Sea Shepherd has Japanese Whaling Fleet Is On the Run

[nashville_brook]

Japanese Whaling Fleet Is On the Run

http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/news-081219-2.html

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship Steve Irwin now has the entire Japanese whaling fleet on the run.

At 2345 G.M.T. the Steve Irwin intercepted the Japanese harpoon vessel Yushin Maru #2 inside the Australian Antarctic Economic Exclusion Zone at 64°26 South and 132° 40' East. The encounter took place in dense fog and in dangerous ice conditions. The Steve Irwin launched a Delta boat with a crew to attack the Yushin Maru #2 with rotten butter bombs. Unfortunately the wind increased to fifty knots with blizzard conditions. Captain Paul Watson called the small boat crew back for safety reasons when they were halfway to their target some three miles away.

The Yushin Maru #2 then headed due North to lead the Steve Irwin away from the whaling fleet. The decoy did not work. The Steve Irwin is now in pursuit of the whaling fleet. They have ceased whaling operations and they are now running from the Sea Shepherd crew.

The Yushin Maru #2 was the same vessel that the Steve Irwin crew boarded in January 2007. This year the crew observed that the Yushin Maru #2 has set up large netting to be run along the side of the ship to prevent boarding parties from going over the side. When the whalers realized that the Steve Irwin was onto them, they immediately ran on deck to deploy the netting.

"It looks like Whale Wars, season #2 is officially underway," said Captain Paul Watson. "We've got them on the run. They are not in the Ross Sea where they said they would be. They are in Australian waters. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is officially calling on Australian Environment Minister Peter Garrett and Foreign Minister Stephen Smith to order the Japanese fleet to comply with the orders of the Australian Federal Court and to cease and desist from killing to whales in Australian waters."

[alphafemale]

1. But my question is, would even the vegans of DU heave a rancid butter bomb?

For the right cause?

And on edit I think it's really neat that they've named the ship "Steve Irwin."

[nashville_brook]

5. that actually is a big question -- not just vegans -- but the whole lot of us

these guys are far from perfect. i disagree with most of the ship is run. the egos on board (whale wars 1) were all fairly grating. they're not an entirely likable bunch. add to that, confrontation is hard to watch -- every bit of our pack/herd/social mentality tugs against confrontation.

BUT, they achieve results! For the time that they are in pursuit of the fleet, there are no kills. for the time the fleet is dealing with international public relations crises, there are no kills. for the time they are cleaning up the decks from butter bombs, there are no kills AND most importantly, the corporations are LOSING MONEY which is the only reason they're out there in the first place. when their killing sprees yield no profit; when they actually lose money, we're one step closer to seeing the end of the kills.

watching Whale Wars is an exercise in ambiguity. there's plenty of bad to be had with the good. but the bottom line is that these precious creatures are being protected directly.

i think this show is a must-see for all activists. it lays bare the real life tension between words and action.

[alphafemale]

12. First time I really became aware of them was that movie Sharkwater.

Amazing film. Highly recommended.

[nashville_brook]

22. i will totally put that in my que. gotta say one more thing on the subject of direct action...

the right wing has been very successful in using "direct action" and it's ugly cousin, "violence," in the anti-abortion movement. they've made it more expensive and less attractive for young medical students to pursue a career in reproductive health. the thing about direct action is that it works.

i had a poly-sci prof who liked to point out that the riots of the 60s (the ones in the "ghettos" at least) were successful in that those areas received attention and were cleaned up as a result of the violence. he said it's a dirty little secret of politics that these means are actually effective despite public opinion. that, public opinion does not/will not/cannot reflect the efficacy of the action.

[alphafemale]

28. It has moments of drama that are riveting. And the underwater scenes are breathtaking.

We really lucked out that week and had hosted our monthly UU church's movie night. So we still had the DVD projector at the house. It was awesome.

[flvegan]

8. With both hands.

I wish for the whaling to end, but I also dream of one day crewing the Steve Irwin and "bombing" the whalers.

