I´M A DIVER NETWORK

Save the whales BOYCOTT JAPAN

noreply@blogger.com (I´M A DIVER) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 02:39:00 +0000

This is a message from:

noreply@blogger.com (I´M A DIVER) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 01:47:00 +0000

Save the whales BOYCOTT JAPAN

To call the whaling programme research is a hoax. The International Whaling commission has declared that the results of the programme are currently of no use, and non-lethal alternatives exist for determining all of the programme objectives relevant to whale conservation. 4,000 tonnes of the whalemeat which the hunt produces remains unsold, giving the lie to the suggestion that the whale hunt could become a commercially sustainable activity.

The current whale hunt in the Southern Ocean is neither scientifically useful nor commercially viable.

We will Boycott Japan and stop buying Japanese products until the killing of whales stops!

Hans Lak

The Save the whales BOYCOTT JAPAN petition to Japanese Government was written by Hans Lak and is hosted free of charge at GoPetition.

SHAME ON AUSTRALIAN GOVERMENT

noreply@blogger.com (I´M A DIVER) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 01:34:00 +0000

No Justice!! Australian Federal Police Seize Whale War Videos

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship Steve Irwin arrived in Hobart, Tasmania at 1700 Hours on February 20th. The ship was met at dockside by a party of Federal Australian Police officers who boarded the Steve Irwin with a warrant.

The warrant authorized the seizing of "all edited and raw video footage, all edited and raw audio recordings, all still photographs, producer's notes, interview transcripts, production meeting minutes, post production meeting minutes as well as the ship's log books, global positioning system records, automatic radar plotting aid, purchase records, receipts, financial transaction records, voyage information and navigational plotted charts."

The Animal Planet series Whale Wars was very embarrassing to the Japanese government and the Japanese whaling industry in 2008. Japan does not wish to see the airing of the second season of Whale Wars and is putting as much diplomatic pressure on Australia as they possibly can to prevent further exposure of their illegal whaling operations in the Southern Ocean.

"I wish that the Australian government would apply the same "diplomatic" pressure on Japan to end their illegal whaling operations," said Captain Paul Watson. "The Rudd government was elected on a promise to take the Japanese whaling industry to court for their illegal whaling activities. Now they seem to be more interested in taking Sea Shepherd to court for our efforts to intervene against illegal whaling operations."

Captain Paul Watson said he would welcome a trial.

"We have to start somewhere so it may as well be by taking me to court. Let us get the evidence on the table and although a trial against Sea Shepherd and myself may not allow the introduction of evidence about Japan's illegal whaling operations, it at least will give us the forum to present our evidence. Let's see the Australian government bring the Japanese whale killers to Australia to bear witness against Sea Shepherd and Animal Planet and let's see them appear as witnesses for the government of Australia that professes to be against whaling."

"It's a very one-sided affair," continued Captain Watson. "The Japanese ships have not been boarded by the Australian Federal Police; they have not had their video and navigational data confiscated. They have not been questioned nor will they be, yet they violently attacked my ship and crew in the Southern Ocean. Does the law only go to bat for those who destroy nature's creation? Are we about to see the ultimate kangaroo court where Sea Shepherd will be legally crucified because the Australian government has not lived up to their promise of taking the whale killers to court? The truth is that we would not have to be in the Southern Ocean defending the whales if the governments of the world would simply enforce the international conservation treaties they once so proudly signed into law. Without enforcement there is no law - just ecological anarchy."

Captain Watson said he had no complaints about the Australian Federal Police.

"They were very professional and polite and they were doing their job in carrying out the orders of the government."

"We have quite the year ahead of us," continued Captain Watson. "We need to repair damages to the Steve Irwin, we need to secure a second and faster vessel, and we need to be prepared to return to the Southern Ocean again at the end of the year to defend whales. If need be we will be in court to answer to charges of defending endangered whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary and to this we proudly plead guilty."

noreply@blogger.com (I´M A DIVER) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 07:06:00 +0000

Collision course

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society dismiss Greenpeace as 'Avon ladies'. Their leader, Paul Watson, has rammed and sunk whaling ships, and this week has been continuing a deadly game of cat and mouse with the Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean. In 2005 journalist Peter Heller was with him when he pursued the same ships.

It was three o'clock when I awoke on Christmas morning. What woke me was the sudden drop of the bow as it gashed into the trough and the impact of my right shoulder hitting the locker at the head of my bunk. The Farley Mowat shivered. Then the wave pitched the stern out of water and the prop howled, beating air.

The sea was a frenzy. No night's respite, no night at all, just the unabated gloom of a perpetual dawn. The waves were now more than 10 metres, and the wind tore off their tops and streamed their backs with ropy lines of foam. Snow blew by in the tortured fog and mixed with the plumes of exploding spray.

The Farley took the monsters under her stern, and the exposed prop shuddered for a moment like a thing in pain before the wave threw the bow wildly to the sky. It was now a full force 8 gale.

Paul Watson sat up in the high captain's chair in his Mustang suit and Sorrel boots, looking from his radar screen to the sea. He was focused and calm.

I stared at the throbbing green blips on the main radar screen. Was it possible? Had Watson found, in hundreds of thousands of square kilometres of Southern Ocean, his prey? I looked at Watson in his exposure suit and began to pull on my dry suit. Watson turned to Cornelissen. "Wake all hands," he said.

We were 354 kilometres north-north-east of Antarctica's Commonwealth Bay. The Farley laboured up the back of an 11-metre wave and plunged down the other side.

An intense quietness had come over the bridge. After many months of preparation and planning, Watson was sneaking up on two vessels in a vast empty sea in a near hurricane and the radio was silent. No one spoke. Allison came onto the bridge, as did Aultman and Ron with his camera.

At 3.50am, through the fog and spray, I saw a shadow that was not mist or wave. It was a ship. "There it is!" Hammarstedt cried. "That's definitely it!"

A terrible suggestion of a ship. We strained as if our eyes could concentrate and clarify the image. Then the fog did it for us, rending like ripped gauze, and there for a second was the giant stern, the slipway, the white block letters that read Nisshin Maru, Tokyo.

Trevor, with his engineer's telepathy, down in the engine room, must have known. The Farley Mowat was taking the waves at what for her was a dead run.

"We're doing 11 knots. They're doing six," Alex said.

"I have tweaked the engine." Trevor was in the doorway, ear protectors propped on his head, an elusive smile just slipping away.

Allison said: "The captain says we're severely limited with what we can do in this weather. Don't want anybody out there - hell!" She pointed out the forward windows. "Look at Gedden out there!"

Gedden was crouching, moving forward on the forecastle like a man in battle under fire. He had something black clutched against his right side, and when the bow plunged he grabbed the water cannon, or the anchor chain. He scrambled forward now on hands and knees. An explosion of spray covered him and he moved forward again. The next one knocked him over.

When he got to the bow rail, he whipped a karabiner from his harness and clipped it to the rail. Tethered in, holding the thing against him with his elbow, he went for the flag mast at the bow. He was going to hoist the Jolly Roger. In 60-knot gusts he got the flag clipped on somehow, hoisted it and cleated it off.

This was a psychological war as much as anything. The Japanese had said in their press when they left on November 7 from Shimonoseki harbour that they were afraid of an attack by Sea Shepherd. Fear would make them run. When they ran, they did not kill whales.

I didn't think fog happened in near-hurricane winds, but there it was, shrouding the Nisshin Maru after the first glimpse. The ship might have seen us, but probably it hadn't. It was maintaining its speed, just under seven knots. It was a sitting duck. It thought we were the Arctic Sunrise. Nobody bothered to step out on its bridge wing to look back and check.

I could only imagine what we would look like, appearing out of the fog, black and battered, the gale-stiffened Jolly Roger flying, with an avowed mission to cripple or destroy.

Alex kept one eye on the radar now and one eye on the sea ahead. He had the ship targeted on the screen, in a small white box, which gave him a continual readout of its speed, direction, range and time to contact.

"Seventeen minutes," he said. "Twelve knots."

The fog ripped away and just ahead was the slipway ramp cut into the stern where they winched up the dead whales, and the tall white superstructure of the cranes. A banner over the slipway read, "Greenpeace Misleads You". Fighting fire with fire.

Running down the length of the hull, visible when it corkscrewed on a swell, was the large block lettered word "research". As the ship rode over the bigger waves, its prop came out of the water. We were two kilometres away.

"I think the best tactic here, Alex, is the prop foulers. Bring it as close to the bow as possible. Low profile as possible. We don't want them to see what we're doing," Watson said.

Alex was leaning forward into the window in front of him like a cat; his eyes didn't move off the stern. "Do we want to ram them? Punch a few holes in their ship?"

I thought it was a rhetorical question.

"No, we'd sustain a lot of damage. Prop fouler's the best thing right now," Watson said.

He seemed to be protecting his crew. No sane person wanted a collision in these seas. Watson turned to Trevor. "Tell them to get the prop foulers ready on the stern. Tell them to stay down, stay hidden. Don't deploy them until I blow the horn."

Trevor nodded, exited. Allison tugged at Watson's elbow. "Do you want to get the helmets and vests? This is where they're going to shoot."

Helmets and body armour. Must be some of the items behind the locked door labelled "Powder Room".

"Sink right to the bottom with that stuff," Alex said. "I'll take a few bullets."

"Yes, but the bridge is where they're going to shoot."

"They're not going to shoot us."

"I can't believe they're going so slow," Watson said. We were coming right up on their stern, a kilometre now and closing. "How far is the Esperanza behind us?" The proximity of a potential rescue ship in these seas might determine Watson's level of aggression, although I didn't think a rescue boat could even spot swimmers in the violent waves.

