Anti-whaling activists say they have already clashed with Japanese whalers in the icy seas off Antarctica.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society says its vessels found the first of the Japanese ships yesterday morning on the edge of the ice at 148 degrees west, 1700 nautical miles (1350 kilometres) south-west of New Zealand.
A few hours later, the Japanese whalers had shot water cannon at them, Sea Shepherd said.
Advertisement: Story continues below Sea Shepherd says it is chasing the Japanese fleet, hoping to interrupt its annual whale hunt which kills up to 1000 whales a year.
The two sides have clashed violently in the past.
Last year, a Sea Shepherd boat skippered by New Zealander Peter Bethune was sunk after its bow was sheared off in a collision with a whaling ship.
On this campaign, the whalers had been discovered before they had begun killing the mammals, Sea Shepherd leader Paul Watson said in a statement on Saturday.
Mr Watson said the Sea Shepherd ship Bob Barker had found a harpoon vessel on the edge of the ice at 11am (0900 AEDT) on Friday while the society's flagship Steve Irwin discovered another harpooner six hours later.
He said Sea Shepherd was still searching, by ship and helicopter, for what he called "Japan's floating abattoir", the Nisshin Maru.
Mr Watson gave no indication of what tactics he has planned to interrupt the Japanese whale hunt.
Japan says it is killing whales only for research.
On Saturday, news agency Associated Press said it was talking to Mr Watson by telephone from his ship when he said the whalers suddenly began blasting one of his group's inflatable boats with a water cannon.
"They just turned their cannons on our Zodiac," AP quoted him as saying.
"Right at this moment."
New Zealand-based Glenn Inwood, spokesman for Japan's Tokyo-based Institute of Cetacean Research, which sponsors the whale hunt, said he had no comment.
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/whale-watch/sea-shepherd-clashes-with-japanese-whalers-20110101-19cfb.html
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