Japan to go ahead with scientific whale cull

ELEANOR HALL: To the International Whaling Commission meeting in Alaska and they might be describing their talks as constructive and positive but none of the parties in the trilateral meeting between Japan, New Zealand and Australia have moved at all on the contentious issue of Japan's plan to kill 50 humpback whales for research.

Australia's Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull has ruled out any deal on the humpbacks.

New Zealand's Environment Minister, though, has hinted that his country may be willing to negotiate on other key issues on the International Whaling Commission agenda.

And while Japan is vowing to go ahead with its scientific cull later this year, it too is desperate to compromise, as the ABC's Environment Reporter Sarah Clarke reports from Anchorage.

SARAH CLARKE: After a public slanging match through the media yesterday, today Australia and New Zealand joined Japan for the first one-on-one talks at this year's International Whaling Commission meeting.

After an hour behind closed doors the Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull emerged, but with little agreement.

MALCOLM TURNBULL: Well, it was a constructive discussion. That's probably the best description I can put on it. We canvassed a wide range of issues. It's good to be talking but there are a lot of differences.

Nobody's changed the Japanese mind here for, what, 20 years, 30 years so you'd have to be quite an optimist to believe you could change their mind in the course of 24 hours but we are very committed to taking every feasible measure we can to protect those humpbacks and to reduce more generally the killing of whales in the southern oceans.

SARAH CLARKE: The point of contention is Japan's agenda to kill 50 humpback whales under its so-called scientific research program. Both Australia and New Zealand have rejected a deal that would exempt the huge mammal in return for a vote allowing Japan's coastal communities to hunt whale.

But New Zealand's Conservation Minister Chris Carter hinted he'd be willing to move on other areas of the commission's agenda.

CHRIS CARTER: Today's meeting was important for establishing where we are. I established New Zealand's position, which is an absolute no-no to any form of commercial whaling. The Japanese put their position which was they'd like to resume small coastal whaling but there were other issues they could talk about where we could move forward together.

They kept emphasising that if they agree to remove the 50 humpbacks from the JARPA-2 schedule for next Antarctic summer they'd need something in return.

So we're exploring what that might be.

SARAH CLARKE: Is this the most constructive step the two sides have taken when it comes to relations in the Last few years?

CHRIS CARTER: Well I have to say this is the fifth IWC I have attended as New Zealand's Conservation Minister and it's the first time the Japanese have been prepared to sit down and have a dialogue.

SARAH CLARKE: With that in mind, Japan is keen to strike up a deal.

Glenn Inwood, who represents the Japanese delegation, says with two days remaining there's plenty of time for negotiation.

GLENN INWOOD: Japan was very pleased to meet at Australia and New Zealand's request and we've decided to continue talking with them but no decisions have been made.

SARAH CLARKE: And when it comes down to the scientific research though Japan will go ahead with it anyway at the end of this year?

GLENN INWOOD: Ah, but whether or not it goes ahead with it minus some components is certainly still to be discussed. So, hopefully we can make some compromise to take this organisation forward.

SARAH CLARKE: But conservation groups are urging caution.

Mick McIntyre says humpback whales shouldn't be up for negotiation, and Japan's scientific whaling program should be abandoned altogether.

MICK MCINTYRE: We'd be encouraged if it meant saving any whale but as long as there are no deals. Deals are off the table as far as we're concerned. And, you know, we can't afford to play politics with whale conservation.

The fact is that whales are going to die at the end of this year and we need to be looking at this from the complete picture that scientific whaling is a sham. It's commercial whaling in disguise and we need to be looking at how we can stop scientific whaling as a whole, not just singling out one species.

ELEANOR HALL: Conservationist Mick McIntyre ending that report from Sarah Clarke in Anchorage.