Japanese Whalers Battle 'Sea Shepherd' Activists Off Antarctica

SYDNEY — Japanese whalers shot water cannons at anti-whaling activists on Saturday, the conservationist group's founder claimed, hours after the activists tracked down the hunting fleet in the remote and icy seas off Antarctica.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is chasing the fleet in the hopes of interrupting Japan's annual whale hunt, which kills up to 1,000 whales a year. The two sides have clashed violently in the past, including last year, when a Sea Shepherd boat was sunk after its bow was sheared off in a collision with a whaling ship.

On Saturday, Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson was talking to The Associated Press 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," Watson told The AP. "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.

Every year, Japan and Sea Shepherd make claims of aggression against each other, but the accounts are generally impossible to verify. Their skirmishes take place in an extremely remote part of the ocean off Antarctica.

The Japanese are allowed to harvest a quota of whales under a ruling by the International Whaling Commission, as long as the mammals are caught for research and not commercial purposes. Whale meat not used for study is sold for consumption in Japan, which critics say is the real reason for the hunts. Each hunting season runs from about December through February.

Japan's whaling fleet set out for Antarctic waters in December. Sea Shepherd has been searching for them since, and spotted the first whaling vessel on Friday, Watson said. By Saturday, the group had tracked down three of the fleet's ships in an area about 1,700 nautical miles (3,200 kilometers) southeast of New Zealand, he said.

"We got them before they started whaling and now that we're on them, we're hoping to make sure they don't kill any whales for this season," Watson said.

Comments

[Dunkleberger Karl]

02:25 PM on 01/06/2011

And its friday already?

[SMBrown2]

03:25 PM on 01/05/2011

Does anybody know when the new season will start?

[Clay Dunn-Roberts]

05:04 AM on 01/05/2011

Throw stinky butter at them! That will stop the whaling! Geez.

Despite the fact that they are fighting a good cause, they sure are damn annoying about everything they do.

[Alex Zhang]

03:36 PM on 01/04/2011

The Sea Shepherds are fighting for a good cause. Baleen whales are critical to the ocean ecosystem. Minke whales are not the only whales being hunted. Japan continues to hunt sei and fin whales - both of which are listed as endangered. We do enough damage to them already outside of whaling. We need to allow current whale populations to grow to healthier numbers before we start putting our commercial interests before the ecosystem. There is plenty for us to eat as it is. There is simply not enough grounds to justify whaling besides the argument that efforts to stop whaling are not in compliance with preexisting laws. But no one seems to want to talk about the issue of why we should whale in the first place.

As for the means employed by Sea Shepherds: the ends can justify the means. Is this really a bad thing? Why are we so averse to this principle? Some of our best laws are derived from it. Who said that just because the ends CAN justify the means, we can justify any means? It clearly doesn't say "ANY means can be justified depending on the end." Of course this principle can be abused but so has the principle that unjust means CANNOT justify good ends, which has been used to justify the continuation of many injustices. When it comes to laws, justice is the ultimate end. For the sake of promoting justice, no one law can be applied absolutely.

[SMBrown2]

04:21 PM on 01/04/2011

How many fin whales did Japan catch last year? How many are left? Japan's whale hunt is probable the most responsible commercial fishing taking place anywhere right now.

[Alex Zhang]

05:03 PM on 01/04/2011

Why try to justify something when clearly things would be better without it? You seem to have separation anxiety regarding whaling. Almost 750,000 fin whales were taken from the southern hemisphere between 1904-1979. Less than 3,000 remain in that region. There are more bald eagles than there are fin whales. As of 2006, the population of sei whales is down to 54,000, about 1/5th of its pre-whaling size. Just these figures alone should justify the ceasing of whaling activities for these species.

We can sustainably or "responsibly" kill many species of endangered animals if regulated correctly. The reason why we don't do it is because we can't find any reason to begin. The issue of sustainability or responsibility is not important because many things can be done sustainably. What's important is the question of what we get from doing it. For advanced nations, whale meat - not to mention, endangered whale meat - is just simply not important to life. We need to draw the line somewhere.

