derric
The crew on the Sea Shepherd ship “Steve Irwin” engaged in a confrontation with the Japanese factory ship “Nishiin Maru” this morning between 0800 and 1000 Hours.
Pouncing on the Slaughterhouse in the Frozen Southern Mist
Onboard the Steve Irwin
“Who are those guys.”
- Butch Cassidy to the Sundance Kid
The captain of the Fukuyoshi Maru No. 68 had only one job in the Southern Ocean this year. It was a rather easy gig really. Keep chasing Steve Irwin.
All he needs to do was take his big ugly stern trawler down to the coast of Antarctica with some Japanese Coast Guardmen as passengers. No need to set any nets or haul gear – just tool around following any protest ships that happen along.
My crew and I on the Steve Irwin first saw the Fukuyoshi Maru No. 68 on January 15th when they arrived mysteriously in the midst of our stand-off with the Japanese whaler Yushiin Maru No. 2.
From that day on they have followed us everywhere we we have gone like an unwanted shadow. If we moved towards them, they moved away. They tended to keep a distance of 6 nautical miles between themselves and the Steve Irwin.
We knew why they were there. Their job was to keep the Japanese fleet updated in real time on the coordinates of the Steve Irwin.
Sea Shepherd has acquired our very own official Japanese government shadow. We were flattered. This had to be expensive. A large ship like this has to be using 10 to 15 tons of fuel a day plus a large crew to feed and maintain plus the Coast Guard officers and all of it dedicated to little old us.
From January 15th until February 1st the Fukuyoshi Maru No 68 followed our every move. They even followed us to the 200 mile limit off Tasmania and returned to the whaling fleet when we carried on to Melbourne to refuel.
During that time we had some fun with them. One day we dropped off two inflatables and our helicopter behind an iceberg. As the Japanese ship following us reached that point our crew swooped out from behind the ice and ambushed them. The Sea Shepherd crew shot them with cameras and then returned to the Steve Irwin.
When we returned the Fukuyoshi Maru No. 68 was waiting for us. Once again the Japanese fleet were able to prevent our closing in on them as their escort boat kept them posted on our every movement.
For the last seven days the Fukuyoshi Maru No. 68 has been tailing the Steve Irwin for over a thousand miles – east then south then north then west and back to the east again.
Nine ships are down here going in circles with the Steve Irwin chasing a fleet and being chased in turn by the Japanese Coast Guard on the Fukuyoshi Maru No. 2.
We knew that we would never be able to close in on the Japanese fleet with this Japanese spy ship glued to our stern. We had to ditch them. But how? They were much faster than us.
Early this morning we got our chance. The weather was nasty, visibility was zero with dense fog and there were dozens of icebergs all around. We turned and circled an iceberg and then stopped.
We watched the Japanese ship approach on radar. They passed close by and continued onward in pursuit of where they last saw us heading. We have not seen them visually or on radar for the last twelve hours.
And so we set out once again to track down the Japanese whaling fleet hoping the Fukuyoshi Maru No. 68 does not pick up our trail again.
I can imagine the scolding the Captain of the Fukuyoshi Maru No. 68 must have gotten. “What do you mean you lost them? You had one simple job down there and you lost track of them!”
We now have seven more whale safe days under our belt. The Steve Irwin is heading towards the Japanese fleet waiting for them to stop and kill whales. Once they stop we will be on them and the decks of the Nishiin Maru will once again stink with rancid butter as they hustle to get away from us once more.
One thing we have discovered down here is that these “macho” men who kill the defenseless whales are cowards. They are afraid of a confrontation with Sea Shepherd. They run like little school girls every time we approach. For a Yakusa controlled union, these sailor boys are milquetoast little wimps and it is difficult to have any respect for them at all.
They have no problem pulling the trigger to send a blunt nosed explosive harpoon into a whale’s back but they run scared from a boatload of vegetarians. Put these boys in a small open whale boat and a hand-held harpoon and they would pee their pants.
The Captain of the Nishiin Maru has not had a very good last few years. We chased him 3,000 miles along the Japanese coast in 2005/2006. He fell 85 whales short of his quota. Last year during the 2006/2007 season, the Nishiin Maru was chased by Sea Shepherd, hit with our stink bombs and then suffered an accidental fire that cost million of dollars and killed one of his crew. He also fell to only half his quota. The campaign was a financial disaster. This 2007/2008 season will also prove to be a financial disaster. They will not get their quota and may not even reach half their quota again.
