Whale wars in the courts and on the Seas --- Australia is suing Japan over Antarctic Whaling

Australia is upping the ante here; with the recent 'failed' Antarctic whaling season that Japan ended early due to Sea Shepherd's efforts, plus legal action against them, it hasn't looked better to be a cetacean since humans started using tools.

Australia Takes Case To Stop Japan Whaling To International Court
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SYDNEY - Australia's government Monday will lodge a written submission at the International Court of Justice calling for an end to Japan's whaling program in the Antarctic ocean and setting the Pacific allies up for a prolonged legal spat.

Japan says it engages in whaling for scientific research and rejects Canberra's charges that the country is breaching the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling and a ban on whaling inthe Southern Ocean Sanctuary.

Legal action between the two countries became a reality in 2010 after years of agitation failed to win a breakthrough, prompting Australia's then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to opt for the Hague-based ICJ in an effort to end Japan's Southern Ocean whaling program and win support for a global ban on whaling.

"Despite Australia repeatedly calling on Japan to cease its illegal whaling activities, Japan has refused to do so. That is why the Australian Government has taken this case in the ICJ," the Australian government said in a statement.

The Antarctic Ocean, also known as the Southern Ocean, stretches from the continent of Antarctica in the south but does not have a clearly defined northern limit.

Killed for their oils, five whale species in Australian waters are listed for protection by the government, including the humpback and blue whales.

Australia has been monitoring Japan's activity in the waters in recent years and there have been frequent clashes between anti-whaling protesters such as the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and Japanese whaling boats.

Australia's submission will not be publicly released until the International Court of Justice decides on it. Japan has until March 2012 to respond. "The Government believes the whaling carried out by Japan is commercial, not scientific, and does not fall within that narrow exception," the Australian statement said.

-By Enda Curran, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-2-8272-4687; enda.curran@dowjones.com