The question of there being a way to sustainably do something seems to automatically suggest that we ought to continue doing it, IF we are already doing it. Just because we are already whaling, the question automatically shifts to why we can't whale. This makes no logical sense. Mindsets like these betray an underlying paralysis in face of the world's current problems. We could be diverting the resources spent on whaling towards much more productive ventures.

[Almondo]

06:38 PM on 01/04/2011

whine

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

01:17 PM on 01/04/2011

Watson afraid of a little water?

[Debbie338]

03:45 PM on 01/04/2011

By your name and your comment, I'm assuming you're either a whaler or married to one.

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

07:15 PM on 01/04/2011

No, I club baby seals with the inuit.

[SMBrown2]

04:07 PM on 01/04/2011

It's true he doesn't get out of that cabin much. Except when he's shooting flares at the Japanese.

[Almondo]

06:38 PM on 01/04/2011

whine

[Chauncey Love]

11:20 AM on 01/04/2011

Sea Shepherd activists do what none of the handful of comment trollers here do: go out in the world and do something.

[SMBrown2]

04:08 PM on 01/04/2011

And make great TV!

[Almondo]

06:38 PM on 01/04/2011

whine

[Chauncey Love]

07:26 PM on 01/04/2011

Hurling rancid butter at Japanese sailors? How could it not amuse? Even if there was no activism that's a great show.

[SEQUOIABISON]

09:34 AM on 01/04/2011

Whales have a larger brain than humans.

Is there really any good reason to kill these beautiful creatures?

Has the world gone insane?

Destroying these magnificent peaceful Cetaceans to satisfy the gluttonous appetite of a mindless consumer is a senseless tragedy beyond comprehension.

[SMBrown2]

01:26 PM on 01/04/2011

Have you ever tasted whale? Maybe it's delicious. That would be a good reason.

[westreal]

01:42 PM on 01/04/2011

I've never tasted humans either. But if they tasted good it wouldn't be a good reason to start ki!!ing off folks for the market.

[Debbie338]

03:41 PM on 01/04/2011

Yeah, I'm sure deliciousness is a really good reason to make a species extinct. That was well thought-out. Do you vote?

[ddpalmerr]

10:26 AM on 01/09/2011

And whales are larger than humans, so it is no surprise that their brains are larger. But brain size is not an indication of intelligence.

[Ted Bouklos]

03:00 PM on 01/03/2011

In the year 2354 the IHC (Intergalactic Humaning Commission) set Earth aside as Nature preserve to help the over-hunted indigenous human population come back from the brink of extinction. It seems the Japoonasians of Omicron Persei 6 were breaking hunting limitations for decades. There was an interplanetary rights group that insisted that humans were intelligent and that they shouldn't be hunted for food. But the Humaners pointed to the fact that we still burn fossil fuels for energy and that we still need communicated with bleats and grunts and moans as proof that we were nothing more than primitive animals. They are still allowed to hunt 100,000 humans per season for further "research" and all the meat not used for scientific purposes is still sold as a delicacy.

[SMBrown2]

03:07 PM on 01/03/2011

Fanned for the best post ever. Reminding me of Billy Madison.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAOxY_nHdew

[Ted Bouklos]

03:19 PM on 01/03/2011

i guess satire is a little much for your intellect. i bet you don't get Douglas Adams either. i see you're a pilot, next time you go up you should do an impression of John Denver. Or JFK jr.