The Nisshin was very close, but not close enough. It was like sneaking up on a browsing deer, holding your breath, praying a twig wouldn't snap. Maybe somebody on the Nisshin finally saw us. The pace with which we closed the gap slowed a little.

"The factory ship is increasing speed to eight knots now!" Alex said.

It was 4.48am. Alex began ticking off the Nisshin's speed. "Increasing speed again, nine knots now. Nine point four. One knot more."

Watson watched his prey. He sat up in the captain's chair, one hand, out of habit, on the knob of the lever that controlled our speed. He worked his jaw to the side. Not excited, not angry, just focused. He looked like a polar bear, with the same pitiless detachment, weighing distances, speed, odds. It was easy to see that this was not his first action.

He said: "Tell Trevor to deploy at the last moment. We don't want them to see us put it out."

"Nine point five," Alex said.

Watson didn't take his eyes off the ship, "I don't think they can go much faster in this weather. That's where we have the advantage. Some horses are good in mud and some aren't. This is a North Atlantic trawler - that's where our advantage is."

"Our speed is 11," Alex said. "Their speed is 9½."

We were off to its starboard, coming up on its stern. It was monstrous. Even so, the bigger waves were throwing its prop out of water. Some of them were over 12 metres. Trevor shoved open the bridge wing door and entered. He had on his Mustang suit now, and he was wet.

"The horn is on. They have the trail line ready."

The trail line was a two-centimetre thick longline on a spool on the stern. There was a kilometre of the stuff. Watson would try to push across the Nisshin's bow while Trevor and his team unleashed the floating line. The bigger ship would have no choice but to plow over it. The line would work its way down the hull and, Watson hoped, get sucked up in the Nisshin's prop.

But I didn't see how that would not be dangerous to the Japanese crew in this kind of storm. If the prop did jam, the Nisshin would have no headway and would broach sideways to the seas and wallow. They'd have to launch life boats in seas like this, in water that was at or below freezing.

Watson said again: "As soon as I hit the horn, then deploy it. We have to get far enough ahead so we don't hit them, but close enough so we're effective."

"Nine point six."

"Keep pulling alongside."

"I'll let you be the judge how close to get."

"We'll lose some speed as we cross."

"I hope we can disable those bastards. They're not going to let us have a second chance. Where are the passports?" Watson said.

"In the safe," Kalifi responded.

"The bag with the passports is not in there. Get someone to find them."

Kalifi went out. Watson was making preparations to abandon ship if necessary.

Alex, his voice rising, called out, "We're getting pretty close here. Point four miles."

"I'll hit the horn when I want Trevor to deploy."

"I found the passports."

"Just put it by the safe so it's ready to go."

"Greenpeace is speeding up too," Alex said. They had to be glued to their radar, watching the signal blips of the two ships starting to overlap.

"We could ram her up the slipstream if you want," Alex said. "What do you say, Paul?"

"Yes, the swells are good," piped up Hammarstedt, who was again at the main radar; it was the first thing he'd said in a while. He meant that we had waves following us of great size, so it would be easy to come down off the top of one and crack down with force into the opening of their slipway.

"No, we're going to do this," Watson said.

Watson had the benefit of three decades of similar actions. He was evidently making his bearlike calculations.

"Is he picking up speed at all?" he asked.

"Nine point nine knots."

"He can't go any faster. He's going to cut the swell as soon as we go by him, too." Meaning Watson thought he would turn.

"Toward us?" Alex asked.

"Yes. Don't underestimate the guy gunning it as we come across." Watson was thinking they might try to ram us. "I think just past the 'research' thing is the best time. How far in front of the research sign do you want to start cutting in? You feel safe enough?"

"We've got a knot," Alex said.

The Farley, to everyone's astonishment, overtook the Nisshin's stern and began to move up alongside. It was about 91 metres to port. Black hull, white superstructure, freshly painted, four-storeys high, with three massive crane gantries whose tops must have been 23 metres off the water. RESEARCH. Clean, innocent block letters.

We were edging up along the word. When the bridge reached the H, Alex would swing in toward the ship. He would count on our extra speed to angle us in front of the bow and get us clear across it before a collision.

"There's nobody there, nobody even looking at us," Watson said. "I think we caught them unawares! There's nobody looking at us."

Just then it was as if the Japanese woke up and the Nisshin Maru jumped in surprise. Someone put the hammer down and it began to pull away.

"He's turning away," Alex said.

Watson, curt: "Turn with him, is he speeding up?"

"Turning away - not very smart, they're going to take the waves on the beam - Yes, they're getting away Ten point seven - matching speed - 11.3 - they're faster, 11.5, 11.7."

"Go right on their ass, then."

As Watson ordered it and Alex began the turn to follow, a wave hit the Farley on her port quarter and she slammed over. The waves weren't getting any smaller. We were falling back along Nisshin's endless aft deck. And we were now taking the seas, like the Nisshin, on our port stern. It was not a good angle to the storm.

"Go for it if you can. Straight into the slipway."

"Oh, f…, yeah," Alex said. "I hope they stop, got a surprise for them. They are a little faster, but not much: 11.5."

It was too late. Trevor had tweaked the engines, and the Farley was straining with all she had: 11, 11.6, 12 knots. But the Nisshin was too powerful. She came up to speed and fled at 16 knots.

And then it was as if the Nisshin's skipper snapped. Captain D. Toyama had been whaling down here for decades. He had been harassed for days by Greenpeace; their Zodiacs swarmed his killer boats, his harpooneers had shot whales right over their heads. And here, out of the fog, was a ship willing to disable his own. He'd had enough. The Nisshin was about a kilometre away when it turned to starboard, angling across our bow and slowing down. Toyama seemed to be saying, "OK, you want to mess with me? Come ahead."

Alex matched the turn, all but 30 degrees of it, so as not to fall behind the Nisshin's stern, and set a collision course. He too was completely calm. Watson, out of his chair now, stood with a hand on the lever that controlled our speed.

Now we caught the crossing seas on our starboard and the Farley slammed over to port in a 40-degree roll that sent Kristian crashing across the bridge. The Farley righted and slammed to the other side. Alex looked at the radar. He turned to Kalifi and said, "Tell the crew collision in two minutes."

Most of the crew were gathered in the mess in their exposure suits, aft of amidships, below the deck, and a long companionway away from the main hatch exit. One of the officers - it wasn't clear who - had ordered them there. Not a good place to be. If the Farley broke apart, they wouldn't have a chance of getting out.

The Nisshin Maru was on our port side, and the two ships approached each other at an acute angle. By the law of the sea, in a collision situation, we had the right of way. The Nisshin's bow lunged off an 11-metre wave, airborne, and crashed down like a giant axe. The hole it tore out of the sea vaporised and was driven downwind. The gap between us closed.

Now we could hear the blare of their horn through the tearing wind. Repeated blasts, short and long, enraged.

"Collision one minute."

I tugged on the waterproof zipper of my dry suit and had one thought: you're going to be wet and cold in about 20 seconds. The hammering bow loomed, 61 metres away, aimed at our belly.

Alex glanced at the radar, at the juggernaut, held his course. He was focused, intent. A deadly game of Antarctic chicken.

Alex blew the horn, which was the order to unleash the prop fouler. A squad on the stern stood, braced themselves, and whipped several hundred metres of the mooring line off a big spool, enough to tangle any propeller.

And then the Nisshin blinked. Whoever was at the helm threw it over to port. For an agonising second the two ships ran parallel, and then they were pulling away. They quickly resumed full speed and fled back into the fog.

As they ran, Watson pulled down the mike on maritime channel 16, and barked, "Nisshin Maru, Nisshin Maru, this is the Farley Mowat. You are in violation of an international whale sanctuary. We advise you to get out … Time to go now, you murdering scumbags. Now move it! And run like the cowards you are."

I looked at my watch: 5.42 a.m.

Watson handed the mic to Casson, who spoke rudimentary Japanese. "Nisshin Mart," he said. "Nisshin Mart, you are murderers. You are dishonourable."

Alex lifted his watery blue eyes from the radar and smiled. The first one I'd seen in days. "They actually increased speed when you said that."

"Go back to Tokyo," Casson said. "Good luck."

From The Whale Warriors: On Board The Sea Shepherd's Pirate Ship In The Battle To Save The World's Largest Mammals

noreply@blogger.com (I´M A DIVER) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 06:01:00 +0000

Ten Reasons that Operation Musashi by Sea Shepherd Conservation Society against the Japanese whalers Has Been a Success!

1.- The Japanese whaling fleet was located very quickly in the campaign, the earliest ever that the fleet has been intercepted. The fleet was also relocated very quickly on the 2nd Leg of the campaign.

2.-The Steve Irwin pursued the Japanese whaling fleet for over 2000 miles between December 18th and January 7th disrupting their whaling operations for 19 days. The Steve Irwin returned and relocated the whaling fleet shutting down operations of the fleet for an additional 8 days. We can claim 27 days that we physically prevented the whalers from killing whales. This means many less whales killed and more whaling profits lost. The whaling fleet will not meet its quota for the fourth year in a row.

3. The Yushin Maru No.2 suffered ice damage to its propeller while being pursued by the Steve Irwin. This took the harpoon vessel out of operation between December 20th and February 5th, for a total of 46 days. This will also reduce the number of whales killed and will cause a further loss of illicit profits for the whaling industry.

4. The Yushin Maru No.2 was refused permission to do repairs by Indonesia, a significant embarrassment to Japan.

5. Australia refused to agree to Japan's request that the Steve Irwin be denied permission to refuel in an Australia port. This was extremely embarrassing for Japan to be denied this request and demonstrated an error in diplomatic judgment. Nations should never make public demands unless they know they will be met.

