Sea No Evil

Westward, then Eastward then Westward and then Eastward Again

Whales everywhere and not one to kill.
Whalers run like frightened school girls.
- Sea Shepherd Haiku

No one appears to know what the Japanese whalers are doing - including the Japanese whalers.

Last night after leading the Steve Irwin on a chase 750 miles to the west, the Whaling fleet factory ship Nisshin Maru did a hundred and eighty degree turn and headed back east again.

The Yushin Maru #2 is hundreds of miles to the east with the rest of the whaling fleet.

But without the Nisshin Maru there can be no whaling operations which brings us to the twelfth day since returning to the Whale Sanctuary that whales have not been killed.

Meanwhile the Japanese government has shifted into high gear public relations mode to disseminate mis-information and have called in the Ambassadors of the Netherlands and Australia to call for the condemnation of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

They can lie and say anything they like really, we don’t mind, because the bottom line is that Sea Shepherd is succeeding in preventing the Japanese whalers from killing whales. They have yet to reach the halfway mark on their kill quota and they have only about 10 days left to do so.

A few people have contacted us to say they disapprove of our actions. We are not impressed. We tell them to find us a single whale that disapproves of our actions and then we will reconsider but the fact is that our clients are whales - not people and we intend to represent our clients and to defend them from death and destruction.

We intend in the next 10 days to make it impossible for the whalers to resume their barbaric activities.

We are not worried about any political or legal consequences for our actions. Despite Japanese allegations we have not injured anyone and we don’t intend to injure anyone. My crew and I deliberately place ourselves into harm’s way to protect these whales and when you have committed yourself to placing your life on the line for a cause - non-lethal threats and name calling have absolutely no effect on what we do and how we do it.

Our job down here right now in the Southern Ocean is to stop the illegal killing of whales and we are doing just that. We will not be deterred by Japanese propaganda and threats. We are here to uphold international conservation law against a vicious whale poaching operation.

And there can be no dispute that what the Japanese are doing is poaching. Targeting endangered species like Fin whales in an established international whale sanctuary in violation of a global moratorium on whaling and in contempt of an Australian Federal Court order specifically prohibiting Japanese whaling in the Australian Antarctic Territory is by any definition - poaching.

As I’ve said many times, the poaching of whales by Japan in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary is no different than poaching elephants in Africa, tigers in India or sharks in the Galapagos National Park.

The one big difference is that the rangers shoot elephant and tiger poachers and the Ecuadorian police jail shark finners. In the Southern Oceans the Japanese whine about a few stink bombs.

Some of the stories in the Japanese media have been way over the top but many believe what they read in the newspaper or see on television and we can’t control gullibility. But in a strange sort of way these stories help us to be effective.

In the last few days, Japanese media have reported that we fired over 2,000 containers of chemical acid onto the decks of the Nisshin Maru. They claim that two crew and two Coastguardsmen were injured in the attack. They claim we have a missile launcher to fire the containers. They claim that we are firing corrosive acid that is damaging their ship. In the most bizarre claim they have reported that our crew boarded the factory ship and directly squirted acid into the eyes of the whalers and attacked them on deck with broken beer bottles.

All real dramatic stuff but all of it over-exaggerated and grossly inaccurate.

The fact is that my crew delivered two dozen VB beer bottles filled with rotten butter acid which stinks terribly but is less corrosive than orange juice (citric aicd). The crew also delivered two dozen paper packets of Hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose. This is a non-toxic food grade product that is used to coat pills making them easier to swallow. It is very slippery in water. The strategy behind this is to make conditions on deck uncomfortable for processing dead whales. The decks stink and it is difficult to move around. I personally witnessed the impact of every container and not one container landed in close proximity to any person on the Japanese ship. All containers were thrown by hand. There was no missile launcher. No Sea Shepherd crew boarded the Nisshin Maru and there was no hand to hand fighting with crew squirting anything into the eye of any of the Japanese crew. The four armed Japanese Coast Guard officers should have some explaining to do if we had of boarded the ship and they had not apprehended anyone. In all of the video footage distributed by the Institute for Cetacean (marketing & product development) Research there is no video shown of injures. If there were indeed injuries, the video would be there for sure - it is not. It’s all just spin-doctoring in an attempt to make the public feel sympathy for whale killers.

I must admit it is a challenge for the public relation flacks representing the Japanese whaling industry. It is like being hired by serial killers to give them a good image.

But the truth is the truth and lies, exaggerations, rumours and distortions will not be enough to bring legal charges against my crew or myself for simply trying to uphold international law against ruthless whale poachers.

