Latin American members of the International Whaling Commission urged Japan on Wednesday to stop "scientific" whaling in Antarctic waters and to respect sanctuaries.

The countries stated "their firmest rejection" of plans to hunt whales, "including endangered species, in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary," a statement read.

Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Colombia, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay were the countries signing the statement.

Japan's whaling fleet left port Tuesday for this season's annual hunt in Antarctica, with Japan's coast guard saying it would deploy extra security to protect it from anti-whaling activists.

Commercial whaling has been banned worldwide since 1986, but Japan justifies its hunts as scientific research, while not hiding the fact that the whale meat is later sold in shops and restaurants.

The International Whaling Commission has banned all types of commercial whaling in the area of some 19.3 million square miles (50 million square kilometers) surrounding Antarctica.

Japan on Wednesday said it planned to use some of the public funds earmarked for quake and tsunami reconstruction to boost security for the annual whaling hunt.

In February, Japan cut short its hunt for the 2010-2011 season by one month after bagging only one fifth of its planned catch, blaming interference from the US-based environmental group Sea Shepherd.