6. The Japanese whaling industry spent a small fortune rigging their ships with anti-boarding devices, covering their ships with netting and installing long range acoustical weapons. In addition they spent money on fuel while under pursuit and repairs to the Yushin Maru No.2. They also spent a great deal of money to charter the Taiyo Maru No.38 to transport a special security force. This ship had to deliver three injured crewmembers to Fiji (they were injured during normal whaling operations, not by any of Sea Shepherd's actions), and because of this diversion the Steve Irwin was able to relocate the fleet and intervene before the security force could return.

7. Sea Shepherd crewmembers engaged the entire Japanese fleet in a dramatic two day confrontation that demonstrated the determination and the resolve of the entire crew to intervene against illegal Japanese whaling operations. The reaction to this year's campaign by the Japanese whalers was a revelation of their frustration and desperation by physically and violently attacking the Sea Shepherd crew.

8. The campaign received wide international media coverage, once again exposing Japan's continued illegal whaling activities. The campaign received coverage in Japan and has contributed to the growing controversy in Japan over Southern Ocean whaling.

9. Over a thousand hours of video was recorded for the 2nd Season of Whale Wars by Animal Planet. This program has angered the Japanese whaling industry more than anything else we have done. With Whale Wars we are reaching millions of people around the world to expose illegal Japanese activities. The first season of Whale Wars was a hit and the 2nd season will be even bigger.

10. Not a single Japanese whaler was injured and the crew of the Sea Shepherd suffered only very minor injuries. Our record of never injuring our opposition remains unblemished. We made the decision to withdraw in the face of escalating violence by the whalers because we could not control the situation with one ship against four vessels, three of which had greater speed and maneuverability.

noreply@blogger.com (I´M A DIVER) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 05:09:00 +0000

Sea Shepherd returns from the WHALE WARS

Sea Shepherd ship is heading back to port.

God Bless Paul Watson and the crew of the M/V Steve Irwin for their brave and unrelenting efforts at stopping the whale murderers in the Southern Antarctic whale sanctuary.

Sea Shepherd will be back to intervene in illegal whaling activities again next year.

The tactics of the Japanese whaling operation have turned increasingly violent against the crew of the Steve Irwin, and it has become too dangerous and risky for SSCS to continue given the present situation. A japanese vessel was setting out to confiscate the video coverage taken by SSCS, and that can not be allowed to happen. SSCS have the documentary evidence showing what happened down there these past couple months. The crew need to get back to port safely with the video footage in hand.

The whales who have been spared this season are alive thanks to Sea Shepherd. No thanks to the Aussie government and no thanks to the IWC who have once again stood by and done nothing to stop this illegal and unnecessary slaughter of these majestic and highly intelligent and sentient beings, all under the guise of scientific "research". Shame on the whalers!

God Bless the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society!!

Thank you all for your continuing support and donations to raise much needed funds for a second ship. :)

As a sign of courtesy and respect to the amazing Captain and his crew, Greg Coventry suggests that we should all set our profile picture to be the Operation Musashi Jolly Roger logo. Fly the flag!!!

If you don't already have it, right click on my profile pic and save it, then you can use it.

Please remember that there are ways we can all continue to help!

Host a fund-raising event in your home town for SSCS.
Have an 'Outreach' table at community events, festivals, etc., distribute SSCS literature and inform people about the plight of our oceans and the great efforts of SSCS.
Hold a video house party and watch Whale Wars! Show your friends so they can see what it's all about. The Whale Wars DVD is available to buy from the Discovery Store.
Wear your SSCS garb- shirts, hats, touques - to show support!

The Sea Shepherd ship the Steve Irwin and her crew have withdrawn from the Japanese whaling fleet to begin preparations to return with a faster and longer range ship.

"I have said always said that we would do everything we can short of hurting people to end illegal whaling in the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary." Said Captain Paul Watson. "We have done everything we could with the resources available to us this year. We have shut down their illegal operations for over a month in total. We have cost them money and we have saved the lives of a good many whales. And although we are willing to take the risks required, even to our own lives, I am not prepared to do to the Japanese whalers what they do to the whales and the escalating violence by the whalers will result in some serious injuries and possibly fatalities if this confrontation continues to escalate."

Captain Watson said that he has been operating at a disadvantage against three harpoon boats that are superior in speed and manoeuvrability to the Steve Irwin.

"We need to block those deadly harpoons and we need to outrun these hunter killer ships and to do that I need a ship that is as fast as they are and I intend to get one and I intend to return next year." He said. "We will never stop intervening against their illegal whaling operations and we will never stop harassing them, blockading them and costing them money. I intend to be their on-going nightmare every year until they stop their horrific and unlawful slaughter of the great whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary."

This year the crew of the Steve Irwin pursued the Japanese fleet from December 18th until January 7th for over 2,000 miles, shutting down their operations for a month. The crew returned and relocated the fleet on February 1st and pursued them for another 9 days during which time the whalers were only able to kill five whales. A pursuit of the Yushin Maru #2 by the Steve Irwin on December 20th caused ice damage to the prop of the whaling ship and forced them out of operation for a month and a half. The harpoon vessel was denied repairs in Indonesia much to the embarrassment of Japan.

Confrontations between the Steve Irwin and the whaling fleet have resulted in numerous close calls and two collisions causing minor damage. The whaling fleet this year deployed Long Range Acoustical Devices (LRAD’s) and high powered water cannons against the Sea Shepherd crew. No whalers were injured. Three members of the Steve Irwin’s crew were injured with one man requiring five stitches above his left eye after being hit by a blast from the LRAD and knocked over.

Captain Paul Watson is dismissive of Japanese accusations that Sea Shepherd deliberately rammed their whaling ships "The whalers and their hired PR flunkies can say whatever they want now but we have over 1,000 hours of video footage documenting every moment of the campaign. Our story will be told on a weekly series on Animal Planet with the show Whale Wars. People can watch and judge for themselves. The camera is the most powerful weapon in the world and we intend to demonstrate that power."

On January 31st, the Japanese government dispatched a security vessel called the Taiyo Maru #38 from Fiji to intercept the Steve Irwin. The ship is believed to be carrying a special boarding unit and has orders to seize the ship and all video evidence, according to a source in Fiji. The ship is expected to arrive in the Ross Sea within days.

"We cannot allow this documentation to be captured by Japan" Said Captain Watson.

The Steve Irwin will be returning to Australia and is expected to arrive within the next two weeks. The ship had only another four days of fuel reserves to remain with the fleet before being forced to return anyways.

"Another four days is simply not worth getting someone killed," said Captain Watson. "We are down here because we respect the sanctity of life. The whalers are down here to illegally destroy life. People can choose to side with life or with death, between the whalers and the whale defenders, and we have chosen to defend life, and for those who condemn us for what we are doing, all I can say is that we are not down here for them. We’re down here for the whales."

noreply@blogger.com (I´M A DIVER) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 04:39:00 +0000

Message from:
Captain of the Sea Shepherd ship Steve

My friends,

It is Christmas Eve down here off the coast of Antarctica and I can absolutely assure you that we are all having a very white Christmas. And it is a happy Christmas because there is no place else we would choose to be.

Not only is it a white Christmas with towering massive alabaster icebergs and heaving floes of cobalt blue ice, it is a magical Christmas as orcas, humpbacks, fins, blues and piked whales escort us through these seas, as albatross, petrels, and skua gulls fly along beside us. And on the floes, the penguins, primarily Adelie and kings comically “salute” us as we pass by.

Being in these waters is like being on another planet or in another dimension of time and reality where humans are a scarce species and the oceans teem with the diversity of life. The air is pure and smells alive and the waters even purer and moving with life.

I have spent five Christmas days since 2002 in this wondrous place and I love it here, love it perhaps more than any other place on Earth despite, or perhaps because of its isolation, its wildness, and its unpredictability.

To love something is to defend it – to be willing to fight and to die for it. And such is the love that I feel for the magnificent citizens of this vast frozen region that I have no hesitation in acting in their defence, whatever the consequences might be.

Ahead of us at this moment is a fleet of killers. Led by the ship I call the Cetacean Death Star, (formally known as the Nisshin Maru), and accompanied by three vicious harpoon vessels, they have only one purpose in these waters and that is to deliver an agonizingly cruel death to the intelligent and gentle giants that grace these waters.

We are here to save life and they are here to kill. Our purposes are clearly defined.

I do not hate these whalers. I do pity them that they can take life away so thoughtlessly and so casually without pause for remorse or reflection.

As Marc Anthony said in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, “Pardon me, thou bleeding piece of Earth that I am so gentle and mild with these butchers.”

For gentle and mild we are indeed. Every fibre of my being wants to sink that obscene floating death factory, yet I must by necessity employ gentler tactics and a more complex strategy.

But every whale that dies pains me to the core of my being. I feel every harpoon and hear every scream. I smell the blood and the fear joand I see the smirks of chauvinistic humanity as they pull the triggers of their harpoon cannons and mutilate the corpses with their lances.

Restrained by our own compassion and ideals of the sacredness of life, we intercept, harass, block and pursue, driven by the guilt we must endure as whales suffer and die because of our decision of practical restraint. We seek year after year to silence the harpoons and to silence the haunting screams of the whales through tactics that although somewhat effective require time to be truly effective and time is a commodity that the whales are running short of.

And as we willingly choose to abhor a violent solution we must suffer accusations that we are violent by these same mad killers who answer our non-harmful tactics with bullets and grenades. They accuse us of being violent as they spill thousands of steaming gallons of the hottest blood on Earth into the frigid waters of Antarctica and fill the polar air with the pitiful screams of whales dying in horrific agony.

