A Hollywood actress and a video game are the latest weapons in the arsenal of anti-whaling group the Sea Shepherd.

Daryl Hannah, star of the 1980s films Blade Runner and Splash, will be aboard the Sea Shepherd's flagship vessel, the Steve Irwin, when it departs for Antarctica next month.

"Daryl is joining our group," Sea Shepherd captain Paul Watson said.

"She'll be on board - she's joining us at the end of the month."

A video game based on the Sea Shepherd's battle with Japanese whalers is also being developed.

This follows a successful new television series dubbed Whale Wars on Animal Planet which documents the lengths Sea Shepherd volunteers go to intercept Japanese whaling boats in the Southern Ocean.

Captain Watson, who arrived in Brisbane on Thursday to prepare for the voyage, said Hollywood and video games all helped keep the campaign in the spotlight.

But he said it was what volunteers did in icy waters that saved the lives of thousands of humpback, minke and fin whales.

"This is the fourth year [of the Southern Ocean campaign]," Captain Watson said.

"That is three years of lost profits [for Japanese whalers]. How much longer can they keep this up?

"This is really the key to stopping them - to keep making them lose profits.

"I think the economics is the only way to approach it. They have got to lose money every year."

The Steve Irwin will leave Brisbane on December 1 for the Japanese whaling season. Campaigners expect to come up against eight Japanese ships - six harpoon vessels, one supply ship and a factory ship.

Captain Watson said intercepting the Japanese fleet and "keeping them on the run" helped reduce their kills.

AAP