[alphafemale]

10. that's what I'd hope you'd say.

:hug:

[Radical Activist]

11. Do they do anything

other than make the ship smell bad? Don't whaling boats already smell pretty nasty?

[flvegan]

13. The "butter" ruins the whale meat

so they can't sell it. IOW, they can do their "research" but not profit from it. Additionally, the smell is pretty horrid. I smelled it once, and compared to, say an open fish market, a fish market smells like lavender and roses.

[Radical Activist]

14. interesting

thanks for filling me in.

[alphafemale]

21. kewl nt

[alphafemale]

17. Maybe it has something to do with most Japanese being Lactose Intolerant?

:evilgrin:

[LeftyMom]

16. AFAIK it's not actually sourced from butter, it's just the chemical that makes it stink

And they explain it that way because if you say "acid" of any kind, people think you're talking about something dangerous that will eat holes in stuff.

[flvegan]

20. It can be from butter/cheese or from a plant oil.

It's a chemical process that I'm too lazy to look up, but it could indeed be vegan as well. That would be cool. Buncha mamby pamby vegan shipmates with vegan weapons destroying the whaling industry.

[MercutioATC]

2. We need stronger enforcement of fishing regulations and treaties.

That said, Paul Watson is an idiot. You simply cannot ram other ships, endangering people's lives.

[TZ]

3. No the problem is changing the laws themselves.

Apparantly from what I've read, there is strong legal grounds that the Japanese whalers are not behaving illegally.
Unethically..yes, as a biologist I believe strongly they are NOT doing ethical research obviously, but unfortunately these treaties give them the "right" to do that. That right needs to be stripped from them.

[MercutioATC]

4. If they're not breaking the law, you're right...the law needs to be changed.

Whether they ARE breaking the law or not, Watson still shouldn't be able to ram a ship and not be held accountable.

[nashville_brook]

6. to me, this is the yawning chasm in the whole debate -- why indeed, isn't there

prosecution of the Sea Shepherds? that there isn't, to me says that the law isn't perfectly clear. there seems to be tacit agreement in their tactics. it's like the Australian authorities are saying, "ya know, enforcement of the treaty is a big pain in our arse, so, if the Sea Shepherds want to take that job, so be it."

[MercutioATC]

7. I agree...but that's an inelegant and inefficient "solution".

And, it encourages both parties to use increasingly dangerous measures.

[nashville_brook]

15. absolutely. they've been at this for 30 years. it's amazing that no one has stepped in

and laid down the law either for or against one side or the other -- because you're right, this is the kind of "solution" that escalates to violence.

on that note, however, i think the show (as a separate entity from the ship) could be a game-changer. hopefully, The Skipper will clean up his act after seeing his fiascoes of last whaling and TV season (ever heard of training BEFORE heading out to sea?!!). hopefully both parties will be less inclined to let things escalate out of control. hopefully, laws will change.

and what role will Darryl Hannah play??!! OMG. if nothing else, it's great television.

[flvegan]

18. Not amazing, really. Just common sense.

Sea Shepherd has always been open to arrest and trial. The Japanese have no desire to put any aspect of whaling on trial, especially not on the world stage where it would be. The Aussies don't want to screw with Japan because of simple economics.

Same thing with Canada and sealing.

Watson has been convicted *once* for his tactics. I believe it was in absentia and Norway was prosecuting him for sinking a whaling or fishing vessel. Otherwise, any attempt has failed.

[nashville_brook]

24. right -- i'm totally with you. it's amazing to me b/c it's a giant ambiguity that's left dangling.

the masses expect there to be clear answers. if whaling is against the law, then there should be no whaling. if ramming a whaling ship is against the law, then there should be ramming of whaling ships. but, political economies are never clear cut -- and this is the big secret that keeps the little people in their place. as long as we go on thinking that there's no room for change, no room for action, no room for "me" -- then we'll stay home and make cookies.

i think that a lot of energy goes into keeping these ambiguities hidden, and the Sea Shepherds are laying bare that mechanism and we're watching it on cable. the mind reels at all the true ambiguities borne of bogus political economies that could be overturned with a little direct action.