Nothing is simple in this world where commerce is absolved for passing death sentences on intelligent socially complex gentle sentient beings and where diplomacy is used as an excuse to ignore the consequences of the slaughter of the gentle and the innocent.

On this day, the eve of Christmas, the day of love and respect, we find ourselves in the most welcome position of pursuing killers with the purpose of defending their intended victims. We have them on the run and once they stop and attempt to whale we will be on them and we will stop them, as we have stopped them before and we will continue to stop them, halving their quota and costing them their bloody profits.

What better way to spend Christmas Day than saving the lives of such beautiful and uniquely marvellous beings as the whales.

And to add joy to this Christmas for all forty of us on this ship is in knowing that we have the support of so many people around the world who have made it possible for us to be here to be doing what we are doing.

Every whale we save is a whale that you save. Every blow we strike against the illegal profits of the whalers is a strike that you also have struck. In this great venture we are a team and it is a partnership that can change the way things are done on this planet – where we can challenge the arrogance and the ignorance of those who reap life and sow death for profit and culture.

If we can save just one whale from the harpoons it would be victory. However, like we did for the last two years, we intend to defend, protect, and save hundreds of these endangered and threatened giants.

As we enter a new year, we do so knowing that we are not down here alone. You are with us and for that we are deeply grateful. You give us the strength to be strong and the passion to be compassionate and the encouragement to be courageous.

Thank-you sincerely from my crew and I.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from the forty of us at the bottom of the world to all of you around this most beautiful blue and white sphere of life and diversity.

Sincerely,

Captain Paul Watson

Operation Musashi:
Antarctic Whale Defense Campaign
2008-09

The whales count on us to protect them.

noreply@blogger.com (I´M A DIVER) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 04:28:00 +0000

Lets get shark fin removed from Canadian Superstores

The Great Canadian Superstores (owned by Loblaws) are now selling canned shark fin soup in time for the Chinese New Year. After Sharkwater’s release in Canada, Galen Weston, the CEO of Loblaws, brought me out to dinner with his wife Alexandra, and expressed his great interest in supporting the cause…..

Selling shark fins en masse; supporting the destruction of sharks, the oceans and the ecosystems we depend on for survival is how Loblaws supports the cause. Its outrageous that its happening in our own backyard… after we already know shark populations have dropped more than 90%.

Help us fight this, and show Loblaws and Galen Weston that this was a bad decision… and lets get shark fin removed from Canadian Superstores. There’s still time to turn this around.

1. Sell your loblaws stock.

Now!

Write letters to:

Customer_Service@loblaw.ca

service@provigo.ca

investor@loblaw.ca

shareholders@loblaw.ca

And call Galen Weston’s corporate office:

(416) 922-2500

Thank you to Wolfgang Leander and Rob Stewart

INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE SHARK - 2009

noreply@blogger.com (I´M A DIVER) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 02:08:00 +0000

PRESS RELEASE

The Let Sharks Live Network
November 24th, 2008 2009:

THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE SHARK

As the hands of the clock approach midnight for sharks, organizations working for their protection have joined forces in a global communication network named Let Sharks Live, and declared 2009 The International Year of the Shark. The motion aims to raise global awareness of their imminent extinction and the oceanic crisis at hand.

Recent findings of the Global Shark Assessment indicate that at current rates of decline, extinction of the most threatened species of shark is forecast in 10 to 15 years. In large regions, species that were once numerous have fallen to 1% of their original numbers, in a massacre comparable to that of the buffalo on the North American plains 200 years ago, but on a much larger scale. For example, in the Mediterranean Sea there is a 97 to 99.5% decline in shark numbers. Studies of oceanic sharks estimate 80 to 90% of heavily fished species are gone. Yet these intelligent animals, also called the “Wolves of the Sea” are still fished intensively, and finned, usually while still alive, for shark fin soup.

“The oceans have evolved over hundreds of millions of years with sharks as apex predators, so their loss will destroy oceanic health.” Ila France Porcher, founder of the think tank network, explains.

Some of the issues to be addressed include:

● Convincing the consumers of shark fin soup that shark finning is unsustainable and that the dish must be made using a substitute for the shark fins. Shark fin soup is a tasteless delicacy whose main use in the Far
East is to display high social status. If there is no market, the slaughter will cease.

● Educating the public regarding the true nature of sharks and their threatened status, to counter the effects of shark attack hysteria, as spread by the mass media, and which for years has posed a serious barrier to their protection.

● Obtaining protection for threatened species

● Solving the problem of the slaughter resulting from the use of shark nets and drum lines, used to protect beaches in some areas

● Reducing bycatch losses, and the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) limits defined in fisheries law

● Promoting marine protected areas, and enforcing protection of sharks within existing ones.

● Persuading shark fishermen to practise tag and release only, rather than killing the sharks they fish.

The threats sharks face in this modern world of human domination are daunting. The enormous scale of commercial longline fishing and bycatch,
the methodical massacre for shark fin soup, habitat loss and destruction, particularly of nursery areas, pollution, and a variety of smaller operations that have great impact taken together, are the main threats to the future of sharks.

"Our goal is to see the retreat of these magnificent animals from extinction's horizon." says Alex Buttigieg, cofounder of the network.

For further information, please contact:
Alex Buttigieg,(sharkmanab@gmail.com)
Ila France Porcher, (ila@smartech.pf)

Captain Watson Responds to the Australian Newspaper Editorial

noreply@blogger.com (I´M A DIVER) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 18:26:00 +0000

Captain Watson Responds to the Australian Newspaper Editorial

The Editor,

It seems that the Australian needs a lesson on the history of piracy, judging by the conniption fit of an editorial in the Australian today.

There is a reason that we adopted the Jolly Roger in response to our critics calling us pirates. We did it to embrace the accusation in a positive manner, and well, kids love the pirate image.

If we turn back the pages of history to the 17th Century we find that when piracy was running rampant in the Caribbean, it was not the British Navy that put an end to it. There was no shortage of British politicians, merchants and military officers taking bribes to look the other way.

Piracy in the Caribbean was ended by Henry Morgan, a pirate who was knighted for his efforts. His authority to intervene came after the act and not before it.

And like Morgan we are pirates motivated by justice in pursuit of pirates motivated by greed.

Other notable pirates in history who served the public well were Sir Francis Drake, Sir Walter Raleigh, John Paul Jones, and Jean LaFitte.

As to where we get our authority to intervene, that is a question easily answered. The United Nations World Charter for Nature allows for individuals and non-governmental organizations to uphold international conservation law. It is written in the Charter as plain as day.

We have been harassing the Japanese pirate whalers since 2002 without causing a single injury, without being charged with a single crime and without being sued. Pretty tame stuff for a bunch of bad pirates I would think. To compare us to a terrorist bombing a restaurant is absurd. Such a person would be charged with a crime for that action.

All I can say to our critics is either arrest us, sue us or shut up. Spewing opinionated drivel is hardly an indictment.

As for hunting whalers in foggy conditions all I can say is what better conditions could we have for approaching a poacher and catching them in an illegal activity.

The facts are that the Japanese whalers are targeting endangered whales in an established international whale sanctuary in violation of a global moratorium on whaling and they are doing so in contempt of an Australian Federal Court ruling specifically prohibiting whaling in the Australian Economic Exclusion Zone.

P.S. The proper spelling is whales not wales. This is not some patriotic separatist squabble this is about saving an endangered species.

Captain Paul Watson (On board the Steve Irwin off the coast of Antarctic)

The above is a response to this editorial

EDITORIAL FROM THE AUSTRALIAN (30/12/2008) There is a photo on the ABC website of anti-whaling activist Paul Watson standing resolute beneath a skull-and-crossbones flag. The piratical point is of his making, not ours, but it says a great deal about the arrogance of a man who assumes his beliefs empower him to do what he likes on the high seas. And what Mr Watson likes to do is roister around the great Southern Ocean doing everything he can, short of deadly force, to stop Japanese whalers. He likes to confront his enemies, lobbing noxious cocktails at them. He likes to send boarding parties over their sides when he can. He claims to have sunk nine unmanned whalers over the years. Last week, he hunted a whaler in foggy conditions, something a skipper not looking for trouble would do.

Mr Watson argues he is only enforcing the law, taking it on himself to try and force Japanese whalers out of waters claimed by countries, such as Australia, that have banned whale hunting. But for all his self-righteous swashbuckling he needs to answer a question pirates never like: which state has commissioned him to enforce his own interpretation of the law? The answer is Australia hasn't. Mr Watson does what he likes and points to the carcasses of unnecessarily slaughter wales (yes that was how it was spelled in the editorial) to justify his actions. They don't.

Japan's annual whaling expedition has less to do with either pursuing scientific research or a food source than it does with the economic interest of a small number fishermen and the arrogance of a handful of bureaucrats who do not want the world telling them what to do. And Australia has been singularly unsuccessful in stopping the Japanese through the international forum that exists to regulate whaling. But none of this justifies individuals deciding their own conscience has the force of law. A terrorist who bombed a restaurant serving whale meat in Tokyo could claim the same desire as Mr Watson to save cetaceans from acts that are illegal in many countries.

But instead of being abhorred as an extremist, Mr Watson is a hero in parts of the press. Perhaps it is because he understands how too much of the media works and obliges lazy journalists who like to be handed dramatic photos and strong quotes without working for the story.

Perhaps many reporters sympathise with his cause. But in promoting him they do the anti-whaling cause no good. The Japanese will never surrender in the face of his thuggery, they will reduce, and ultimately en, whaling only by the force of arguments representing world opinion. And pirates speak for nobody.