And if they return next year we will be here waiting for them, ready to diminish their profits and cause them further embarrassment.
Woody Allen once said that “90% of success is just showing up.”
If we keep showing up, if we keep chasing them, harassing them, blockading them, embarrassing them, and most importantly if we keep costing them profits, we will win this war to save the whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.
The Australian government has informed the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society that they are not prepared to provide any assistance if the Japanese whalers seize any crew from the whale conservation vessel Steve Irwin.
Nicola has run for state and federal parliament (Greens), she has also worked for a senator in the political system for several years. Nicola is a long term peace, social justice and environment advocator.
Jeff has a double degree with honors in Electrical Engineering/Computer Science and a Diploma of education. Jeff also has a mortgage and a high paying professional position.
Jeff’s grandfather was one of 17 from Tasmania. Of those 17 was ordinary seaman Teddy Sheean who currently has a RAN Collins class submarine named in his honor. Jeff is a very proud Australian who can no longer sit around and wait for our governments to act on their false promises while this cherished land fades away. Like his great Uncle Teddy Sheean, Jeff believes in fighting for what is right, and he does this not alone but with the support of thousands of Australians that stand behind him!
February 23rd to February 29th
Report from Captain Paul Watson
Onboard the Steve Irwin
Leap year gave us an extra day this month but despite that it looks like we have made it to the end of February without any whales killed for last six days.
We are chasing the Japanese in circles and there does not seem to be any rhyme or reason as to what the Japanese whalers are doing. What we do know is that they are wasting fuel and not catching any whales.
We had two Humpback whales breach beside the ship today.
The weather is getting colder and we are getting many hours of darkness now. The Antarctic winter is creeping up on us. The seas are getting rougher and we are getting blizzards. The Japanese whalers are running out of time.
Back in Japan the whaling industry is getting desperate. Last month the Institute for Cetacean Research (ICR) dumped 10 tons of unsold whale meat in to a primary school lunch program. The Japanese government is trying to get children to develop a taste for whale flesh and blubber despite the high mercury content in the whale meat..
As the Japanese whaling fleet tries to kill whales in the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary, they have admitted to the Japanese media that they have over 3000 tons of unsold whale meat from last year’s whale hunt.
A total of 200,000 free lunches of whale meat salad marinated in sesame sauce were served on January 21 and 22. Yokohama children have not eaten whale meat as part of school lunches in 26 years.
Manager of health education at the Yokohama City Education Committee, Ms
Atsukjo Ito, who co-ordinated the lunch ptogram, said there were no plans for a second program. She did not say if this was because the children did not like it or not.
According to the Australian newspaper the Telegraph, the leading Liberal Democratic Party Upper House member Yoshimasa Hayashi, who chairs Japan’s International Whaling Commission committee, admitted there was a deliberate attempt to revive the domestic market for the meat. He said he saw no problem with feeding the meat to children as part of a public relations campaign. “We are trying very hard to regain a market for whale eating,” Mr Hayashi said.
In a surprise concession, Mr Hayashi said Japan would seriously consider ending whaling operations in the high seas if they were allowed to extend its coastal whaling program. “There is a chance of an agreement. It will depend largely on US leadership to bridge the differences at the IWC,” he said.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is concerned that the United States has struck a deal with Japan that would end whaling in the Southern Ocean but would legalize coastal whaling near Japan. Although we would welcome an end to whaling in the Southern Ocean we are opposed to killing whales anywhere by anyone for any reason.
However the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is not a protest organization and we will reluctantly support the rulings of the International Whaling Commission if they strike such a deal.
At least it will bring peace to the Southern Ocean and the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary will in fact be a whale sanctuary. At present it is simply a joke to call this a whale sanctuary as Japan slaughters over a thousand whales a year within it’s boundaries.
I believe that Japan is now looking for an excuse to get out of the Southern Oceans. It is becoming a major international embarrassment for them and they are losing more money every year. During the 2005/2006 season we intervened and caused them to fall 85 whales short of their quota. During the 2006/2007 season they did not make half their quota because of Sea Shepherd’s interference and a major accident and fire onboard the Nishiin Maru. Our goal this year is to prevent them from reaching half their goal. We know we have prevented them from taking a major part of their quota this season. I think we will have a major impact on the numbers this year.
We received a message from the Australian government today:
From: Donne, Tony
Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2008 23:36 -0800 Msg: AMOS-116591588
Subject: Message to Captain WATSON on behalf of the Australian Government [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
Dear Captain WATSON
I have been asked to transmit the following message on behalf of the Australian Government.