[formercia]

31. Not if the ships are in an economic exclusion zone.

They are poaching in Australian waters.

[Cetacea]

26. You simply can't butcher another intelligent species.

And what is really disgustingly ironic is that they now sell the brain for sushi. Equally disgustingly ironic is that they used to throw the brain away.

[leftchick]

27. 'Paul Watson is an idiot'??!!

He and his crew have never hurt any human being unlike the Japanese. You need to educate yourself before denigrating a real hero.

[MercutioATC]

32. He rams whaling ships in open waters.

It's just a matter of time before he kills somebody. That's unacceptable.

The man is an idiot.

[leftchick]

33. like I said

you have no fucking idea what you are talking about.

[MercutioATC]

34. I've seen the videos. I know what I'm talking about.

...we just disagree as to what constitutes a responsible protest.

Endangering human life crosses that line for me.

[Cetacea]

35. The whalers are wiping out an intelligent,sentient race and they know it

I know this because I participated in the IWC symposium on "Intelligence in Cetaceans and the Ethics of Killing Them". This was the one which resulted in the moratorium on whaling. The Japanese ambassador was a kindly gentleman who simply refused to budge on this issue, no matter what scientific data was presented.

This should not even be an issue in these times. Godspeed, Watson and crew.

[MercutioATC]

40. Agreed, but whales are still animals.

Our social compact draws a distinction between humans and animals...which is why poachers aren't charged with murder.

One simply cannot put human lives at at such risk to prevent fishing...however immoral that fishing may be.

[leftchick]

41. don't bother

he values humans who are clearly breaking international laws over the last remaining species of whales, which they are slaughtering into extinction for GREED. They hunt wherever the fuck they want with impunity. I say fuck them all and save the whales. Personally I think Paul is much too easy on them.

[flvegan]

9. This is the earliest they've ever found them, I think.

Hot damn, Watson you are good.

So long as Sea Shepherd is within range, no whales will be killed.

[nashville_brook]

25. i can't help but think that they've been able to raise money for better equipment, and have

been able to form better relationships with other vessels who might give them intel b/c of the publicity of the show. that they found them so early is a huge advantage.

[leftchick]

29. I agree

Their Whale Wars show on Animal Planet is probably the best thing that has happened for Paul and his cause.

[flvegan]

30. They were supposed to have two ships this year.

I think they decided to keep the money in the bank "just in case". Plus, they need to replace one of their other ships, the Farley Mowat, which they are decommissioning (it's currently under arrest in Canada).

Sea Shepherd is also very well liked in Australia and NZ, so I'm sure they're getting help from the locals. Plus, Watson said on the website that he deliberately made the Japanese think he'd start searching in one place and go to another. Crafty.

"Whale Wars" can only seek to publicize Sea Shepherd and the good work they do, hopefully raising funds for them as well.

[leftchick]

19. Hooray for the Whales!!!

And thank God for Captain Paul and his crew. They have saved so many whale lives I can never donate enough.

:applause:

[Cetacea]

23. "Hmm. A highly developed brain. Let's eat it" Japanese Scientific Research

in a nutshell.

edit:
Fuck them.

[Cetacea]

36. We need Obama to do what Clinton threatened to do in 2000

Economic Sanctions against Japan if they insisted on ignoring the ban.

[life long demo]

37. GOD SPEED SEA SHEPHERD

Right on Capt. Watson. You and your crew are in my prayers as are the Whales. Give them hell.

JAPAN - DON'T KILL THE WHALES!

[EFerrari]

38. Ack, too late to rec.

I'm so happy to see this!

[Phoonzang]

39. I'm curious, why aren't they in the Atlantic chasing Norwegians and Icelanders around?

They hunt whales too don't they? :shrug: