Sea Shepherd Forces Whalers to Flee

December 29, 2008

The Animal Planet series Whale Wars has been chronicling the efforts of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, whose stated mission "is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world's oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species."

On December 26, the group's ship Steve Irwin pursued the Japanese whaling vessel Kaiko Maru in the Australian Economic Exclusion Zone. While still onboard, Steve Irwin captain Paul Watson said, "I have a chart here and it clearly states that these waters are Australian EEZ. There is an Australian Federal Court Order specifically prohibiting these ships from whaling in these waters. We have informed the whalers they are in contempt of this Court ruling."

Here is footage taken just before the Kaiko Maru rammed into the Steve Irwin, crushing part of its aft port helicopter deck guard rails.

The clear victor of the sea battle, however, was the Steve Irwin, which has been pursuing the Japanese whaling fleet for over a week. Keeping the whalers on the move for 800 miles through heavy fog, dense ice and inclement weather, the Sea Shepherd team has thus far prevented the Japanese from killing any whales in the region.

Below is raw, new footage of the Steve Irwin crew delivering 10 bottles of rotten butter and 15 bottles of methyl cellulose, mixed with indelible dye, onto the Kaiko Maru.

"That is one stinky slippery ship," commented Sea Shepherd 2nd Officer Peter Hammarstedt of Sweden.

In addtion to the clash with the Kaiko Maru, the group also experienced recent encounters with the harpoon vessel Yushin Maru#2 and has been tracking the Nisshin Maru.

"We still have them on the run and we intend to keep them on the run for as long as our fuel resources allow," said Captain Watson.

He and his team report that last year, such pursuits saved the lives of close to 500 whales and cost whalers over $70 million in lost profits.

Comments

[Joelle]

Hi Jen,
I have been fascinated by the activities of Sea Shepherd.

I'm concerned that Greenpeace dislikes some tactics of this group. And I was truly bothered when the captain of the Steve Irwin was supposedly shot. For many reasons, including the fact that the Japanese are extremely conservative and cautious using weapons, this is likely false. And it weakens the goal to stop whaling. Let the Japanese whaling fleet show themselves to be cruel without any foolish exaggeration on the Sea Shepherd's part.

I love the concern for whales and shame on the Japanese who are clearly and illegally whale hunting while calling it "Research", but the cause must be strictly honest and scientific to protect the reputation of serious environmentalists. Otherwise, how can we teach the world about the terrible activities of whale killing?

I find PETA's message to be equally suspicious at times. A while back protesters in front of our slaughter house had a sign: "Animals are not meat." Not only is this untrue, it creates distrust by the many local ranchers (not to mention meat-eaters). We need them on the side of animals if we want humane husbandry.

[Jennifer Viegas]

Hi Joelle,

Thank you for your message. Always good food for thought.

Re. the Sea Shepherd shooting, I believe the Australian Embassy did receive confirmation from the Japanese fleet that someone on board one of their ships did fire "warning shots." I think the main argument isn't whether or not Watson was shot, but if it was intentional. He and his crew say an expert marksman must've taken a shot at him, but the other side would probably argue it was a stray bullet.

And happy New Year to you and your family!
Jen

[ted]

The disengenous nature of the Japanese justification for killing whales is only exceeded by the health disaster that comes from eating whale and dolphin meat that is loaded in mercury.
Recently, during the infamous dolphin slaughter that occurs in Japan, dolphin meat puchased in retail stores was tested for mercury and found to contain up to 14times the allowable limit that is safe for human consumption. This whale and dolphin meat ends up in school lunch programs and restaurants and stores. The Japanese government has no comment.

Further, the dolphins are hauled away, often still alive for buthering after being herded into a bay with explosives and then shot with spear guns.

It is a disgusting and barbaric practice and the excuse of "tradition" is as intellectually dishonest as the claim that this is all being done "for scientific research".

Stop this un-necessary practice of killing whales. It isn't safe to eat more than 12 ounces of marine fish per week, there is no excuse for killing whales that are even less safe to eat.

[Jennifer Viegas]

Extremely well said, Ted. I've read recent reports that support the information in your post. Thank you for contributing to the discussion here.