Note: Captain Paul Watson is requesting that supporters send a note to the Australian voicing their opinion about this editorial. We need to let the newspaper know that we are tired of posturing and posing and supportive of real actions with real results.

S. S.C. S.

noreply@blogger.com (I´M A DIVER) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 18:14:00 +0000

Sea Shepherd Drives Japanese Whalers Out of Australia's Waters The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's ship Steve Irwin has driven the Japanese whaling fleet out of the Australian Economic Exclusion Zone. "We have chased the whalers for over 800 miles since last Saturday through bad weather and heavy ice conditions," said Captain Paul Watson. "They have fled eastward and they are continuing eastward and we are on their tail and we will keep on their tail." Since finding the Japanese whaling fleet on December 20th, the Steve Irwin has had close encounters with the harpoon vessel Yushin Maru #2 and the spotting vessel Kaiko Maru and has observed and tracked the Nisshin Maru from the air. The Steve Irwin has not been able to close with the main body of the fleet because they keep moving eastward. They have not been whaling since Sea Shepherd located them and they are not whaling now. They continue to flee. The good news is that they are no longer whaling in Australian waters and they only managed to hunt in the waters of the Australian Antarctic Territory for about a week before being forced to flee the Australian EEZ. They are now in the waters of the Ross Dependency and the Steve Irwin is in pursuit. "What is now good news for the whales in Australian waters is now bad news for the whales in the waters south of New Zealand," said Captain Watson. "They are still targeting endangered and protected whales in the waters of an established international whale sanctuary and thus they are still in violation of international conservation law and acting under the principles of the United Nations World Charter for Nature, we will continue to pursue, harass and intervene against their blatantly illegal lethal assaults on the whales." The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's ship Steve Irwin has fuel and provisions to chase the whalers well into the middle of January before having to return to New Zealand to refuel. If forced to return to refuel, the Steve Irwin will do so and then will immediately return to the whaling area to continue to pursue, harass and intervene against illegal Japanese whaling activities." The Steve Irwin has a crew of 40 international volunteers plus an Animal Planet film crew onboard producing the 2nd year of the series Whale Wars. Last year the Sea Shepherd crew pursued the Japanese whaling fleet from early December until mid-March. That intervention cost the whalers over $70 million in lost profits and saved almost 500 whales.

HELP SAVE THE GALAPAGOS - JOIN S.P.E.C.I.E.E.S.

noreply@blogger.com (I´M A DIVER) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 22:07:00 +0000

In addition to working with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society to uphold international conservation laws I have recently joined the Board of Directors of a new organization called S.P.E.C.I.E.E.S.

It stands for the Society to Prevent Exotic Contamination of Island Ecosystems and Endangered Species.

This group is headed up by Allison Lance who has had years of experience in rescuing animals.

And the first task that S.P.E.C.I.E.E.S. is taking on is the awesomely difficult job of addressing exotic species in the Galapagos Islands.

The Galapagos are a world Heritage site and the rising number of dogs, cats, and goats is having a devastating impact on indigenous species like the giant tortoise, the marine iguana, lava lizards and the many beautiful species of birds found on the islands.

Allison has worked since 2001 with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and with Animal Balance to help spay and neuter dogs and cats on the islands. She has the experience and the skills needed to address this problem. More importantly she has the passion to accept this formidable challenge.

Despite the fact that the Special Law for the Galapagos prohibits the importation of dogs and cats, more than 4,000 of them have been fixed. Unfortunately the numbers keep growing as people bring in more animals from the mainland and breed more.

Of course the most destructive exotic species is the human species and many of the people working in the Galapagos are not legal residents.

S.P.E.C.I.E.E.S. is not proposing a lethal solution for exotic animals. Instead, Allison has a program to continue to sterilize animals and to capture and relocate stray animals to the mainland. She is also working with the Ecuadorian authorities to increase the costs of pet owning permits and to raise fines for animals that run loose and threaten wildlife.

S.P.E.C.E.I.E.E.S. is also working to promote alternatives to cars to lower the impact of the human species.

Partnered with Sea Shepherd, Animal Balance and the Galapagos National Park, Allison's new organization of which I am proud to be a director fulfills a very real need in the effort to protect native species and habitats from the damage caused by introduced exotics.

When I first landed in the Galapagos in 2000, there were marine iguanas sunning themselves on the sidewalk in the town and herons boldly walking down the main street. Lava lizards were constantly darting across my path and the large ancient giant tortoises lumbered along without a worry. All has changed due to more people, more tourists, more dogs, more cats and invading insects and domestic farm animals.

We can lose the Galapagos unless we take action. If we cannot protect a place like this, a world heritage site, and a national park than what hope is there for any other eco-system on the planet.

Help me to make S.P.E.C.I.E.E.S a success and sign up as a monthly or yearly supporting member of this much needed organization.

With your help we can save these enchanted isles.

Donations can be made to:

S.P.E.C.I.E.E.S.
P.O. Box 3241
Friday Harbor, WA 98250
USA

$25 - Annual Membership feeor become a supporting monthly donor at ______ per monthor send a donation of any amount.

And you can adopt a dog or cat from the Galapagos.

T - (360) 370-5772
C- (360) 298-0368

Website:
www.speciees.org

Contact Allison Lance at:
allisonlance@speciees.org

Founder & President:
Allison Lance

Board of Directors: Captain Paul Watson Larry Richman DVM James Moss JD Board of Advisors: Dr. Diego Barrera DVM Emma Clifford (Animal Balance) Alex Cornelissen Dr. Chinney Krishna

Byron Maas DVM
Jami Pannell J.D., B.L.A.
Grant Pereira
Phil Wollen
Dr. Lew Seidenberg DVM

Please pass this on to other friends. The Protection of the Galapagos National Park is a priority international conservation issue.

THE BLUE WHALE

noreply@blogger.com (I´M A DIVER) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 21:54:00 +0000

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Cetacea
Family: Balaenopteridae
Genus: Balaenoptera
Length: 24 - 27 m (78 - 88 ft.)
Weight: 100 - 120 tonnes

Status

Classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List 2002. Listed on Appendix I of CITES and Appendix I of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS or Bonn Convention) .Subspecies: Pygmy blue whale (Balenoptera musculus brevicauda) classified as Data Deficient (DD-) .

Description

The blue whale is the largest animal to have ever lived, almost as big as a Boeing 737 , and even larger than the biggest dinosaurs . The skin is greyish blue in colour with a mottled effect visible in some lights that can allow individuals to be identified . The underside, especially of whales living in polar waters, often has a yellowish tinge caused by microscopic algae (diatoms), and between 55 and 88 throat grooves run from under the chin to the navel . The blow (or spout) of this species is the biggest amongst all whales; the slender upright column of air can rise to nine meters .

Range

Found in the Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic and Indian Oceans, with a range that extends from the periphery of drift-ice in polar seas to the tropics . Three main populations persist: one in the southern hemisphere, one in the North Pacific and one in the North Atlantic . It is thought that less than 5,000 individuals remain .

Habitat

Inhabits the open ocean; found particularly along the continental shelf edge and near polar ice .

Biology

Blue whales usually occur alone or in groups numbering between 2 and 3 individuals, but occasionally large groups of up to 60 individuals may form in areas of high food abundance . They feed mainly on shrimp-like krill, which are filtered through the baleen plates . Whales tend to feed at less than 100m deep, and make dives lasting between 5 and 20 minutes . Most blue whales are thought to spend the summer feeding in the colder waters of high latitudes, migrating to warm waters in the winter where females give birth ; although some may be resident in the same area year round . No feeding occurs on the breeding grounds. The two main populations (north and south) remain separated as the seasons are reversed in the two hemispheres.
A single calf is produced after a gestation period of 10 to 11 months. The inter-birth period is probably two to three years, although this may have decreased recently in response to the low population densities . At birth, a calf measures about 7 m in length and may consume up to 50 gallons of milk a day in its first year of life, leading to a weight gain of 90 kg a day . Communication seems to occur via a variety of low frequency sounds and clicks .

Threats

As blue whales are so large, fast for their size and difficult to find, they were not targeted by the whaling industry until technological advances between 1860 and 1920 made capture possible . By the 1960s such large numbers had been killed that the species was thought to be on the very brink of extinction . This whale is still threatened by pollution, and blue whale meat still turns up on markets in Japan .

Conservation

Hunting of the blue whale has been banned since 1966 , however they have been hunted since by illegal soviet whaling. International trade is forbidden as the species is listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) . Populations in the Southern Hemisphere are now gradually increasing , but the species still remains in a precarious position.

Global Anti-Shark-Finning Campaign

noreply@blogger.com (I´M A DIVER) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 21:36:00 +0000

Shoppers on Regents Streets in central London Likely got more than they bargained for this afternoon. In a dramatic illustration of how sharks are caught and killed for their fins, Alice Newstead, perfomance artist and former employee of LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics, voluntarily had her skin pierced with actual de-barbed shark hooks and hung suspended from the ceiling in the window of one of LUSH’s busiest shops for all to see.

As a crowd gathered to watch in horror, Newstead said, “I am doing this because the demand for shark fin soup and other shark products is wiping out the shark population.” Unlike the 100 million sharks who are brutally slaughtered each year for their fins, Newstead commented, “I will be left with scars, but the wounds will heal.”

“Sea Shepherd is deeply impressed by LUSH’s commitment to shark conservation and its willingness to use its 500+ storefronts as a global platform for educating the public on such a critically important issue,” said Kim McCoy, International Executive Director of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. “We applaud Alice for her courageousness in using her body as a tool to help educate consumers about the urgent need to protect sharks. She is an inspiration to us all.”