Following the transfer by the Oceanic Viking of two of your crew members from the Yushin Maru No. 2 to the Steve Irwin on 18 January 2008, you made the public statement that having delivered a letter of protest to the Japanese whaling fleet, you did not see an incident of this kind occurring again.
The Australian Government is concerned that your recent public statements indicate that you may be contemplating another boarding of a Japanese vessel in the Southern Ocean.
Weather and sea conditions in the Southern Ocean, and the very long distances involved, mean that the area is an inherently dangerous one in which to operate. For this reason, the Australian Government has continually called on all parties in the Southern Ocean to exercise restraint.
As the Australian Government has previously outlined, now that the monitoring mission of the Oceanic Viking has been completed, neither protest nor whaling vessels can in any way assume that the Australian Government will be in a position to respond immediately in the event of any serious incident.
You should also understand that it may not be possible for the Australian Government to intervene, in the event of another boarding incident, to facilitate the transfer of people from one vessel to another on the high seas.
Crew members of ships in the Southern Ocean should not attempt to board other vessels. All parties should understand that to do so may well be contrary to the law of the flag state of any such vessel.
For this reason, the Australian Government once again calls on you – as it does all parties – to exercise the utmost restraint in your activities in the Southern Ocean.
The Australian Government strongly discourages activity which could be illegal or unsafe activity which could lead to injury or loss of life at sea.
TONY DONNE
A/DUTY COORDINATOR
INTELLIGENCE
This was my reply:
Dear Mr. Donne,
Thank-you for your message.
We did say to the media at the time that we saw no need to deliver a another message to the Japanese notifying them of the fact that there was an Australian Federal Court ruling that very day prohibiting Japanese whalers from killing whales in Australian territorial waters.
We never said that we would rule out boarding Japanese vessels as a tactic. If the non-violent boarding of an illegal whaler can shut down illegal whaling for days or weeks then we believe this is a valid tactic.
In fact at no time did any representative of the Australian government ever speak to me directly about tactics, plans or issues. I never spoke to a representative of the Australian government or the Federal police to the fact that we would not board a ship again if circumstances required us to.
We regard the Japanese whaling ships as poaching vessels. I believe that Australia has boarded poaching vessels many times in the past and rightfully so. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has been working in the Galapagos in partnership with the Galapagos National Park rangers and we have boarded shark poaching vessels on many occasions. We have also boarded shark poaching vessels in the waters of Cocos Island National Park off Costa Rica and in 2001 we seized the Ecuadorian long-liner San Jose in the Cocos Island National Park Marine Reserve.
The Japanese whaling fleet is presently hunting whales in the Australian Antarctic Territory despite an Australian Federal Court order specifically prohibiting the killing of whales in these specific waters.
Japan is targeting endangered whales (Fins) in violation of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Japan is violating numerous regulations of the International Whaling Commission.
In your message you relayed it was stated “The Australian Government strongly discourages activity which could be illegal or unsafe activity which could lead to injury or loss of life at sea.”
Respectfully this must include illegal whaling and illegal whaling is causing the loss of life at sea – specifically thousands of whales.
What is Australia going to do to protect the lives of the whales presently threatened by illegal Japanese whaling activity?
When the Australian government calls for the exercising of “restraint” I would expect this to include the Federal Australian court order that used that exact same word in calling for the “restraint” of all Japanese whaling operations.
Last month it was the Japanese who requested that the Oceanic Viking remove two of my crew and return them to the Steve Irwin. I made no such request but I was willing to cooperate with both the Japanese Captain and the Captain of the Oceanic Viking to have the men transferred back to my ship.
I do not expect to and I will not request Australia to intervene in the event any of my crew are once again held hostage by the Japanese. I would find it interesting to see how Australia would react to having an Australian citizen seized in the territorial waters of Australia by illegal Japanese whalers and taken against their will to Japan.
The question must then be asked?; Is the line on the nautical charts that indicates the EEZ for Australia 200 miles off the Australian Antarctic coast to be taken seriously? Is this or is this not a legitimate territorial claim? We have been operating under the assumption that these waters do belong to Australia as we have been assuming that an Australian Federal Court order must be worth more than the paper it is printed on. Is this Court Order just a joke to appease Australians who want to see something done about whaling? Is this all just posing and posturing or is Australia serious about ending illegal whaling?
This is my fourth season in these waters. I am well aware of how dangerous and remote this area of the world is. I have never asked nor have I ever expected Australia to come to our rescue in the event of an accident.
