pleading filed with the US court in Seattle on Saturday, Australian time, in a case against Sea Shepherd's harassment of the whaling fleet.
''The government of Japan recently announced the JARPA II special permits would not be issued for plaintiffs to conduct research in the Southern Ocean during the 2014-15 season,'' said the filing by John Neupert, counsel for the institute.
''For the information of the court and parties, plaintiffs expect that they will be conducting a Southern Ocean research program for subsequent seasons that would be in accord with the ICJ decision,'' Mr Neupert said.
Senior Australian scientist Tony Press, who observed the ICJ case, said its judgment focused on what constituted a proportionate hunt under IWC rules.
''The ramifications are that Japan, or anybody else who wants to go … lethal scientific whaling, had better go and have a very good look at the judgment,'' he said.
