Sea Shepherd Declares Victory: Activists' 'Sabotage' Blamed For Japan Whaling Season Falling Short

Anti-whaling activists Sea Shepherd Conservation Society declared victory this week as Japan's whaling fleet left the Antarctic with less than a third of its expected catch.

Japan's Fisheries Agency announced Friday from Tokyo that its fleet was heading home "on schedule," but that its catch of 267 whales fell far short of the approximately 900 projected, AFP reports. According to an agency official, "factors including weather conditions and sabotage acts by activists" were to blame for the weak results.

After pursuing the whalers for much of the season, Sea Shepherd announced its mission a success on its website Thursday.

"Is it a victory? Yes. We kept them running almost for the whole three months," Captain Paul Watson told Australia's ABC News24.

From CNN:

News of the Japanese whaling fleet's withdrawal comes four days after the Institute of Cetacean Research, which oversees the Japanese whaling program, reported a confrontation between the Japanese ships and Sea Shepherd's ship Bob Barker.

The activists claimed to have used laser beams and flares to disrupt the whaling ship Nisshin Maru, The Associated Press reports.

The conservationist group lost one of their boats, the Brigitte Bardot, after suffering severe damage from a giant wave in December. "It's not going to stop our attempt," Watson told AP at the time.

The controversial group has come under legal fire recently. In February, Japanese whalers asked a U.S. judge to freeze Sea Shepherd's bank accounts, accusing the group of financing terrorism. Earlier this week, the Maltese government initiated libel proceedings against Watson after he accused government officials of accepting bribes from tuna fisherman.

Watson seems untroubled by the criticism:

"It has been a successful campaign. There are hundreds of whales swimming free in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary that would now be dead if we had not been down there for the last three months. That makes us very happy indeed."

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Comments

[FreedomLady10]

11:57 PM on 04/23/2012

I know this is an "old" story, but one worth the attention nonetheless. I, for one, think the slaughter of animals(of all kind) for the sake of potency and "health" matters is disgraceful. Japan and all countries that condone these actions is dishonorable and should be held in contempt.

[Thinkmorenow]

11:50 PM on 03/27/2012

Oh yes and lets make sure we boycott everything Japanese. $ is all anyone cares about anymore.

[JohnMayer]

03:50 AM on 03/13/2012

Sea Shepherd is, plainly, making no attempt to “terrorize” the Japanese whaling fleet and the fleet is showing no sign of great fear toward the Sea Shepherd ships. Sea Shepherd is simply trying—successfully—by Fabianism, not terrorism, to thwart Japan’s killing of highly intelligent creatures, creatures which surely DO feel real terror.

[DrugSniffingCat]

02:59 PM on 03/12/2012

Don't forget about Taiji!

[so to speak]

01:00 PM on 03/12/2012

so the Japanese gov/fisheries were going for 900 whales originally? Even indigenous hunting doesn't go that far.

[mudshark12]

12:52 AM on 03/12/2012

2012 is a good year, for the Whales at least.

[Bettaman]

07:54 PM on 03/11/2012

Great!!

[OzzieTonto]

07:35 PM on 03/11/2012

The Japanese are the pirates here, breaking the law killing whales not for research, as is their lying claim, but for sale. The Japanese have no right to claim 'cultural' licence to come to MY country's territorial waters and take our whales, which form an important tourist attraction on both east coast, west coast and in South Australian waters, where they give birth. Let them take their own whales in Japanese waters (oops, I forgot: they've commercially fished those waters out, and now want to deplete stocks all over the world!) Their own population is not even interested in whale meat - they have to give away whale meat to schools, where it is unpopular. The Japanese ships fire harpoons, stun bombs, high-pressure water cannon at Sea Shepherd inflatables, and have hit the crews, injuring them. In 2008 they rammed a Sea Shepherd boat, cutting it in two and pitching six crew into icy seas. Miraculously no-one died. Whales are an ancient, intelligent species, whose song is famously thrilling. Many of their species are endangered. Australia, where this killing has gone on, banned whaling in the 60s, but the Australian government is typically, too gutless to stop the Japanese. Japan's whaling industry IS A RACKET. Sea Shepherd is a heroic organisation. They may not be perfect, but they are not terrorists. I take my hat off to them.