[Almondo]

06:38 PM on 01/04/2011

whine

[romika3]

01:41 PM on 01/03/2011

Our issue is with Watson’s and other organizations methods. Basically the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is NOT a conservation organization. They have no programs, they lie and distort data, the use terror and terrorist tactics to achieve their goals, they promote terror has a tool for change, they claim to deal with poachers yet they attack legal fisheries, on day Watson is one thing the next day he is another, Watson and the SSCS are not supported by the UN, they have NOT been given a mandate by anybody, any government or any NGO to do what they do, they are selective in what they target basing the decision on the money making and media potential, they are linked with and support organizations that promote cultural hate. Worst of all Watson is a bad actor dressing up in a Captain Kangaroo suit running around pretending to be Clint Eastwood being shot and saved by a piece of plate steel hung around his next with a shoelace, acting like he is a vegetarian yet consuming a herd of cattle annually, dancing with the stars to prey on their need to have their ego stroked and at the same time running off with bags of their money. SSCS is an embarrassment to conservation and the conservation movement plain and simple and nothing will change that.

[kurgen99]

02:04 PM on 01/03/2011

Who are you, and who, exactly are you speaking for?
Are you a Japanese whaler?
Do you presume to speak for ALL of Japan?

[AnimuX]

02:36 PM on 01/03/2011

romika is an admitted seal skull basher from Canada who has been the subject of Sea Shepherd protest. That is why he so adamantly demonizes the activists.

[earlwiseman]

02:45 PM on 01/03/2011

romika3 is one of the few who understand the reality of the activities of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Just who's laws are they enforcing and with who's authority? Watson can make all kinds of claims to justify his organizations actions but he has no legal authority. His organizations actions to sabotage vessels on the high seas are the real infringements of international law.

I am not an apologist for Japan or the whaling industry but I do know something about the Law of the Sea and multilateral conservation organizations. We may not like the loopholes in International Conventions but they are there and have been used by countries in the IWC and other organizations. Some of these are now hypocrits when they condem Japan for its similar use.

Just because the organization claims to be nobler than the rest of the population and knows what is right for the world does it make its actions legal and justifiable?

We supposedly live in society of laws. There are processes to deal with disagreements. While the Japanese may have been shamed by the attention brought on it by public negative reation it will not lose face and surrender to what it regards as pirates. It may, however, agree to changes if the heat was reduced and the Sea Sheperd disappeared. If science, rational conservation objectives and international law could replace myths and emotion perhaps a solution could be found.

[Chauncey Love]

11:15 AM on 01/04/2011

Parachute accounts are fun!

[ejreed]

12:53 PM on 01/03/2011

Whaling Protesters Clash with Japanese Crew
A clash between the Sea Shepherd fleet and Japanese whalers in Antarctic waters has again sparked criticism over safety issues. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society was made famous in the television show "Whale Wars." http://www.newslook.com/videos/279729-whaling-protesters-clash-with-japanese-crew?autoplay=true

[poomplet]

12:02 PM on 01/03/2011

Ignoring the fundamental battle for a minute...how on earth is this 'news'??

Sea Shepherd boats & ships of all sizes have been getting blasted by water cannons for the better part of 6 years, so why does this merit any attention?

The WikiLinks thing? NEWS! The ramming of the BatBoat last year & the subsequent boarding/jailing of it's captain? NEWS!!

Sea Shepherds tossing stink bombs & Japanese returning fire w/water cannons?

NOT NEWS!!!

[TYRANNASAURUS]

11:24 AM on 01/03/2011

They need to get a submarine and torpedo those damn whaling ships.

[Inkosi]

12:05 PM on 01/03/2011

A little drastic by a good thought - F&F

[SMBrown2]

01:33 PM on 01/03/2011

If the Sea Shepherds had a torpedo, they'd sink themselves before they got out of the harbor. Have you even seen the show?

[DL3]

07:35 AM on 01/03/2011

The Sea Shepard is going to get someone seriously hurt. Smelly hippies.

[Charles Elk]

08:54 AM on 01/03/2011

I can't wait for the day.

[SMBrown2]

01:34 PM on 01/03/2011

Don't say that. Don't sink to the level of the hippies that post on this thread.

[kurgen99]

02:06 PM on 01/03/2011

Hippies talk and do nothing. These guys back their talk with direct ACTION. There is a huge difference.