“Sea Shepherd will be presenting Alice Newstead with an award for courage for her incredible achievement in focusing public attention on the worldwide slaughter of sharks,” said Captain Paul Watson, Founder and President of Sea Shepherd. “What she and LUSH have contributed to this conservation effort is enormous. The cruelty of the shark finning industry was brought intimately into focus with the piercing of Alice’s flesh and the dripping of her blood down her back. LUSH, Sea Shepherd, and Alice are very much aware that if we drive sharks to extinction, we will destroy our oceans, and if we do that, civilization will collapse and humanity will disappear.

What Alice did was not just for the saving of sharks, but for the salvation of humankind. Our admiration for her sacrifice is profound, and the scars that she will bear represent a rare courage demonstrating that we all must do what we can with the talents we possess to save our oceans.”

Today’s dramatic enactment of the gruesome manner in which sharks are caught kicks off the beginning of a global campaign between LUSH and Sea Shepherd. Each of LUSH’s storefronts across the UK now hosts window displays featuring Sea Shepherd’s jolly roger flag, LCD screens playing a continuous loop of Shark Angels footage, and other educational materials.

LUSH’s staff are dressing as pirates and handing out Sea Shepherd shark brochures (PDF) in an attempt to educate consumers about the desperate plight of sharks. Among other things, LUSH is urging consumers to boycott restaurants that serve shark fin soup and health food stores that sell shark cartilage supplements. LUSH has also delivered letters to local restaurants and health food stores asking them to “wash their hands” of this barbaric industry and stop selling shark products.

To assist these businesses in “cleaning up their act,” LUSH has created a new and cruelty-free product especially for this campaign, called Shark Fin Soap. The UK stores plan to sell a limited batch of 11,416 bars, with 100% of the proceeds going to Sea Shepherd. Why 11,416 bars? In recognition of the fact that a staggering 11,416 sharks are killed every hour, and that populations are being wiped out faster than they can reproduce.

SHARK ON THE MENU

noreply@blogger.com (I´M A DIVER) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:31:00 +0000

By Max Showalter • mshowalter@journalandcourier.com

September 4, 2008

On Sunday, "Stanley" was swimming in the warm waters off the coast of Key West, Fla.

Today, the 37-pound, 5-foot-long hammerhead shark is resting on a bed of ice at D&R Fruit & Meat Market, 105 N. Creasy Lane in Lafayette.

On Saturday, the fierce looking shark will be roasted by D&R owner Pat Johnson, who will give out free samples of the meat as long as it lasts.

"The only difference between this and a 400-pound hammerhead is the length and girth. On Saturday we'll bone it out and cook it," Johnson said. "It will be just like our hog roasts, but it will be a shark roast. We're going to have a good time and enjoy some shark."

The shark will be on display at the store from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. today and Friday, and the free samples will be available after 3 p.m. Saturday. That might attract some fans heading home from the Northern Colorado-Purdue football game at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette.

The shark will be served at D&R Barbecue and Catering, which also is in the D&R Plaza.

"This is the first time we've had anything like this. I'm looking forward to Saturday and seeing what Pat does with it," said D&R seafood manager Dave Gray.

He gave the "Stanley" moniker to the hammerhead shark that was caught Sunday in 1,000 feet of water by a Key West fishing boat captained by Tim Lycke.

The store frequently has sea bass, halibut, mako shark, oysters and other shellfish available for customers to purchase.

"What I think is great is that Pat tries to educate people," said Lafayette resident Kyle Wilcrout, who is a chef and got a good look at the shark while shopping Wednesday.

"I frequent this place all the time. It's hard to find a grocery store that has the things I'm looking for."

Please comment on this article in the newspaper & if you live in the Lafayette Indiana area...please try to get there Saturday and protest this bbq. Spoil their "good time"

SLAUGHTER OF BABY SEALS

noreply@blogger.com (I´M A DIVER) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 08:27:00 +0000

On the day IFAW was founded in 1969 to end Canada’s commercial seal hunt, the harp seal population was on the road to extinction. Since then, the campaign to save the seals has become an icon of the animal welfare movement.

IFAW’s most significant achievement has been the securing the European ban on the import of whitecoat harp and blueback hooded seal pelt products. This single success eliminated the primary market for seal fur and saved well over a million seals.

By continuing the campaign long after many other groups gave up the fight, IFAW has blocked repeated attempts to renew the hunt for whitecoats and bluebacks, helped thwart repeated efforts to weaken the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act, and continues to recapture the public attention about the need to protect these animals, and others, from inhumane commercial exploitation.

But thanks to government subsidies and increased harp seal quotas over the past ten years, the seal hunt is back and worse than ever. The animal cruelty to seal pups as young as two weeks old, whether beaten or shot, is both unnecessary and wasteful. As we do every year, IFAW hunt monitors will gather the information we need to continue educating politicians and the public about the many scientific, economic and moral reasons to end the commercial seal hunt in Canada once and for all.

As we again face a renewed hunt, as well as additional threats to the seal population from global warming, there is new hope. Hope such as the recent ban in Belgium on the import of all seal products and the additional momentum behind similar bans in other European countries. But hope most of all, from supporters like you who continue to voice your outrage and gather others to stand with you in telling the rest of the world what is really going on off the East Coast of Canada.

Removing so many animals from any one population places the species at an unnecessary and significant risk. Over the last few years, the Canadian government has raised the annual seal hunt quotas to the highest levels in history, killing almost a million seals in just a three year period. The Total Allowable Catch quota for seals was 85,000 animals higher in 2006 than the “sustainable yield” estimated by Canadian government scientists.

The history of wildlife conservation shows that when large mammals like seals have a price placed on their heads – or hides – the end result is almost always overexploitation. To ensure that wild populations are not put at risk by human activity, a precautionary approach is needed. Yet the DFO management plan does not adequately account for either scientific or environmental uncertainty.

A recent scientific study released by IFAW also shows that in nine of the past eleven years, average ice coverage has fallen to well below levels seen over the last 37 years. This lack of stable ice is negatively impacting the harp seal population which requires sea ice for pupping and nursing its young.

The Canadian government has indicated that it is dedicated to taking ‘real action’ on global warming. Why do they not start by ending the unsustainable and unnecessary hunt for harp seals?

A recent scientific study (Leaper and Matthews 2006) examining the Canadian government’s approach for determining the population status for Northwest Atlantic harp seals revealed that the current approach to managing the seal hunt risks seriously depleting the harp seal population by as much as 50 to 70 percent over the next 15 years.

Cruelty ¨SEAL HUNT"

noreply@blogger.com (I´M A DIVER) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 08:19:00 +0000

WHY SEAL HUNTING IS CRUEL ????

Some seals are killed with a blow to the head using a wooden club or hakapik. The sealers stun as many baby seals as they can before going back to kill them. Some seals try to get away, but they are clumsy on the ice, heaving their fat little bodies with an uncoordinated flipper shuffle. Other seals are shot from a distance and then dragged from the ice onto boats using steel hooks.

Two recent independent veterinary reports on the Canadian seal hunt, as well as IFAW video footage, have documented unacceptable levels of cruelty to baby seals. This hunt is a highly competitive activity, carried out over an extensive area, and under very unpredictable conditions. Haste is the rule, as hunters rush to immobilize as many baby seals as possible in the short time available to them.

Seals are routinely clubbed or shot and left to suffer on the ice, before being clubbed again some time thereafter. Some seals are still skinned before being rendered fully unconscious and few sealers are observed checking for a blinking reflex to confirm brain death prior to skinning an animal. As one of the veterinary reports concluded: "Canada's commercial seal hunt results in considerable and unacceptable suffering.”

The Canadian government often misleads the public by comparing the commercial seal hunt to the killing of farm animals in the food industry. Unlike abattoirs, the seal hunt is an unpredictable, unmanageable hunt for wild animals which takes place under hurried conditions. It is precisely these conditions that have led some experts to conclude that this hunt can never satisfy the requirements of a humane hunt.

A Sad Good-bye to Collette

noreply@blogger.com (I´M A DIVER) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 07:59:00 +0000

Commentary by Captain Paul Watson
Founder and President of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

Collette has been deliberately killed by Australian government bureaucrats.
The whale known as Colin was found to be female after her death and has been renamed Collette.

Upon hearing about the whale known as Colin, the orphaned baby humpback whale lost in Sydney Harbour, I issued the following statement:

Statement from Captain Paul Watson

We view the life of every Humpback whale as valuable and if anything can be done to save the life of this young baby Humpback than we encourage and support every effort to ensure that he survives.
I would propose finding a small cove, inlet or bay to keep Colin safe and then attempting to feed Colin with a mixture of krill and small fish. Finding whale milk is difficult if not impossible. If Colin is old enough to be weaned then this could work.
It is of course an awesome task to care for and provide life saving care to a whale. It truly is a whale of a task but we can’t be faulted for trying, just for refusing to try.
Australians have an opportunity to demonstrate that they do not just talk about saving whales but that they are prepared to do whatever it takes to protect them, including this little orphan.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society wishes to work with the governments both Federal and State, the media, other groups and concerned Australian citizens to mobilize an effort to save Colin.
We can do this!

Captain Paul Watson

Sea Shepherd Australia Director Jeff Hansen began to mobilize a coordinated rescue effort with the Australia Zoo and the government of New South Wales as soon as he heard about the unfortunate whale.