[Xoubuo]

02:20 PM on 03/12/2012

Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, She Sheppard is classified as a Pirate and as such any country can at any time arrest and detain them. Any Naval or Coast Guard vessel acting on law enforcement orders can arrest and detain She Sheppard under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Japan if they wanted to, can send a Coast Guard vessel or a Naval vessel to Arrest and Detain She Sheppard at anytime, under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and have every right to do so. Even Australia or New Zealand can Arrest and detain She Sheppard for Maritime piracy if they choose to under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

[Thinkmorenow]

11:43 PM on 03/27/2012

Sorry but you are wrong. No acts of piracy are committed by the Sea Shepard Society, but the Japanese fleet rammed and destroyed a Sea Shepard vessel last year and could easily have killed the crew. That is piracy. They need to be held accountable.

[Will Hunting]

07:27 PM on 03/11/2012

In Article 101 of the UN's Law of the Sea, it states that piracy is the "illegal acts of violence or detention, or any act of depredation, committed for private ends by the crew or the passengers of a private ship or a private aircraft...against another [vessel]" on the high seas out of a state's jurisdiction. Did SeaShepard commit any acts of violence? Did they prevent Nisshin Mahru's harvest of whales and does that constitute an act of robbery? Maybe. It's definitely a judicial opinion that needs to be honored internationally (a UNEP investigation is needed). Did Nisshin Mahru harvest any endangered whales? According to the IWPO (International Whale Protection Organization), minke whales (Antarctic) and northwestern Pacific Bryde's whales don't have sufficient data to state they are endangered. Those were the whales that I believe Japan is doing research on or harvesting under the research legal loophole.

[OzzieTonto]

07:49 PM on 03/11/2012

I note the term 'committed for private ends' in your definition. Surely Sea Shepherd's acts cannot be described as for private ends? That said, there's no doubt their actions are risky, as is the very act of sailing in the southern Ocean. Paul Watson's own estimate of their victory (ABC-TV Australia) is that between 30 and 50 percent of the quota was caught - a victory for SSCS. The whales protected in the Southern Ocean Sanctuary are sperm and baleen whales, which had reached low numbers by 1982 such that they were endangered. Now their resurgent numbers support a large whale-watching tourist industry but they are not immune to the Japanese predation, which is why Japan has no right to take them for sale. Sea Shepherd is the only outfit fighting this piracy. Cheers.

[Xoubuo]

02:09 PM on 03/12/2012

Surely She Sheppard constantly violates the UN's Law of the Sea rules and they are classified as maritime pirates under the UN's Law of the Sea. So basically any naval and Coast Guard vessel around the world has the right to arrest and detain them for piracy under the Articles within the UN law of the Seas act. So basically, if Japan wanted to under the UN Law of the Seas rule, they can go after She sheppard for Piracy and have Japanese Navy and Japanese Coast Guard can go after them under UN law

[romika3]

06:33 PM on 03/11/2012

Watson is a myth maker. What you've seen is a TV show. Saving a few whales a year means nothing and his antics has brought no change in policy. If you study the history of this organization and Watson you will learn that he and his organization has never gone beyond exploiting opportunity, physical attacks, exclusion of primary stakeholders from the issue, lies and distortion of data etc. You know nothing about this organization until you have been on the receiving end of their terror tactics.

[Will Hunting]

07:31 PM on 03/11/2012

If you were on the receiving end of their attacks, which organization/company did you represent? Are you still in the said victimized organization?

[romika3]

11:25 AM on 03/12/2012

Ask the fishermen of eastern Canada participating in a legal, manged and sustainable seal harvest about the "myths", the hate phone calls, the threats to life and property, the "hate" web pages and social media posts, being spit on, the taunting, the 40 organizations that depend on the seal harvest for part of their funding and the uncountable donate buttons.... and use they continue has we speak...

[Thinkmorenow]

11:47 PM on 03/27/2012

You obviously know nothing of the beauty and intelligence of these sentient creatures. Whales have families, they talkmto each other, they play, they sing and they have intelligence. If we find life on another planet would you be happy killing it off too? Ignorance is bliss I guess.

[Lindsgrace33]

05:25 PM on 03/11/2012

Bravo Sea Shepherd!!! Thank you for doing what most people fear to do - take action!

[CountingCoup]

01:17 PM on 03/11/2012

Awesome job Sea Shepherd crew!!!

[MagsBennett]

12:24 PM on 03/11/2012

Way to go sea shepherds! they are aggressive but they are the only ones making any difference whatsoever. The Japanese will stop whaling when it becomes too expensive to continue.
the only way to stop it is to keep them running and not catching whales for "research".

[FTracy3]

12:16 PM on 03/11/2012

"Anti-Whaling Activists Declare Victory."..I thought this was going to more on the Rush Limbaugh boycott.

[Sheng Paule]

05:10 AM on 03/11/2012

Don't let up the pressure...ever!