[DL3]

03:29 PM on 01/03/2011

These people are really doing nothing to stop the killing of whales. Most of the time they are cruising around looking for the processing ship. When they find it, all they do is
throw chemicals on board the ship to harm HUMAN BEINGS. Anyone that can justify
putting a human's life in jeopardy to save a whale's is a hippy in my eyes.

[b525]

05:58 AM on 01/03/2011

The Japanese are also involved in slaughtering dolphins, below is a link showing videos which document dolphin slaughtering in Taji, Japan. There are also several other links, one involving the skinning of Racoon Dogs in China....can anyone reply that this is humane or just "cultural tradition"?

If you can watch the first video showing the live skinning of Racoon Dogs in China and say that this is OK, then you deserve whatever is coming to you.

http://www.undercovertv.org/vp_fur-farm.php

http://undercovertv.org/vp_dolphins.php

http://undercovertv.org/vp_primates.php

http://undercovertv.org/vp_egg-farm.php

Below is a full length movie called "Earthlings" involving the cruelty of animals by us. Go to the "Eartlings website or the American Humane Society website and type in Animal Cruelty.

http://veg-tv.info/Earthlings

Here's a link to the ASPCA with numerous animal/farm animal cruelty video documentation. (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals).

http://www.aspca.org/fight-animal-cruelty/farm-animal-cruelty/

These videos are shocking, cruel and horrifying but reveal truth.....and truth leads to change in the right hands.

If you choose to not eat meat after watching these videos there are alternatives to factory farmed animals/meat called free range/organic meat, which comes from animals raised in a free range/organic HUMANE fashion.

This type of food and meat can be bought at local food co-ops, farmer's markets and participating grocery chains. Check labels.

[Hypocrites are Watching]

09:28 AM on 01/03/2011

horrific

[ddpalmerr]

12:24 PM on 01/03/2011

b525 is also involved in posting the same thing over and over and over. And not only that but it has nothing to do with whaling or the article.

[czs5056]

05:17 AM on 01/03/2011

they are not going to accomplish anything with their current tactics. What their tactics are going to accomplish is them feeling good about themselves, get people to give them money so they can feel good, and get their 15 minutes (though now it is about 23 minutes) of fame. If they REALLY want to stop whaling then they should try to get the UN to assign them property rights over the whales so they can decide the whale's fate. And if Japan violates their property rights then they can sue Japan in a court of law.

[SMBrown2]

06:11 AM on 01/03/2011

Wild animals don't become property until they are caught.

[czs5056]

07:52 AM on 01/03/2011

http://www.mycanadawest.com/private_property_and_property_ri.htm second to last paragraph. in summery Zimbabwe the elephant population grew over a 10 year period after property rights were given to the local landowners over the elephants whereas Kenya did not and only made elephant hunting illegal and saw elephant population decline in the same 10 year period. So yea, property rights can be assigned over wild animals (like the economic exclusive zones in sea borders

[Almondo]

06:29 AM on 01/03/2011

They obstructed somewhere between 50% and 80% of the quota last year.

The tactic works and works well.

[ddpalmerr]

07:36 AM on 01/03/2011

No they claim to have obstructed between 50% and 80%. They obviously have an effect but trying to claim complete credit is a lie along with using a fake number for the quota in the first place.

Whale Quotas and Sea Shepherd

http://www.southernfriedscience.com/?p=6156

"What these data together tell us is that whale catches are moderated neither by the quotas set (up to a point) nor the presence of direct action protest groups, but more likely by the distribution and abundance of the whales being hunted. Which begs the question: If direct action is ineffective in achieving it’s goals, and may in fact promote the continuation of the very systems they’re trying to dismantle, why should we continue to support them? And, more importantly, why shouldn’t we make the public aware that these media savvy organizations aren’t getting the job done? Results matter."

[czs5056]

07:53 AM on 01/03/2011

do you have proof of this?