The Australian government can expect that the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society will adhere to our long-standing policy of not causing injury to the criminals we oppose. We will however take the required risk to oppose unlawful Japanese whaling operations and we do so within the definition of intervention in the United Nations World Charter for Nature that allows for non-governmental enforcement of international conservation laws and regulations.
I would like to report a crime. The Japanese have eight ships presently inside the Australian Antarctic Territorial waters and these ships are engaged in unlawful activities and they are doing so in blatant contempt of the Australian Federal Court ruling issued January 15th that prohibits the killing of whales in these waters. What is the Australian government going to do about this?
Sincerely
Captain Paul Watson
Master of the Steve Irwin
Founder and President of the
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Report from Captain Paul Watson
Onboard the Steve Irwin
The Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin almost caught up with the Japanese fleet in Vincennes Bay where they were attempting hunt whales. They did not make much progress. We were almost on them when they took off again – this time due North and after a hundred miles they headed East again.
The weather has turned nasty and heavy fog has surrounded us for hours. Mammoth icebergs slip by seen only as large masses on our radar. The spray crashing over the bow and splashing onto the windows of the wheelhouse turns to ice immediately. Winter is coming and that means that the Japanese only have a few weeks left to kill whales and Sea Shepherd crew intends to make those few weeks very difficult for the whalers.
The Fukuyoshi Maru No. 68 with their contingent of Keystone Japanese Coast Guardsmen keep tailing us, and they keep relaying our position to the Japanese preventing us from closing. But it works for us – just so long as they keep moving they are not killing whales.
Today the Fukuyoshi Maru No. 68 came in close behind us in the fog. They were within a half a mile when 1st Officer Peter Brown pulled a “Crazy Ivan” by coming around 180 degrees heading straight for them – bow to bow. The Fukuyoshi Maru No. 68 immediately turned and ran back to from where it was coming from. The Steve Irwin resumed our course and the Fukuyoshi Maru No. 68 stayed behind at a respectful 6.2 nautical miles for the rest of the day.
“I’ve never seen a bigger pack of cowards in my life,” said Shannon Mann 35, from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. “They have eight ships down here and they are running scared from little old us. We must really be scary”
Despite what we can only imagine was a furious effort to locate our transmitters, the signals are coming in and we continue to tail the fleet despite the seas, the weather and the visibility. If technology can track a whale through the ocean it can certainly track a whaling ship.
The Sea Shepherd campaign which began on December 5th 2007 when the Steve Irwin first left Melbourne and is continuing into March 2008 is the longest ever harassment of the Japanese whaling fleet since illegal whaling activities began in the Southern Ocean in 1986.
We’ve had many people participate on the three different ventures down to the Southern Ocean this season and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is grateful for not just the participation of volunteer crew but also for the support of people on land who provided donations of funds, fuel, and labour. There are 33 crew on the Steve Irwin right now but more than fifty have directly participated and hundreds have been hands on supporters. It really has been a team effort.
Spirits are high with the crew. The cooks served vegan tacos with salad for lunch. The Bosun held a knot tying class in the afternoon and the night before there was a showing of Master and Commander with the crew divided into pro and anti-Russell Crowe fans.
One of the crew celebrated his birthday today. Raif Lowe from Melbourne, Australia turned 33.
It looks like we have secured day number five as a no kill day for the whales. The whaling fleet is burning expensive fuel and getting nothing in return. Every whale we see swimming free brings joy to the crew. Our immediate goal is to make it another no kill week down here in the Southern Ocean.
From aboard the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin
The Japanese whaling fleet is on the run again.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship Steve Irwin re-located the Japanese whaling fleet at 0600 hours this morning, February 23, 2008.
A few hours earlier, the Steve Irwin had been side tracked when it chased a vessel that turned out to be a Namibian Toothfish vessel. The Antalles Reefer registered in Walvis Bay was found at 0200 Hours. The vessel refused to give a fishing permit number and threatened the Steve Irwin by reporting that it was armed. The Captain of the Antalles Reefer claimed to speak only Russian. The Steve Irwin has a Russian speaking crewmember and during the conversation the Captain said he would resist with force if there was any interference with his operations.
Captain Paul Watson relayed the information to the Australian Customs vessel Oceanic Viking and reported that a suspicious toothfish fishing vessel was operating inside the Australian Economic Exclusion Zone.
