The Steve Irwin departs Bluff, New Zealand for the Southern Ocean whale sactuary, photo: Deborah Bassett
Earlier last week I met up with Captain Paul Watson and the Sea Shepherd crew at the bottom of New Zealand's South Island as their flagship vessel, The Steve Irwin, embarked on it's annual mission to the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary to defend the great leviathans of the deep against the blatantly illegal annual hunting spree by the Japanese government. Perhaps there is no translation in the Japanese language or maybe they just missed the memo, but a "sanctuary" as defined by Noah Webster is understood by the rest of the world as: (1) a place of refuge and protection (2) a refuge for wildlife where predators are controlled and hunting is illegal.
Yet, year after year the Japanese whalers (read: predators), endorsed by the government of Japan and the International Whaling Commission, travel to this remote and pristine area of the world armed with explosive tipped harpoons in an effort to annihilate up to 1,000 of the world's largest and most gentle marine mammals under the false guise of scientific research in a transparent and insulting mockery of human intelligence, sheer disregard for international law and complete disrespect for non-human life.
No one knows the saga more than Captain Paul Watson. As the youngest founding member of Greenpeace, Watson went on to form The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society back in 1977 in order to pursue more direct action and consequently more controversial approaches to conservation issues. He has since become an open critic of Greenpeace's armchair anti-whaling campaign which he points out is based primarily in wasteful mass fundraising appeals and non effective efforts such a the creation of a silly interactive "save the whales" video game and sending cutesy origami whales to the White House. Meanwhile, he and his crew will once again be the only organization braving the treacherous Southern Oceans this holiday season.
Just hours before his departure to endure some of the fiercest conditions in the world in yet another high stakes campaign, "Operation No Compromise", the veteran mariner maintained his usual cool, calm and collective demeanor -- of course not surprising for a man who has taken on numerous governments and navies on the high seas throughout the years including: Russia, Norway, Iceland, Canada and countless pirate poachers across every ocean to protect threatened species and habitats. For Watson, it's simple: If the oceans die, we die. "Everyone wants to save the world by driving a Prius and recycling plastic bags, but no one wants to admit the real problem- there are not enough resources and too many people. The real problem is not global warming, but rather the diminishment of species."
Watson does not intend to let the great whales go unprotected on his watch and his track record has proven to be more successful each year since his first voyage to Antarctica seven years ago.
"Last year we saved 528 whales," stated Watson, "and we are hoping to have a bigger impact this year. Every year we head down stronger and they come back weaker. They are already 200 million in debt and we intend to continue to sink them economically. It really would be great if this would be the last time we had to go down there."
The Steve Irwin received a warm welcome by local mayor and long time Sea Shepherd supporter, Mayor Tim Shadbolt when the vessel pulled into port earlier in the week, proudly flying the New Zealand and Maori flags, in order to pick up a needed part and additional crew member. Shadbolt was on hand once again to send off the courageous sea farers who may spend up to six weeks in Antarctic waters before returning to Australia or New Zealand for more fuel. Three vessels with 88 crew members, representing 22 countries comprise "Neptune's Navy" this holiday season, which for many has become a way of life. According to Head Chef and veteran crew member Laura "Dilly" Dakin, who spends the majority of her days in the ship's galley where she prepares 3 daily meals for the 40 person crew of the Steve Irwin:
"Every year we save the lives of more whales and frankly I don't know why the Japanese even bother to come back when they know that we are stronger than ever. They should really stop embarrassing themselves already. I believe there is a strong possibility of stopping them from getting a single whale this year, which is the ultimate goal. What a great christmas that would be."
The good news for Dakin and ultimately the whales is that this may in fact be the last year that the Japanese factory ship, the Nisshin Maru, otherwise known as the Cetacean Death Star, is in operation due to a ban of "Bunker C" oil by the International Maritime Organization that will take place in 2012. Watson suspects that the whalers will be hard pressed to find another factory ship to meet the new regulations and explained that "this could be their way to get out of whaling and to save face." He warns however that there is also the possibility that, "they could just thumb their noses at this like they do to the regulations on whaling."
With the growing popularity of Watson's number one hit TV series on Animal Planet, Whale Wars, combined with the recent success of this year's Academy-Award-winning film, The Cove, the controversial issue of Japanese whaling has been brought to center stage in the international arena and has put Japan in the hot seat with animal lovers, environmentalists and concerned citizens around the world. According to Watson and recent behind the scenes reports, the very reason why the Japanese where delayed in leaving port this year by almost a month was caused by their own PR faux pas.
"They've been calling us eco-terroists for so long that no one wanted to lease them another supply boat since their previous one was scrapped. They've started to believe their own propaganda and they're afraid of us. That's what happens when you scream out propaganada too loud."
The tireless crew of all volunteers will forfeit their holiday parties this year in order to join the rest of the fleet this week including the MV Bob Barker, named after the popular game show host who donated 5 million to the organization last year to help purchase the new vessel as well as the Gojira, a super hi tech and ultra fast interceptor vessel that replaces the Ady Gil (former Earthrace) which made international headlines last year when it was split down the middle by a collision with one of the Japanese whaling ships.
"There's no surf down here," added Kiwi crew member Howie Cooke and co-founder of Surfers for Cetaceans, "but it's great to be with Sea Shepherd who are making waves on behalf of the whales of the Southern Ocean sanctuary. Surfers for Cetaceans is honored to be in continued support of Captain Paul Watson and The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and we look forward to the end of this barbaric and brutal slaughter of the ocean's great and noble monarchs."