And Sea Shepherd history speaks for itself. We don’t cause injuries to sentient beings. We never have and we don’t intend to start. The compassion of my crew even extends to not allowing the products of animal slaughter and abuse to be consumed onboard our ships. We represent kindness to life and we represent compassion.

So it is indeed a task for the P.R. whores to cast compassionate vegan whale defenders as the bad guys and ruthless whale serial killers as the good guys. That might work in a world where the AXIS powers had prevailed in 1945 but not in the world today where most of the civilized world looks on the killing of whales as murder and most believe that action must be taken to stop the escalating levels of flora and fauna extinctions and that we must exercise a new morality that seeks to eliminate cruelty against other creatures and destruction of the natural world for profit.

But how does this work in our favor. The Dalai Lama is a Sea Shepherd supporter and he once sent us a little icon called Hayagriva. Hayagriva represents the compassionate aspect of Buddha’s  wrath. What this means is that one should never injure anyone but when the opposition cannot see enlightenment, you scare the hell out of them until they do.

So our pirate image works well at doing just that and when the whalers, sealers and shark finners begin to believe their own exaggerations about us it works in our favor. So sometimes the good guys do indeed wear black.

In Africa, black Somali poachers are shot on sight for poaching elephants and the world approves.

In India, Indian poachers are shot for poaching tigers.

Yet when the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society crew toss rotten butter onto the deck of a wealthy high tech Japanese whale poaching operation in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, there is a gasp of horror from those who fear to offend the great economic bully from Asia.

The crew of the Steve Irwin did not injure anyone. The entire confrontation was documented by both ships and there has been no video shown by either side documenting violent actions against the very violent whalers.

With all the reaction in some media, one would think the Japanese whalers are the innocent victims of a horrific act of violence.

Yet these same whalers are violating international conservation law and an Australian Federal Court order by illegally slaughtering endangered whales in an established whale sanctuary.

The Sea Shepherd crew did not shoot any of these poachers like the rangers in Africa do when they encounter elephant killers in the bush. No, we tossed rotten butter and fake banana peels onto their deck to discourage their illegal operations. The material tossed onto the deck of the Nishiin Maru was both organic and non-toxic.

Of course the Japanese whalers are putting their spin on the story describing butter acid as caustic and harmful when it is completely unharmful. Not all acids are harmful. If they were we would not drink orange juice and some just smell bad.

It is a fact that butter becomes Butyric acid when it goes bad - that does not make it toxic - just obnoxiously smelly.

The objective in tossing a foul smelling substance onto the deck of the largest floating slaughterhouse in the world is simple - to discourage the grisly work of mutilating the bodies of some of the largest and gentlest creatures on Earth.

There is no industry on earth as horrifically violent as whaling. Whales die in prolonged unimaginable agony as blunt tipped harpoons smash into their backsides and shred internal organs. They may take up to forty minutes to die as they drown in a mixture of salt water and their own blood. They thrash and roll on the surface of the sea and scream  piteously as they look up to see arrogant men gloating over their suffering.

Yet some people get upset because these same people now have smelly decks and can’t continue their foul sadistic work.

For the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, our clients are the whales and we are defending them by intervening to enforce international conservation law in accordance to the principles established by the United Nations World Charter for Nature.

We have not committed any crime and despite the fabrications of Japanese public relations spin doctors we have not injured any persons. In fact in over thirty years of high seas interventions the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has never caused an injury nor have we been convicted of a felony.

Yet in that time whalers, sealers, shark finners, turtle poachers and illegal fishermen have assaulted us, beaten us, bloodied us, rammed us, shot at us and threatened our lives but that never seems to be a story of interest because according to our critics we are exposing ourselves voluntarily to the violence of the ocean rapers. In fact after being assaulted by sealers who struck my crew with clubs and injured them the Canadian police refused to press charges against our attackers because we “had provoked the violence by opposing the killing of seals.”

We have had a very successful campaign this year in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. We have saved hundreds of whales. We have chased this Japanese killing fleet for thousands of miles and they will not fill their death quota and they are not very happy about that.

The crew of the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin are satisfied that we behaved responsibly, we did not injure anyone, we did not damage any property but we have saved lives, hundreds of lives of the most social complex, gentle and intelligent creatures in the sea.

We did our planetary duty and we upheld the law and all of us on this gallant ship are both proud and satisfied at what we have accomplished.

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.

 The Nishiin Maru cannot outrun the “Steve Irwin”. After a 12 hour chase the Sea Shepherd ship closed the gap and passed alongside the Nishiin Maru.