Unfortunately the bureaucrats could not be bothered. They refused to allow us to help Collette and they refused to attempt to feed her or to let anyone else try. They took the easy way out and simply killed her.
Killing is usually the first response of government bureaucrats when a wild species is in trouble. They dismissed our help, they dismissed our suggestions and they dismissed our pleas to spare the life of this baby Humpback.
As I said before Collette was killed, we could not be faulted for trying to save her life but the bureaucrats can be faulted for not even trying.
The “mercy” killing did not go very well. Whales cannot be killed easily as the Japanese whalers have demonstrated for decades. With Collette, first they put a noose and straps around her and then a veterinarian jumped in the water and stuck a syringe near the dorsal fin to sedate her. This was done twice. They then tied her to an inflatable boat and began moving Collette towards the beach.
As they approached the beach, Collette thrashed about with her head and tail coming right out of the water, completely arching her back. She was panicking and in extreme stress. She struggled all the way to the beach, a condemned prisoner on the way to execution by lethal injection.
The energy she expended in her struggles illustrated that she was not as weak as the “experts” had determined. This young whale wanted to live.
On the beach, a tent was erected around her to keep the public from witnessing the execution. They then injected the poison and killed her.
Witness Cherie Curchod said she saw the whale thrashing around near a jetty below her home after she was given more than six injections.
Ms. Curchod said the whale was then tied up and dragged across the bay at Bonnie Doon, to The Basin at Pittwater before she “actively started trying to get away''.

"Then they dragged it to a closed tent and all the while they dragged it, it was flapping it's tail, blowing out of it's head and moving and trying to get away,'' she said.

"It was so upsetting because euthanasia is meant to be an easy death and that whale did not have an easy death at all.''

But National Parks and Wildlife Services spokesman John Dengate said the whale's death was the "best possible result'' in the circumstances.

"That was the best way it could have been done,'' he told reporters. "You put the animal out of its misery.''

He said the calf had been treated with dignity and respect by leading veterinarians but the process of putting down a large mammal was ....distressing and harrowing''.

"To an untrained person, it might not look like the most fantastic thing, but you can't get a better result than that,'' he said.

It is amazing that Dengate would make a statement like “you can’t get a better result than that (death).

There was a better result possible and that was life. We were simply not allowed to provide that chance. An injunction against the execution was secured but the whale was killed before it was served. It was like a sad scene from a movie where the stay of execution for an innocent man is delivered five minutes after his death. And then they loaded her still warm body onto a truck to be taken to the Taronga Zoo for an autopsy and no doubt for research purposes, a chance to dissect a whale.

Sea Shepherd’s offer to help was rejected out of hand. Sea Shepherd Australia director Jeff Hansen pleaded with them to allow the time to attempt to feed her. Sea World in San Diego had fed a young Grey whale years ago named J.J. and had developed a formula. Jeff told them that a formula could be made available within a day. He told them that there was already a milk formula developed by Wombaroo and already tested on baby humpbacks and it was described on their website at http://www.wombaroo.com.au/about_us.htm
Through Tom Baldwin in the Sea Shepherd Melbourne office we contacted Vanessa Pierce in Sydney who was working with Wambaroo. Through Aaron Barnes of Sea Shepherd in Sydney we had a reputable celebrity vet from Bourkes backyard (a big TV show) who had reared and worked with dolphins, his name is Dr Robert Zammit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Zammit). Dr. Zammit was willing and able to help feed the calf. Jeff Hansen also spoke with Allan Short on Steve Irwin’s Whale One and Murray Munro from Wildlife Warriors. Allan had also spoken with Jim Antrim from Sea World California and had the exact formula that was used for JJ, the grey whale.

We had the people lined up. We had the formula to feed Collette. We were mobilized and ready to go but the bureaucrats would not stay the execution. They would not give Collette a chance. They just wanted the “problem” to go away.

A carcass of a large female Humpback was found the same day not far away, and DNA testing will be done to determine if this was the mother and if so it would explain how Collette came to be a lost orphan in Sydney harbour.

The death of this whale underscores the tragedy that happens every year when the Japanese drive exploding harpoons into the backs of defenseless whales in the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary where many mother whales are killed and their calves abandoned to die a lonely death far from human eyes under the shadow of the slowly drifting icebergs.

This tragedy also underlies the political reality that the Rudd government has abandoned their efforts to defend the whales from the lethal harpoons of the illegal Japanese whaling fleet. The appeasement of the Japanese government in the name of not upsetting trade will condemn hundreds of whales to an agonizing death once again at the end of the year.

We wish that we still had Senator Ian Campbell championing the whales as the Minister of Environment instead of a man who did more as a rock star than he has done as a politician.

Memo to Peter Garrett

Peter, did you check your balls at the door when you were elected? Why not do one or two of the things you promised to? Now you’re murdering kangaroos, kissing the ass of the Japanese whalers, backing pulp mills, logging and dredging operations. What the hell happened man? Spitting on the burning bed ain’t gonna put out the fire! When you played on the logging road at Clayoquot I loved you man. When you spoke out in song and music for the Earth, we adored you. But now, well now, you’re just another lying craven politician with a self serving agenda. Redeem yourself while you still can – speak out like you used to – hell all they can do is fire you but better to be a hero to the people than a pawn to special interests.

Let’s save the whales!

We could not save Collette, but down off the coast of Antarctica in the Ross Sea, the Japanese intend to slaughter over a thousand whales beginning in January. It is there where we can make a difference without bureaucrats to hinder our efforts.

Last year we saved over 500 whales. We intend to save even more this year.

SHARK EVOLUTION

noreply@blogger.com (I´M A DIVER) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 22:29:00 +0000

Shark Evolution

Sharks have been around for a very long time. The first known sharks evolved about 400 million years ago, more than 200 million years before the dinosaurs, and were very common predators. Over 2,000 species have been identified from the fossil record, compared to the 1,000 or so species known to exist today.
The earliest known sharks were very different in appearance from their modern counterparts. Some looked more like eels than fish. Many of them had rounded snouts, rather than the pointed ones we associate with today’s sharks. They had smaller brains and their teeth were smooth, rather than the sharp-edged or serrated teeth typically seen in modern sharks. Their fins were less flexible and manoeuvrable, and it’s likely that ancient sharks were less agile than their modern cousins. But in some ways they were very similar to the animals we call sharks today, having the same cartilaginous skeletons, multiple gill slits and replaceable teeth.

Sharks are classified into eight orders, each according to common physical characteristics that group related species together. Although this seems simple, classifying sharks is not easy, because the actual characteristics used to define them are not always immediately obvious.

Some of the characteristics that are used to differentiate sharks include the number of gill slits, the number and type of fins, the presence of a membrane over the eye, the type of reproduction and even the structure of valves in the intestines. As a result, two species that look quite similar may be members of completely different orders, such as the mako shark and blue shark; while two others that look quite different can be members of the same order – dogfish and hammerheads, which both belong to the order Carchariniformes, are a good example of this.
Classifying sharks is so complicated that even experts cannot agree on precisely which species belong where. Some authorities put the frilled shark, of which there is only one known species, into a separate order, called the Chlamydoselachiformes. Meanwhile others assign a group known as the bramble sharks, whose two species most taxonomists place in the Squaliformes, to its own order called the Echinorhiniformes.

The eight most commonly recognised orders are:

Heterodontiformes: Bullhead Sharks, containing a single genus and only 10 species including the Horn Shark.

Orectolobiformes: Carpet Sharks. 34 species, including the Whale Shark, the Nurse Shark and the Zebra Shark.

Lamniformes: Mackerel Sharks.16 species, including well-known sharks such as the Great White and the Mako.

Carchariniformes: ground sharks. The most complex group with over 270 species, including Tigers, Hammerheads and Blacktip Reef Sharks.

Hexanchiformes: cow sharks. Four species, with either six or seven gills.

Squaliformes: Dogfish Sharks. About 115 species, including Dogfish, Catsharks and Lantern Sharks.

Squatiniformes: Angel Sharks. About 18 species, all with a distinctive flattened body shape.

Pristiophoriformes: Sawsharks. Eight species, all with distinctive saw-like snouts.

The great diversity of sharks is reflected in their distribution around the world. Sharks have adapted to occupy every kind of saltwater ecosystem on every continent. They can be found in open oceans, coral lagoons, mangrove swamps, river estuaries and shallow seas. Some species of shark regularly frequent freshwater too, for example - the bull shark is known to travel over 3,000 kilometres up the Amazon River.

Many people assume that sharks are mostly confined to warm water. It is true that many well-known species of shark, such as the tiger shark, are best adapted for life in warm tropical seas - although tigers have been found in the icy waters of the north Atlantic off the coast of Iceland. But other species prefer cooler water, including the infamous great white shark, and even the coldest seas are home to a wide variety of shark species. Wherever you live, the chances are there are sharks of some kind very close to your country’s nearest coastline.

It’s easy to be misled by the popular image of the shark as a voracious predator. While it’s true that some species do attack and consume large prey, most sharks are adapted to eat other, more abundant local food sources.

Ironically, the largest shark of all, the whale shark, lives almost exclusively on a diet of plankton and small fish, while hunters, like white sharks, eat everything from large fish to seals and even whale carcasses. In between these extremes, sharks are known to feed on everything from small crustaceans - such as crabs and lobsters - to squid, schooling fish, bottom-living molluscs and even sea-birds.

Perhaps the most famously greedy and opportunistic of all is the tiger shark. All sorts of things have been found in the stomachs of the tiger shark, including vehicle licence plates, gasoline canisters, tyres, lengths of chain and other man-made objects as well as a galaxy of natural items, such as sea snakes, turtles and albatrosses.

The decline in the number of sharks has serious consequences for the ecosystems in which they live. Sharks are a vital part of the food chain, and their predatory nature helps to keep populations of their prey species in check. Without sharks to help maintain a healthy balance, marine environments are at great risk of permanent damage.