[kurt]

Keep up the good work that you all are doing to protect whales and dolphins that can't get away from the Jap's and Chinese whaling boats. They should learn how to eat other kinds of foods so the whales and dolphins don't have to die because the Jap's want to make alot of $$ from one kill. Just think about all the other whaling boats out there killing whales and dolphins to make alot of money. The Jap's could care a less about the future of the oceans and all that depend on them. They should stop the amount of tuna they kill each and every day to make alot more $$ from all the tuna they kill,so the Jap's can have suishi. What a waste of good fish just tio make a buck or should I say thousands of bucks from just one whale or 1 tuna. They should live by what the courts say they can't hunt in those waters. Oh well they wont learn because of all the $$ they can make. I hope things can change for the better of all man kind. Later gator.

[Marco Filipini]

"Here is footage taken just before the Kaiko Maru rammed into the Steve Irwin, crushing part of its aft port helicopter deck guard rails."

As far as I can see, it is not the Japanese vessel but the SSCS ship who is ramming the other one here. Besides, how could the Kaiko Maru damage the Steve Irwin's helicopter deck (located at the back of the ONG's ship) when the collision was between the Steve Irwin's bow and the Kaiko Maru's rear?

Those waters are not part of Australian EEZ. The Antarctic Treaty freezes any claim over the Antarctic continent and the seas surrounding it. Thus, Australia has no right over those waters and Japan doesn't recognize Australia's claims. The Australian Court ruling is therefore void there.
By the way, the Kaiko Maru is not a whaling ship. It's a dedicated sighting ship. It's not equipped with a harpoon gun and can't hunt whales.

Butyric acid is not really rotten butter, is it? It is a toxic and dangerous chemical. Strangely, the Steve Irwin crew was calling this "butyric acid" last year (as one can verify by watching Animal PLanet's "Whale Wars"). Wouldn't it be funny that vegans use rancid butter rather than rancid margarine?

Watson's declarations are so full of lies that his contradictions are obvious.

[E J]

Yup, the usual western imperialists try to force their ideas onto other countries again. Maybe if the US signs and adheres to the Kyoto treaty or if Australia stopped killing kangaroos they would have more influence against Japan.

The actions of the Steve Irwin and the Sea Shepherd Society is taking the reverse impact in Japan. It is causing more people to support whaling even though they are not fans of whale meat and there are more people trying whale meat at the sushi bars and restaurants around Japan.

[Lynn]

To those individuals who find the Japanese Traditional Whaling Policy revolting, I would like to propose a simple solution. STOP PURCHASING ALL JAPANESE PRODUCTS. I no longer purchase Japanese Products. You can not change their behavior with threats or laws, but take away their wealth. Hurt the entire country financially. Push the entire Country into a deeper Recession, or better yet a full blown Depression. They may never stop whaling but you can take a great deal of satisfaction in the fact that Toyota posted its first loss ever. STOP THE PURCHASE OF JAPANESE PRODUCTS UNTIL THEY STOP WHALING. The world is in a recession. No company nor country can afford a collective boycott of their products during these dire economic times. Use your purchage power wisely, every individual can have an effect.

[Bill]

I concur with Kurt that the Australian EEZ does not incorporate the area that they have designated as a whale sanctuary. The Antarctic Treaty grants Australia protectorate control over the waters (not economic), but only a few countries officially recognize the treaty (Japan is not one of them). This is why Australia has not sent warships into those waters to chase off the Japanese.

If Japan is exploiting a loophole in the IWC's regulations, then why not close the loophole? If you close the loophole, then Japan (as a member of the IWC) will have the choice of adhering to the rules or officially violating the ban. Although diplomacy and talks are not as seductive and exciting as high-seas adventure and quasi-piracy, it has been proven time and time again that changing the way someone thinks is the method that provides long-term results.

"Right through Might" is they way children resolve differences; take the higher path and negotiate Japan's recognition of the Antarctic Treaty or simply close the IWC loophole and the troubles will be resolved.

[Bpaul]

I fully support what Sea Shepherd is doing. It's unfortunate that they aren't perfect, saints, and paragons of human ethics and conduct -- but I simply don't care. Those whales are alive, and wouldn't be if it weren't for their presence.

