Foreign whalers won't give a commitment to spare the endangered humpback from the harpoon as they target the Southern Ocean's whale sanctuary.

In sushi restaurants whale is valued about $90 a kilo. There is a higher price on Migaloo because of his rare albino breed.

But, Australians believe the bright white mammal is worth more to them through his contribution to the country's $300 million-a-year whale-watching industry.

He makes an annual migration north through Australia's eastern waters off Port Macquarie.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society left Melbourne last week on it's fourth mission to save the endangered humbacks from pirate whalers.

The $500,000 trip is called Operation Migaloo.

Founder and president of Sea Shepherd, Captain Paul Watson said the goal was to "enforce international conservation law and prevent the illegal slaughter of endangered species by an outlaw whaling fleet."

The Sea Shepherd ship, named the Steve Irwin,with 41 people from 12 countries aboard, intercepts, intimidates and harrasses illegal whalers to prevent them meeting their whale quota.

In 2005-06, the Sea Shepherd ensured the Japanese went home 83 whales short of their quota; the next year the whalers were 500 short.

"I did not establish the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society as a protest organisation," Captain Watson said.

"I have not gone to sea over all these years to simply bear witness to the atrocities that whalers continue to inflict upon the most gentle and intelligent beings in the seas.

"We are sea cops operating legally under the guidelines of the United Nation's World Charter for Nature, which allows for the enforcement of international conservation law by non-governmental organisations in international jurisdictions."

To find out more about the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society log onto www.seashepherd.org

clare.h ayes@ruralpress.com