At 0600 Hours, the Steve Irwin encountered the Fukuyoshi Maru No. 68 which immediately headed eastward to lead the Sea Shepherd crew away from the whaling fleet. The Steve Irwin continued west and the Fukuyoshi Maru No. 68 turned and began to pursue the Steve Irwin. It is believed that the Fukuyoshi Maru No 68 carries armed Japanese coast guard officers.
The Steve Irwin is now pursuing the Nisshin Maru and two harpoon vessels with the Fukuyoshi Maru No. 68 in pursuit of the Steve Irwin.
“The great Southern Ocean whaling ship chase is on again,” said Captain Paul Watson. “I don’t think any whales are going to be dying today. Our goal is to keep the harpoons quiet for the next three weeks.”
The weather is good, the seas are calm and the chase is threading its way southwest through an obstacle course of icebergs, growlers, and bergy bits.
The Steve Irwin has plenty of fuel, water and provisions and a crew that is committed to shutting down the illegal whaling operations of the Japanese fleet.
“I can’t think of a place I would rather be right now,” said Jeff Hansen from Fremantle, Western Australia. “Seeing the Japanese whalers running like cowards from the Steve Irwin is a very satisfying experience.”
The chase is taking place some 80 miles north of the Shackleton Glacier off the coast of Queen Mary land, well inside Australian Antarctic Territorial waters.
On January 15th, 2008, an Australian Federal Court ordered that Japanese whaling be “restrained” in Australian territorial waters. The Sea Shepherd crew is acting to enforce that court order and to uphold numerous international regulations that the Japanese whaling fleet has and continues to violate.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship Steve Irwin is presently hunting criminals in the territorial waters of Australia along the coast of the Australian Antarctic Territory.
The Japanese fleet is in clear violation of an Australian Court order prohibiting whaling operations inside the Australian Economic Exclusion Zone.
The Court order was issued on January 15th, 2008 by the Australian Federal Court. The Court found that the Japanese whaling fleet killing whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary contravenes the Environment Protection and Bio-Diversity Conservation Act of 1999 of the Commonwealth of Australia.
Specifically the Court ruled that:
1. The COURT DECLARES that the respondent has killed, injured, taken and interfered with Antarctic Minke whales (Balaenoptera bonaerensis) and Fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) and injured, taken and interfered with Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the Australian Whale Sanctuary in contravention of sections 229, 229A, 229B and 229C of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth), (the “Act”) and has treated and possessed such whales killed or taken in the Australian Whale Sanctuary in contravention of sections 229D and 230 of the Act, without permission or authorization under sections 231, 232 or 238 of the Act.
2. THE COURT ORDERS that the respondent be restrained from killing, injuring, taking or interfering with any Antarctic Minke whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis), Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) or Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the Australian Whale Sanctuary, or treating or possessing any such whale killed or taken in the Australian Whale Sanctuary, unless permitted or authorized under sections 231, 232, or 238 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has 17 crewmembers on the international crew of 33 onboard the Steve Irwin. Nine of these Australian crew have agreed to undertake a citizens arrest of Japanese whalers in accordance to the Australian Federal Court ruling that the whalers must “be restrained from killing, injuring, taking or interfering with” any whales in the Australian Whale Sanctuary.
In addition to upholding the Australian Federal Court ruling, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society intends to uphold the regulations of the International Whaling Commission (I.W.C.), the Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) and the Antarctic Treaty.
Fin Whales are endangered species and the Japanese whaling fleet does not have a permit from CITES to take any Fin whales.
The killing of whales for commercial purposes is a violation of the IWC global moratorium on commercial whaling that has been in effect since 1986.
Additionally the IWC declared the Southern Oceans Whale Sanctuary in 1994. Whaling prohibited in the Southern Oceans Sanctuary. The killing of whales in the Sanctuary will continue to be restricted even if the global moratorium on commercial whaling is lifted.
The Japanese whaling fleet is in violation of IWC regulation 19(a). The IWC regulations in the Schedule to the Convention forbid the use of factory ships to process any protected stock: 19.(a) It is forbidden to use a factory ship or a land station for the purpose of treating any whales which are classified as Protection Stocks in paragraph 10. Paragraph 10(c) provides a definition of Protection Stocks and states that Protection Stocks are listed in the Tables of the Schedule. Table 1 lists all the baleen whales, including Minke, Fin, and Humpback whales and states that all of them are Protected Stocks.
In addition the IWC regulations specifically ban the use of factory ships to process any whales except Minke whales: Paragraph 1o(d) provides: (d) Notwithstanding the other provisions of paragraph 10 there shall be a moratorium on the taking, killing, or treating of whales, except Minke whales, by factory ships. This moratorium applies to Sperm whales, killer whales, and baleen whales, except Minke whales.
