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The Japanese whaling fleet has moved into New Zealand's search and rescue area, raising concern after a fatal incident last year.
A Royal New Zealand Air Force Orion spotted the fleet travelling towards the Ross Sea, a bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land.
Minister for Conservation Steve Chadwick said New Zealand was responsible for search and rescue from the South Pole to the southern border of the Honolulu Region, including Norfolk Island, Tonga, Samoa and the Cook Islands, under maritime international conventions.
"The extremely cold and hazardous conditions of the Antarctic make it one of the most dangerous and difficult regions in the world for search and rescue operations.
" New Zealand is strongly opposed to Japan's whaling in the Southern Ocean.
"We are also deeply concerned about the risk to human life and to Antarctica's pristine marine environment should the Japanese whaling fleet encounter problems at sea."
Ms Chadwick cited the death of a crew member from the Japanese whaling fleet vessel Nisshin Maru last year.