For more photos, please click here.
Follow Deborah Bassett on Twitter: www.twitter.com/debstact
Japan's fisheries agency has admitted a number of officials accepted gifts of stolen whale meat. http://www.newslook.com/videos/279087-japan-admits-whaling-kickbacks?autoplay=true
Why is there an apostrophe here?
What has happened to proofreading and basic understanding of standard usage, grammar and punctuation?
As for the ICR going to the SO to "annihilate up to 1,000 whales", perhaps you should consult a dictionary yourself.
Annihilate: 1. to reduce to utter ruin or nonexistence; destroy utterly
Hunting up to 1,000 whales from a population of at least 500,000 hardly qualifies as annihilation.
However, annihilate does describe what the U.S. did to the North Atlantic Right whales. They were annihilated by American whalers(for oil) and have not recovered. The current population of North Atlantic Right whales is only around 300.
Americans are also killing whales in Alaska to this day. An average of 50 endangered Bowhead whales are killed every year from a population that only numbers around 14,000.
The report issued by the NZ Maritime Authority quotes the Ady Gil helmsman as saying he accelerated immediately before the collision and the SimRad recorder from the Ady Gil confirm that starting about 15 seconds before the collision the Ady Gil almost doubled it's speed. So the Ady Gil pulled infront of the Shonan Maru 2 and had 10 feet sheared off.
Sorry if the facts don't match with your desire.
And as Ragnar said, Paul Watson is in charge of the whole fleet, and as such is responsible for all actions they take.
Interesting topic. I hope one day it'll be a non-issue.
Actually the quota was 915 not 1000. And the Japanese have never, even before the Sea Shepherds started their illegal activities, reached their quota. It is a maximum number the government has told them they CAN take not a target they HAVE TO or WANT TO achieve.
Paul Watson had nothing significant to do with the IWC ban.
I would also wonder if the Sea Shepherds could find some way to disrupt the whalers electronics with an EMP
I am politically incorrect in that I wholeheartedly approve of nontechnological aboriginal whaling, done in open boats with hand thrown harpoons, the way the Inuit do it. But I don't like factory ship whaling. The courage and stamina neccesary to take whales the old way, inspired cultures about the world. Factory ships inspire nobody.
Not only are you politically incorrect, you are also wrong about the hunting method. Current aboriginal hunts use explosive harpoons just like Japan, Norway and Iceland.
It might have escaped people's attention but Japan isn't exactly blessed with a huge amount of farmland. Finding food from the sea has been a necessary part of the Japanese diet for thousands of year and it is also worth pointing out that they did not start the collapse in whale numbers - that was largely down to hunters from the United States and Europe. Many people who will eviscerate Japan think little of the cost of their own food nor of the guilt-free benefits that come from living in a nation blessed with huge natural resources that others lack.
If we're going to have a debate on whaling lets have an honest one. If Japan were a third world nation or otherwise undeveloped I have a feeling that their whale hunting would be excused as a necessary cultural or economic activity. That Japan kills around 1,000 whales a year seems small compared to the damage caused by other forms of food production - the beneficiaries of which will quite happily turn their ire onto someone else. Paul Watson's agenda also seems tinged with an all to common attitude amongst environmental extremists that although there are too many people using too many resources, he is not one of them.
Japan does indeed import a great deal of food. However, whale meat is consumed by only a tiny (and shrinking) fraction of the population while demand for the meat has declined since the 1960s. According to professor Jun Morikawa, author of "Whaling in Japan", whale meat was a substitute meat during Japan's post-war recovery and as soon as families could afford other meats they stopped purchasing whale. The so-called "tradition" of hunting whales was entirely limited to small coastal villages until Juro Oka brought "Norwegian" whaling techniques and technology (and actual Norwegian crew) to Japan in order to dominate the market. Japan most assuredly helped to wipe out whale species with its long history of violating and subverting international conservation efforts.
Today, the whaling industry in Japan is propped up by government subsidies in order to protect politically entrenched bureaucrats (amakudari) who often leave government positions to take high paying jobs in the whaling industry they once oversaw as public officials. There aren't enough whales left in the ocean to replace pork, beef, chicken or fish in Japan and the effort and costs required to kill whales makes the meat a luxury food item. Whales are not necessary for food security or economic prosperity in any of the three nations (Iceland, Norway, Japan) that continue to hunt whales (including endangered species) on an industrial scale.
Last years's shipping debacle did create a huge PR campaign, much of it in favor of Watson. And it becomes a bit difficult to sort out the truth when the captain of the ship begins pointing fingers at his own staff. My rule of thumb is that when one finger points forward, three are pointing back at oneself.
I love whales. They should be allowed to roam and live freely. But from reports from Mr. Watson and the Japanese, the bar is being raised emotionally.
For the first time in Japanese history, firearms and soldiers are being placed on whaling ships. Yes, they may now fear their own propaganda, but I have seen where firearms are placed in a standoff, someone always ends up getting hurt. The sad thing is that it usually ends up that it is one of the lesser people/pawns on the ship who lose.
Creating situations in open seas and placing other's lives at risk is criminal in times of peace. Let's all pray that this will not be the case. Not for a great 'media shot' or 'great video footage'.
Mr. Watson knows what works in hindering the Japanese. Raising his tactics and putting others' lives at risk is not a viable alternative. The challenge is to how to be successful without firing a shot. Or getting someone killed or wounded.
How well can he really play the game?