This season, the Japanese whaling fleet has targeted 50 endangered Humpbacks.
Commercial activities exploiting wildlife are prohibited by the Antarctic Treaty. Refueling of ships at sea is a violation of the Antarctic Treaty.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is legally authorized to intervene in accordance with the United Nations World Charter for Nature that was ratified by the U.N. General Assembly in 1982.
Section 21 of the World Charter for Nature states:
States and, to the extent they are able, other public authorities, international organizations, individuals, groups and corporations shall:
(c) Implement the applicable international legal provisions for the conservation of nature, and the protection of the environment.
(d) Ensure that activities within their jurisdiction, or control do not cause damage to the natural systems located within other States or in the areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction.
(e) safeguard and conserve nature in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
AND Section 24 states:
Each person has a duty to act in accordance with the provisions of the present Charter; acting individually, in association with others or through participation in the political process, each person shall strive to ensure that the objectives and requirements of the present charter are met.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society believes that the acts of illegal exploitation of whales by the Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Whale Sanctuary in violation of the laws and regulations of the IWC, CITES, and the Antarctic Treaty and violations of and contempt of an Australian Federal Court ruling defines the Japanese whaling vessels as poachers.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society regards the vessels of the Japanese whaling fleet as outlaw ships being operated for the purpose of committing criminal activities.
Therefore the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society regards the boarding of, damage to and interference of the operations of such ships as being appropriate tactics for opposing said criminal operations.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society however does not see any justification for inflicting any physical injuries against Japanese whalers in accordance with Sea Shepherd internal policies prohibiting the causing of harm to any sentient being.
What is clear is that the Japanese whalers are engaged in criminal operations and the U.N. World Charter for Nature allows for Sea Shepherd crewmembers to intervene to stop these illegal activities.
The Australian Federal Court has issued a court order specifically ordering that the Japanese whalers be “restrained” from continuing to kill whales. The Australian crew onboard intend to uphold that court order.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is not pursuing the Japanese whaling fleet to protest whaling nor to document and witness whaling operations. Sea Shepherd crewmembers are pursuing the Japanese whaling fleet for the purpose of intervention against crimes against Australian law and against International law.
If Australia or any other nation opposes Sea Shepherd actions then they should demonstrate how and why enforcement of the laws by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society cannot be tolerated in the same waters where clear violations of the law are being exercised by the Japanese whaling fleet.
If killing whales by Japan is a violation of Australian law then interference with the killing of whales by Japan by Australian citizens must be viewed as actions endorsed or at least legally tolerated by Australian law.
If nothing else such intervention will result in legal procedures that will test Sea Shepherd’s interpretation of the U.N. World Charter for Nature as an instrument to intervene to uphold the laws.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is a law abiding organization that is quite willing to accept all legal and moral responsibility for actions taken to protect endangered species being killed in violation of international and Australian law.
Furthermore the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society only acts when there is refusal to uphold existing laws by nations due to obstructions caused by trade and political considerations. When the nations that sign the laws do not take action to enforce the laws they sign then the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society believes that we can operate under “colour of right” to act when conflicts of interest prevent the enforcement of the law by nation states.
An Australian Federal Court has issued a Ruling specifically prohibiting the killing and injuring of whales in the Australian Antarctic Territorial waters. Australia has neglected to enforce this court ruling. The Australian citizens onboard the Steve Irwin intend to enforce the court ruling in the name of the people of Australia and in the absence of judicial responsibility of the Australian government.
The international crew on board the Steve Irwin intend to enforce the regulations of CITES and the IWC in the absence of the signatory nations of the IWC and CITES to uphold their obligation to enforce the conventions protecting endangered species.
For this reason, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is issuing it’s own warrant to intervene and restrain the illegal activities of the Japanese whaling fleet. The warrant cites the U.N. World Charter for Nature as the authorizing body in accordance with the definition of implementation that allows non-governmental organizations and individuals to “implement the applicable international legal provisions for the conservation of nature, and the protection of the environment.”
Warrant
On February 21, 2008, Captain Paul Watson wrote up the following order:
In accordance with the provisions defined in the United Nations World Charter for Nature, I hereby issue an order to uphold the rules and regulations of the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) and the regulations of the International Whaling Commission (IWC).
The order also calls for action to restrain Japanese whaling activities in accordance with the January 15th, 2008 ruling of the Australian Federal Court.