 The crew deployed over two dozen bottles of rotten butter sending a stench throughout the whale killing ship that will remain for days. The crew also threw packets of a slippery chemical onto the deck of the “Nishiin Maru”. This will make it very difficult to cut up whales. The substance becomes even more slippery with water so it will be difficult to wash it off the decks.

 ”I guess we can call this non-violent chemical warfare,” said Captain Paul Watson. “We only use organic, non-toxic materials designed to harass and obstruct illegal whaling operations.”

 Four armed Japanese Coast Guard officers clearly identified in their uniforms videotaped the confrontation.

 The Captain of the “Nishiin Maru” played a tape over and over again with a woman’s voice saying “Warning, warning, this is the Nishiin Maru captain. Stop your destructive actions immediately. If you dare to board this vessel you will be taken into custody and restrained as illegal intruders under Japanese law.”

 Captain Paul Watson radioed the “Nishiin Maru” to inform them that they had no authority in the Australian Antarctic Territory. Captain Watson ordered the Japanese captain to cease all whaling operations and to comply with the Australian Federal Court ruling that prohibits the Japanese whaling fleet from killing whales in the Australian Antarctic Territorial waters.

 The confrontation took place at 63 Degrees 17 Minutes South and 126 Degrees and 20 minutes east. This is 175 miles off the Andare Coast inside the Australian Economic Exclusion Zone.

 The “Steve Irwin” has fallen half a mile off to the starboard side of the “Nishiin Maru”.

 ”It stinks to bad to remain any closer,” said Todd Emko 32, of New York City.

 Not a single whale has been killed since the Sea Shepherd ship “Steve Irwin” returned to harass the Japanese whaling fleet in the Australian Whale Sanctuary.

 ”They will not be getting their quota this year and that is a certainty.” said Jeff Hanson 35, from Fremantle, Western Australia. “In fact I don’t think they will be getting half their quota.”

 In total the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has shut down illegal Japanese whaling operations for over four and a half weeks.

 

Pouncing on the Slaughterhouse in the Frozen Southern Mist

 February 23rd to March 2nd, 2008

 Report from Captain Paul Watson

Onboard the Steve Irwin

 Penetrating deep into the Southern Ocean we passed the 65 Degree South line and continued onwards. All the ship’s officers and crew were very much aware of the danger we were moving towards.

 The weather is getting increasingly nasty, each day nastier than the day before. The ice floes filling most of Porpoise Bay are fast and solid and steadily sending out assaults of bergs and growlers. At the speed we need to maintain to pursue the whalers, hitting one of those solid cobalt blue chunks of iron hard ice could punch a hole into our steel hull. It had happened to a tourist ship a few months before and they were in waters less dangerous than this. It’s like a minefield of frozen horror with these bergy bits bobbing up and down, sometimes visible and sometimes not and especially now that night has returned to these parts.

 Not that the days are much better. Fog, sleet, frozen rain, hail, and sea spray make observations very difficult and the chunks of ice are everywhere and only this time invisible.

 The years of experience we have spent navigating the ice floes off Eastern Canada to protect seals is paying off with the voyages down in the Southern Oceans.

 But still the entrance to Porpoise Bay looked forbidding and all the signs screamed “stay away”.

 But the Yushiin Maru was in there and that was where we headed. Into the frozen maw of hell - on the eighth day of our pursuit of the Japanese whaling fleet since we relocated them on February 23rd.

 And as we approached the ice sheet of Porpoise Bay, there they were! First we spotted the Yushiin Maru and she tried to lead us North. We ignored her and continued South and finally there on the radar was the moving target we were looking for - the Nishiin Maru, the Cetacean Death Star, the world’s largest floating slaughterhouse, the most evil and bloody cruel ship on all the world’s oceans.

 The dense fog parted and there she was, like an evil wraith silently moving amongst massive icebergs, quiet, efficient and deadly.

 The rest of the fleet, at least four other vessels scattered in different directions but we remain focused on the Nishiin Maru. If they had any thoughts of whaling today or tomorrow, we have ruined their plans.

 And like the cowards they are, they began to run and once again we began to chase but this time we had them in our sights.

 My only regret is that we don’t have our helicopter and pilot Chris Aultman onboard. Without a hanger onboard we could not risk taking the helicopter out a second time. I’m hoping we can construct a new helicopter deck with a hanger before we are forced to return to these waters at the end of this year again.

