Australia will step up diplomatic efforts to halt Japan's annual whale hunt, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said as the fleet headed toward Antarctic waters.
Smith held talks with his Japanese counterpart, Hirofumi Nakasone, before a meeting of Asia-Pacific ministers in Lima, the Australian government said.
"It is a difficult issue between our two countries," Smith told reporters late Wednesday, adding that Australia will "apply all diplomatic means" to resolve the disagreement.
Australia has increased pressure on Japan since Prime Minister Kevin Rudd took office last November, sending a customs vessel to monitor the hunt and gather evidence on whether Japan is breaching the moratorium.
The Japanese fleet left Nov. 17, according to environmental groups. A spokesman for the Institute of Cetacean Research in Tokyo declined comment on whether the fleet had departed.