When folks accuse activists for not being perfectly ethical, I always cringe. No one is perfect, no organization is perfect. What I'm interested in is what is the overall, over-arching effect of their presence? That's the question I'm interested in. This year, approximately 500 more whales in the world that weren't illegally killed. That's dandy by me.

As for the argument against direct action proposed by Lynn -- I say keep Sea Shepherd out there doing their thing AND close the loophole.

The way polluters and poachers work is they clog up resistance to their actions (even if illegal) long enough to commit more crime while the courts and diplomats are bogged down with procedure. meanwhile, irreplaceable natural resources are lost forever.

A perfect example is a prime stand of Oregon old-growth forest was cut down on a holiday when the court hadn't yet put a stop on the sale. Those trees are gone forever, because people depended on procedure and protocol.

I think all avenues need to be pursued, not just diplomacy and education. Whale populations get low enough while we wait on this cultural shift to occur, and they'll enter the extinction vortex and be gone forever, we can't afford that.

Bp

[Bpaul]

Addendum/ps: If you aren't in support of "might makes right" then why aren't you criticizing the Japanese whaling fleet. That's the ultimate example of might makes right -- "we are human, we have this technology, we will kill regardless of the law or of the ramifications of all future generations."

Honestly, I think that's a much more severe example of might makes right than Sea Shepherd.

Bp

[Bpaul]

Please excuse all the typos and grammatical mistakes, I had a rev on.

[Jennifer Viegas]

I read your post with interest, Bpaul. Many thoughtful comments here. No need to apologize at all. I thought your post was honest and well-expressed. Thanks for taking the time to write.

[John]

I have no respect for a man who would send four, untrained women in a zodiak to baord a japanese whaling ship under HISders, knowing full well that they would face piracy charges and a long, confined trip back to japan. Watch the show.
Paul Watson,the so called "Captain" knowingly and willingly puts a crew of AMATURES in constant peril. Any man who would drop an untrained group of people in to the ANTARCTIC sea and then let them drive off into the fog without establishing communication should have his hat taken away.
Of course that was after the episode where he cowardly refused to order, then GENTLY PERSUADED three people on his boat to BOARD A JAPANESE VESSEL AT NIGHT AND SABOTAGE THEIR RADAR AND COMMUNICATIONS!!! watch the show, it's true! The man would be a criminal and a pirate,if any of his equipment worked!haha
Also watch the episode where everyone is all gung ho about saving the whales "This is the most important thing I've ever done." until the captain cuts off the crew and runs a dry boat after a party goes wild. Then all the "activists" decide that they have had enough whale love and leave. what a joke.
Paul watson is a selfimportant little man who is desperately trying to carve a reputaion out of a whale hide. Maybe he doesn't eat them, but he needs them more than the japanese.

P.S. The "bullet" was a piece of shrapnell from the stun grenade. If you got shot in the badge on a moving boat, FROM a moving boat, dont bother buying a lottery ticket, cause you aint gettin any luckier!

[Jennifer Viegas]

"Maybe he doesn't eat them, but he needs them more than the japanese."

Interesting food for thought, John. You state your position well. Zinger of a last line.

[Jared]

Whaling is such an unnecessary and unproductive method of food production, its also shortsighted, brutal and destructive. I'd argue we don't know enough about whales and dolphins, or the oceanic ecosystem as a whole to be using our modern technology to hunt essentially harmless and rare creatures. In its heyday with wooden ships and hand-thrown lances we managed to bring about the extinction of many species.
The ridiculous claim of whale research is just a jab in the eye. When I'm doing research, I too find the best thing to do is to kill that which I want to study, remove it from its natural habitat, chop it into tiny pieces and eat it. It teaches us loads about them.
In reply to marco filipini's comment, that it is only our..what was it, imperialist west something something? I'll agree the US not signing the Kyoto treaty weakens its position as a moral authority, but to argue that Australians should stop killing roos is like saying New yorkers should stop killing cockroaches. Reds are dangerous, smelly beasts that travel in packs, reproduce like rabbits and are in no no NO way a threat for extinction. The similarity between killing kangaroos and killing whales is nonexistant.
Just cause warner brothers draws a cute mousey looking kangaroo does not make them cuddly. You're thinking of wallabees mate.