 I have to admit it I do get weary of returning to these waters each year but we have the satisfaction of knowing that we get stronger and more effective with each season. And as long as these ruthless killers keep coming down her to slay defenseless whales we will continue to come down here to stop them. We will never surrender the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary to the killers of whales - never!

 Ahead of us is the stern of the Nishiin Maru cowardly fleeing through the maze of bergs. Flocks of Giant petrels are flying alongside and ahead of us and the whales in these waters need not fear the harpoon today. The Shepherds of the sea are here with and amongst them and the killers remain on the run.

 

 

 

“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.

 Japan has said that any crewmembers seized by their crews will be returned to Japan for prosecution for interfering with their whaling operations.

 In a message to Captain Paul Watson, Tony Donne of the Australian Federal Police, speaking on behalf of the Australian government wrote:

 “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.”

 The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is very much aware of the fact that the Australian government cannot be depended upon for assistance in the remote waters of the Australian Antarctic Territory. There is no Australian government presence in the territorial waters. There are armed Japanese Coast Guard officers in these waters which is a de facto invasion of Australian sovereignty by the nation of Japan, a fact that Canberra has not said a word about.

 “It will be interesting to see what the Australian government will or will not do if Japanese whale poachers seize Australian citizens in Australian waters for protecting whales in support of an Australian Federal Court order prohibiting the killing of whales by Japan in these same waters.” Said Captain Paul Watson. “Australia will effectively become a vassal state to Japan having already ceded armed control of the territorial waters to the Japanese Coast Guard. What a disgrace that will be to see Australian whale defenders put on trial in Japan, by poachers specifically prohibited from whaling BY Australian law, for upholding the law in Australian territory.”

 Jeff Hansen 34, of Fremantle said, “I am an educated citizen who knows that the Australian government will not end whaling in Australian waters by Japan unless they act to uphold the law and the concerns of the Australian people who want this annual slaughter to be ended. This is an Australian Whale Sanctuary and I am risking my life to protect it and I am prepared to be taken prisoner by the Japanese whalers and hauled off to court in Tokyo if that is what it takes to end this on-going crime against the whales, against Australia and the world. If this effort requires me to make a personal sacrifice than that is what I am prepared to do. This issue is the Gallipoli of our generation and we must resist this invasion by Japanese poachers.”

 The Australian crewmembers prepared to be taken prisoner are:

 Dr. David Page is 49 years old and a specialist anesthetist from New South Wales. Dr. Page is a father of 2 and has supported his wife when she chaired the Cancer Council where she received an AM, Australian Honour.

 Robert Garcia is 44 years old and a father of two beautiful girls. Robert grew up in Heidelberg, Victoria and is self employed, a jack of all trades. Robert has also done a lot of community work including helping out the Margaret Oats food van which feeds the homeless in Collingwood Victoria.

 Alex Wallman is 27 years old and grew up in Geelong, Victoria. Alex is very passionate about the environment and helps out with various groups. He is a professional Graphic Designer.

 Nicola Paris is 32 years old and grew up in Fremantle, Western Australia.

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 Hansen is 34 years old and currently lives in Fremantle, Western Australia.

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!

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has retained a lawyer in Tokyo and is prepared to cover the legal costs of defending our crew in Japan if need be.

 “We need to take a stand on this atrocity,” said Robert Garcia.

 “Antarctica is the last relatively untouched wilderness in the world and that is something I’m prepared to make sacrifices for.” Said Dr. David Page.

 “The government may have surrendered the whales to the Japanese whalers, but the Australian people will never abandon them.” Said Nicola Paris.

 “We spend billions exploring space for extra-terrestrial life, yet at the same time we are exterminating some of the most magnificent, intelligent and socially complex beings on this planet. We need to defend the whales from the ignorance and the arrogance of their killers.” Said Alex Wallman.

 In addition to the five Australians willing to board the whaling ships for deportation to Japan there are volunteers from the United States, Canada, Sweden, South Africa, Great Britain and the Netherlands willing to board the ships to deliver a strong message that the killing of whales in Antarctic waters will not be tolerated anymore.

 “We will see the end of whaling down here in this Whale Sanctuary or we will die or be imprisoned in our attempts to stop this arrogant poaching of whales by Japan.” Said Amber Paarman 24, of Cape Town, South Africa.

 Tomorrow Sea Shepherd will mark the fourth week that whaling has been shut down in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary this season. The Captain and crew are preparing to make that five and six weeks.

 The temperatures are falling, the storms are increasing and within a few weeks conditions will force the Japanese fleet to head for home.

 “They will be going home without their full quota and that is a certainty,” said Captain Paul Watson.

 

 

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.