This warrant hereby authorizes the crew of the Steve Irwin to board if required, to disable equipment if necessary, to destroy harpoons if possible and to intercept, blockade and harass all illegal whaling and poaching activities in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.
The warrant is signed by Captain Paul Watson – Master of the vessel Steve Irwin.
Sea Shepherd’s continuous opposition to illegal Japanese whaling is bearing fruit. There is a limit to just how deep in debt the Japanese government is willing to go to continue to subsidize an industry that loses money and diminishes the prestige of Japan in the eyes of the world.
Last month, Sea Shepherd prevented the killing of whales for more than three weeks and that not only cost the whalers by ensuring they will not get their quota, it also forced them to use over 2500 tons of fuel in the pursuit and that conservatively would have cost them over two million U.S. dollars spent on fuel without a slain whale to show for it.
Disruptions over the last few years have resulted in the whalers unable to reach their quotas. Last year’s devastating fire onboard the Nishiin Maru costs millions of dollars in repairs.
Japan is spending tens of millions of dollars bribing small nations to vote to overturn the global whaling ban imposed in 1986 by the International Whaling Commission. They are spending money on public relations and sending armed Coast Guard units to the Southern Oceans.
The Institute for Cetacean Research is presently in debt on interest free loan repayments to the Japanese government to the tune of over 37 million U.S. dollars.
The demand for whale meat in Japan is falling. The whaling industry is in deep financial trouble and without government subsidies would have died years ago.
The Japanese whaling industry is nothing more than a glorified welfare scheme and the whaling industry executives and whaling crew reduced to nothing more than pathetic beggars existing on hand-outs from Japanese tax-payers.
“We must continuously hound them, we need to constantly nip on their heels and harass them, blockade them, worry them and annoy them,” said Captain Paul Watson. “We will never rest, never retreat and never surrender to their illegal acts of cetacide. We intend to be in their face, up close and personal until we vanquish those vicious harpoons from the waters of the Southern Ocean forever. We will make whaling into the most expensive and embarrassing issue for Japan that we can.”
The Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin is presently heading south towards the coast of Antarctica in search of the Japanese whaling fleet in round two of Operation Migaloo. Once located, the Steve Irwin will once again intervene and harass the Japanese whaling fleet with the objective of shutting down all whaling activity.
Captain Paul Watson has also responded to recent criticisms that what Sea Shepherd is doing is unsafe and puts human life at risk.
“Of course it’s unsafe.” He replied. “We’re not ocean posing down here, pretending to take risks, pretending to be heroes. This is a bloody risky venture and it always has been. As Captain John Paul Jones once said, ‘give me a fair ship and I’ll sail her into harm’s way.’ I have a fair ship and that is exactly what I am doing, sailing into harm’s way to block explosive harpoons, taking on a hostile whaling fleet that outnumbers us 7 to one and taking on one of the most powerful and ruthless nations on the planet. Would we die to save a whale? Why not? People are dying right now to defend oil wells and for religion. How much more noble it is to take these risks for an endangered species and for the future heritage of this planet. I could proudly die for this cause and one day I surely will but I can’t imagine the alternative of doing nothing as these magnificent sentient beings, these gentle armless Buddha’s are cruelly slaughtered and exterminated”
The following article from the Asahi, Japan’s National newspaper illustrates the financial situation that the Japanese whaling industry now finds itself in:
Asahi, National Japanese newspaper
Japan’s research whaling now facing problems at home
02/09/2008
BY KENJI OYAMADA, THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
Japan’s research whaling has long been criticized from around the world as commercial whaling in disguise. Now, research whaling faces a domestic blow–stagnant sales of whale meat.
A series of accidents involving whaling ships last year and disruptive protests from overseas activists have also hurt the finances of a government-affiliated foundation in charge of research whaling.
The problems have become so big that the Institute of Cetacean Research, an outside body of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, is struggling to pay back its interest-free loans to the government. The institute received a total of 3.6 billion yen in interest-free operational loans from another government affiliate, the Overseas Fishery
Cooperation Foundation, in fiscal 2006.
The International Whaling Commission banned commercial whaling in 1986, but the whaling convention allows Japan to catch whales for scientific research.
According to the foundation’s settlement of accounts for fiscal 2006, it failed to pay back about 1 billion yen of the loan package. The institute had planned to repay all of its debts by the end of July last year, but the government allowed it to repay the loans in installments over four years from fiscal 2007.
The institute first received a public loan package of 1.2 billion yen in its fiscal 2001 accounting year when the quantity of whale catches increased. It supplied 2,450 tons of whale meat to the domestic market in fiscal 2000 and 2,620 tons the following year.
The amount supplied to the market gradually increased to a high of 5,560 tons in fiscal 2005, and the annual amount of loans correspondingly rose to 3.6 billion yen in fiscal 2005 and 2006.
Aiming to strengthen “ecological research,” the institute increased the research whaling quota to 850 catches in the season covering 2005 and 2006, compared with 440 in the previous season.
The amount of whale meat supplied to the market jumped by 30 percent over the same period, and the institute, which does not aim to make a profit, cut the price of whale meat by 20 percent.
The lower price, however, reduced revenue from whale meat by 6 percent, institute officials said. Meanwhile, the cost of whaling rose by 10 percent because the institute increased the number of whaling vessels from five to six to meet the higher quota.
One institute official acknowledged that the 20-percent price cut was “too much” when operational expenses are taken into account. In the institute’s settlement of accounts for fiscal 2006, it posted a loss of 700 million yen. It also did not provide reserve payments to the government that had previously amounted to tens of millions of yen annually.
Officials of the institute and the fisheries ministry said a fire and other accidents involving whaling vessels last fiscal year contributed largely to the loss. They said the institute should be able to balance its budget this fiscal year.
Escalating protests by activists against Japanese whaling vessels forced them to suspend operations in January.
While whaling resumed soon afterward, further protests by activists could suspend operations anew. If that happens, the supply of whale meat may be reduced, further hurting the institute’s budget.
The Tokyo-based research whaling company Kyodo Senpaku was formed in 1987 by
consolidating whaling departments of Japanese fisheries companies. Due to the global protest against whaling and waning profitability, three major fisheries companies withdrew from Kyodo Senpaku’s operation in 2006.
The company became a publicly supported whaling monopoly, whose purpose is
to maintain Japan’s whaling tradition. Kyodo Senpaku is a for-profit company that collects, processes and sells wholesale whale specimens on behalf of the research institute.
In the year that ended in October 2007, Kyodo Senpaku recorded sales of 6 billion yen with a net profit of 5 million yen.
Most of the revenue came from commission fees on sales of whale meat to wholesale markets and charter fees of its whaling vessels paid by the institute.
One problem facing the company is its difficulty in recruiting young workers willing to stay long enough to learn whaling skills.
In addition, the long and distant voyages are a turn-off for young people, company officials said.
Critics have questioned the government’s policy of maintaining the country’s whaling tradition at any cost when it faces a huge financial deficit and other problems.
Captain Paul Watson and his crew of international volunteers are anxious to refuel, re-supply and complete repairs as soon as possible in order to return to the Southern Oceans.
News that the Japanese whaling fleet has resumed killing with the death of five whales today has been received with sadness, anger and a determined resolve to return to obstruct the whalers.
“We shut down whaling operations for most of January. We stayed down as long as we dared to prevent whaling until the end of the month. We achieved that goal,” said Captain Paul Watson. “Now we have a new objective and that is to return as soon as possible to continue our campaign to stop the illegal slaughter of whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary and in the Australian Antarctic Territorial waters.”
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is disappointed with the stance that the Australian government has taken in refusing to uphold an Australian court ruling banning Japanese whaling in the Australian Antarctic Economic Exclusion Zone.
“Taking pictures of whalers illegally killing whales is not the way to enforce the law,” said Sea Shepherd Executive Director Kim McCoy. “If the police saw a bank robbery taking place they would not take pictures of the heist. They would arrest the criminal. We fail to see why Japanese poachers are being given free rein to violate Australian law.”
Australia’s announcement that they have agreed with Japan to disagree on whaling is not going to save any whales. Australia’s position that they are “disappointed” in the resumption of whaling means nothing unless the government acts on this disappointment to stop the poaching of whales by Japan in Australian waters.
Captain Watson is warning Japan that anti-whaling activities will escalate and will become stronger every year.
“This is going to be a never ending trip to the dentist for Japan,” said Captain Paul Watson. “We intend to remain a constant, nagging, festering pain to their intentions to continue to illegally kill whales. We will never surrender our efforts to protect the defenseless whales from the barbaric cruelty that Japanese harpoons inflict upon these highly intelligent, socially complex, gentle beings. As long as Japan continues to invade the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, we will continue to defend it.”
Sixteen of the Steve Irwin’s crew will be staying with the ship. The departing eighteen crewmembers will be replaced by Sea Shepherd volunteers from Australia and around the world.
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