No more wailing; act against the Whaling!

Ill-advised

“… a lethal research program that targets low priority science, with a demonstrably low likelihood of achieving its stated objectives, appears unsupportable when viewed in a scientific context,” — Dr Nick Gales, Principal Research Scientist at the Australian Antarctic Division (Nature).

& Illegal

14 November 2007 – An international panel of independent legal experts convened in London has today issued a detailed report challenging the legal status of Japan’s whaling operations, particularly the taking of endangered sei and humpback whales. The expert panel also recommends actions to be taken against the Government of Japan for its violations of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). — (IFAW)

Promises
The time for talk is over and it is time for action. The ALP listed in its election pledge that it would put and end to the whaling.

130. Labor will pursue a permanent end to all commercial and scientific whaling and the establishment of a global whale sanctuary.
131. Labor will pursue legal action against whaling nations before international courts and tribunals to end the slaughter of whales for all time.
– ALP election pledge

Requests

Captain Paul Watson has issued a strong appeal to the new Labor Government of Australia. In a letter drafted from on board the ship the Steve Irwin on its way to defend whales in Australian/Antarctic waters, Captain Watson called on new Environment Minister Peter Garrett to fulfill his campaign promises and send a naval ship to the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary. (Sea Shepherd)

Greenpeace has urged the Australian government to dispatch a navy surveillance vessel to the Antarctic as it prepares to send a ship of its own to harass Japanese whalers. — (Live News)

Action?

It seems that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd might be stepping up to the plate

AUSTRALIA is developing plans to monitor Japanese whaling in order to mount international legal action over the controversial Antarctic hunt.
It has also reversed previous government policy and will back a long-running Federal Court case against the hunt. (The Age)

Rudd Thursday would not rule out using warships and air force planes to take pictures that could bolster Australia’s case in an international court against Japanese whaling in the Australia-declared whale sanctuary in the Southern Ocean. (The Australian)

While others still trailing along in the mindset of their recently dumped Leader … umm Brendan there *is* a reason John lost his seat, wake up sun shine!

Opposition leader Brendan Nelson, who was defense minister before the election, questioned whether such a military deployment would harm relations with Japan, Australia’s second most important trading partner after China.
“I would be very concerned about sending war assets — warships and air force planes — down to look at the Japanese whaling fleet in terms of how is that going to escalate the diplomatic tensions between Australia and Japan,” Nelson told reporters. (International Herald Tribune)

Time to sink the Nisshin Maru?

Four Japanese ships, including the 8,044-ton mother ship Nisshin Maru, whaling vessel Yushin Maru and two others has set off from the port of Shimonoseki for another voyage of death and destruction. I guess we can’t hope for another onboard fire to knock out the Nisshin Maru this year so hopefully the Sea Shepherd will be able to find the whaling fleet this season.

Surprisingly, when I muttered under my breath “sink it” when watching the news footage of the celebrations surrounding the whaling fleet launch my daughter responded very strongly with a ‘yes, sink it!” and gave a highfive. Maybe there is hope for the younger generation *chuckle*

Radical environmentalist group Sea Shepherd has again vowed to ram Japanese vessels involved in the hunting of whales, including humpback whales, in the Antarctic Ocean. — The Age

Humpback whales have been protected under a 1966 worldwide moratorium after years of over hunting.

Greenpeace said its protest ship Esperanza was searching for the fleet south of Japanese territorial waters and would shadow the ships to the South Pacific to try to reduce their catch. (Esperanza Webcam)

“The whaling fleet must be recalled now. If it is not, we will take direct, non-violent action to stop the hunt,” says Greenpeace expedition leader, Karli Thomas. — Greenpeace

[1] Sea Shepherd Conservation Society [Sea Shepherd]
[2] Operation Migaloo: Antarctic Whale Defense Campaign 2007-08 [Sea Shepherd]
[3] Protesters ready to ram Japanese whalers (2007-11-20) [The Age]
[4] Greenpeace [Greenpeace]
[5] The Great Whale Trail [Greenpeace]

Whale Safe Beer?

That’s right Whale Safe Beer!

{Looking back over Visible Procrastinations on this site I see I haven’t had a conservation or environmental post … what is the world coming to? By training I am actually an Ecologist (Botany, Zoology, Conservation Genetics) so occasionally (or more than occasionally) I’ll hammer an Ecological issue. Back to our regular program …}

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has never caused a single injury to any person since the organization was founded in 1977. Thirty years with an unblemished record of non-violent intervention is a record the society is very proud of, and intends to keep. Sea Shepherd is not a protest organization. The Society intervenes only against illegal operations in accordance with the principles established by the U.N. World Charter for Nature.
[Indybay]

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has been blogging on the Whale Safe Beer site for this season’s whale campaign involving both the Farley Mowat and Robert Hunter in Southern waters. This season the Japanese have a six ship fleet involved in whaling activities centered on the Nisshin Maru factory ship.

It has been interesting to see how much of a political football things became as the Sea Shepherd ships were stripped of their registration while at sea. This was due to pressure from the Japanese Government placed onto the national where the ships were registered (Robert Hunter = UK, Farley Mowat = …). This means that docking risks detention unless the ships can obtain new registrations. Both ships are currently returning to Melbourne, due to low fuel supplies.

The Greenpeace ship the Esperanza is also shadowing the Japanese fleet.

{Sometimes I think that Greenpeace and the Sea Shepherd, have as much bad feeling between each other as they have towards the whaling …}

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS)

Whale saviours in fresh bid to stop Japanese hunt
24 November [The Age]

THEY have sunk half of Norway’s whaling fleet. Poachers hate them and seal hunters attack them. But the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is likely to be warmly welcomed in Melbourne as it prepares to fight Japanese whale killing.

Its vessel, the 50-metre, ice-breaking Farley Mowat, arrived in Port Phillip Bay yesterday on its first Melbourne visit. On December 5 it will travel to Antarctic waters in a bid to “harass, hinder and obstruct” the Japanese whaling ships from their prey, which this season will include up to 935 minke whales — double the previous catch.

The Sea Shepherd “pirates”, founded by Paul Watson, are more combative than Greenpeace, which Mr Watson helped to establish. Indeed, it is unlikely there will be co-operation between Sea Shepherd and Greenpeace, which has two ships on the way to the whale-hunting area.

The Farley Mowat was last night anchored in the bay because a lack of insurance prevented it from docking. The ship is equipped with high-tech anti-whaling devices: protesters will use small speedboats, robotic helicopters (to remotely film the whale slaughter) and power-skis.

…

In December, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society will engage the Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. The Sea Shepherds say the Japanese whale kill is illegal. They will be acting in accordance with the United Nations World Charter for Nature in their intervention. The groups objective is to “hunt down the Japanese whaling fleet and harrass, block, obstruct, and intervene against their illegal whaling operations.”

 AUSTRALIANS – THE SEA SHEPHERD SHIP IS COMING TO MELBOURNE!
Please visit the WHALES100,000 website which has been created specially to inform Australians about the Sea Shepherd campaign to save the whales of Antarctica and how you can help.

Paul Watson is founder and president of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. He is preparing to sail his ship Farley Mowat from Melbourne to Antarctica next month in an attempt to disrupt Japanese whaling.

 

[1] http://www.seashepherd.org/ [SSCS]
[2] Whaling Around the World: The Aussie Factor [SSCS]