Like hundreds of other fish species, sharks are under increasing pressure from the global fishing industry. As stocks of edible fish decline all over the world, many fishing fleets are turning to sharks as an alternative food source, with potentially catastrophic effects, not just on shark populations, but on the marine ecosystem too.

Shark populations take a long time to recover from overfishing. They grow very slowly and take a long time to reach sexual maturity – 20 years or more in some species. When they do reproduce, they produce very few offspring compared to other food fish species. These factors have already endangered several species of shark, particularly in coastal areas with large populations to feed, such as the North Atlantic coast of America.

Part of their bad reputation.-

Sharks were forcibly and memorably dragged into the public eye in 1975 by Jaws, Steven Spielberg’s legendary film about a man-eating great white. Loosely based around a series of real-life shark attacks in New Jersey in 1916, Jaws was a huge hit around the world. The film has genuine suspense, alongside graphic depictions of shark attacks.

Spielberg and his team built an amazingly lifelike mechanical shark (nicknamed Bruce) that was used for many of the film’s scenes, although much of the most memorable footage involved real white sharks filmed by divers from a cage.

Subsequent attempts to depict sharks been less well received. 1999’s Deep Blue Sea - a film about a group of scientists who accidentally create a trio of super-intelligent man-eating sharks while researching a cure for Alzheimer’s disease - was altogether less riveting than Jaws and did little to improve the relationship between sharks and humans.

One exception was 2003’s animated movie, Finding Nemo, in which Barry Humphries gave a memorable performance as a ferocious Australian shark trying to mend his predatory ways. The shark’s name? Bruce, of course.

International Contacts & Offices:

noreply@blogger.com (I´M A DIVER) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:35:00 +0000

USA - INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS

PO Box 2616
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USA

Tel: +1-360-370-5650
Fax: +1-360-370-5651
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Tel: + 61 3 9445 0323
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CANADA

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Tel: 604-688-SEAL (7325)
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EUROPE

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E-mail: europe@seashepherd.org

Belgium

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E-mail: belgium@seashepherd.nl

NETHERLANDS

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E-mail: info@seashepherd.nl

To make a direct bank deposit donation within The Netherlands, click here

UNITED KINGDOM

Sea Shepherd UK
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E-mail: uk@seashepherd.org

FRANCE

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France@seashepherd.org
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GALAPAGOS / ECUADOR

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SINGAPORE / ASIA

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P.O. Box 2616, Friday Harbor, WA 98250 (USA) Tel: 360-370-5650 Fax: 360-370-5651

CONTACT SEA SHEPHERD

noreply@blogger.com (I´M A DIVER) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:27:00 +0000

Contacts

Sea Shepherd contacts:

General or Campaign Information info@seashepherd.org	Planned Giving and Estate Planning Information plannedgiving@seashepherd.org
Donation Questions (including checking on a donation previously made or inquiring about donating either cash or material items) donations@seashepherd.org	Outreach, Fundraising, and Onshore Volunteer Information volunteer@seashepherd.org
Crewing Information and Crew Application Status crew@seashepherd.org (volunteering onboard a Sea Shepherd ship)	Place a Merchandise Order or Check on Status of an Order store@seashepherd.org
Accounting Questions accounting@seashepherd.org (payables or receivables)	To provide Sea Shepherd with confidential information: inform-us@seashepherd.org.

Information Needed

If you have information that will help Sea Shepherd in its efforts to protect marine wildlife in its major campaigns (such as activity, location, coordinates, etc.), you may submit it to us confidentially by e-mail:
inform-us@seashepherd.org

SEA SHEPHERD

noreply@blogger.com (I´M A DIVER) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:13:00 +0000

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society was formally incorporated in the United States in 1981 in the state of Oregon. Previous to this, the idea of Sea Shepherd was formed when Captain Paul Watson founded the Earth Force Society in 1977 in Vancouver BC, Canada. The original mandate of both organizations was marine mammal protection and conservation with an immediate goal of shutting down illegal whaling and sealing operations, but Sea Shepherd later expanded its mission to include all marine wildlife.

With financial support from Cleveland Amory of the Fund for Animals, the society's first ship a North Atlantic sea trawler "the Westella" was purchased in Hull, England (UK) and renamed the Sea Shepherd. It's first mission was to the ice floes of eastern Canada to interfere with the annual killing of baby harp seals known as whitecoats.

In the same year, 1979, the Sea Shepherd hunted down and rammed the notorious pirate whaler the Sierra in a Portugal harbor ending its infamous career as the scourge of the seas.

The success of the seal campaign and the ramming of the Sierra was the start of Sea Shepherd's historical 160 voyages over the next 2 decades, enforcing international laws where no law enforcement existed - on the high seas.

Sea Shepherd continues to accomplish its mission by upholding and enforcing international treaties, laws and conventions of world governments.

Sea Shepherd is committed to the eradication of pirate whaling, poaching, shark finning, unlawful habitat destruction, and violations of established laws in the World's oceans.

To that end, Sea Shepherd assists national and international bodies in the enforcement of international law under authority of the United Nations World Charter for Nature.

Mission Statement

Established in 1977, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is an international non-profit, marine wildlife conservation organization whose mission is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world’s oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species.
Sea Shepherd uses innovative direct-action tactics to investigate, document, and take action when necessary to expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas. By safeguarding the biodiversity of our delicately-balanced ocean ecosystems, Sea Shepherd works to ensure their survival for future generations.

International Laws and Charters

Sea Shepherd campaigns are guided by the United Nations World Charter for Nature. Sections 21-24 of the Charter provides authority to individuals to act on behalf of and enforce international conservation laws.
Sea Shepherd cooperates fully with all international law enforcement agencies and its enforcement activities complying with standard practices of law and policing enforcement.
Sea Shepherd adheres to the utilization of non-violent principles in the course of all actions and has taken a standard against violence in the protection of the oceans.

The World Charter for Nature
U.N. Doc. A/37/51 (1982)

The International Whaling Commission (IWC)

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
March 3rd, 1973, Washington, D.C.

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
December 10th, 1982, Montego Bay

The Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage
November 23rd, 1972, Paris, France

The Convention of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR)

The Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Convention (NAFO)

International Convention for Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT)

The Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment
June 5th -16th, 1972, Stockholm, Sweden

ASEAN Agreement on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
July 9th, 1985, Kuala Lumpur

The Berne Convention

Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is dedicated to working towards cooperative agreements between nations to protect species and habitats according to SSCS Mandate.

OPERATION MUSASHI

noreply@blogger.com (I´M A DIVER) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:55:00 +0000

Captain Watson´s commentary

Can a small handful of volunteers bring down the largest whaling fleet in the world?

The answer is yes!

We have the powerful Japanese whaling fleet on the ropes and all we need to do is deliver the knock-out punch.

The Japanese pirate whalers are hurting bad. They are over fifty million dollars in debt and we have stopped them from getting their full kill quota for three years in a row.

Our first campaign in 2005/2006 saw us chase the fleet for 3,500 miles westward along the Antarctic coast. Although handicapped by a slower vessel we confronted them three times and we kept them on the run. We sideswiped their supply ship and forced them to return to Japan and by the end of the season, the whalers were 83 whales short of their quota. We had cut their kill numbers by 10%.

We knew that we would need a faster ship if we were to return in 2006/2007. We also had the problem that our ship the Farley Mowat was placed under arrest in South Africa because of pressure from the Japanese and Canadian governments.

Thus began the impossible mission of Operation Leviathan. As I searched the globe for a faster ship, Captain Alex Cornelissen deftly managed to cut the Farley Mowat out of Cape Town harbour by departing covertly at 0300 Hours in the morning, following a freighter out in the dark with all lights shut off. They then successfully eluded the South African navy escaping into the Indian Ocean.

Following that daring escape the Farley Mowat weathered extremely severe weather until reaching the friendly port of Freemantle in Western Australia where the ship and crew were welcomed as heroes and Mayor Peter Tagliaferri presented us with the honour of having Fremantle declared our honourary home port.

Meanwhile I had inspected a ship in Malta but it was to expensive to purchase. By June I had located a 2^nd ship in Trinidad and after spending two months working to purchase the vessel we were forced to drop the acquisition due to illegalities with the ship's owner.

With the next whaling season rapidly approaching, we finally found the perfect ship in Edinburgh, Scotland in October. It was the Westra, the retired Scottish fisheries patrol vessel. We bought it during the first week of November thanks to a bank loan from a very loyal and generous supporter. By mid-November the ship was in drydock and by December 5^th, the Westra now renamed the Robert Hunter was heading south down the length of the entire Atlantic Ocean through the Straits of Magellan reaching the Ross Sea by January 19^th, 2007.

I took the Farley Mowat out of Melbourne and met the Robert Hunter in the Ross Sea where our crew constructed a helicopter deck on the Robert Hunter in only two days.

It was not easy. The Japanese government has pressured the Canadian government to pull our flag. We re-registered with Belize but within 9 days, the Belizean flag was pulled but not before we were able to depart from TasmaniaAntarctica. We entered the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary as an unregistered pirate ship. southward towards the coast of

Together the two ships hunted down and engaged the Japanese fleet twice. Then an accident occurred on the Japanese factory ship Nisshin Maru - a fire that killed one of their crew and crippled the ship.

The Japanese whaling fleet was forced to retreat back to Japan with less than half their kill quota. More than 500 whales were spared.

The Japanese government was furious and forced the British registrar to pull the Red Duster from the Robert Hunter leaving us flagless.

We quickly re-registered our two ships under the Dutch flag, a nation not vulnerable to being dictated to by Japan or any other pirate whaling nation.

In June 2007, I entrusted Captain Cornelissen to take the Farley Mowat to the Galapagos and then onto Iceland for Operation Ragnarok, the campaign to intervene against illegal Icelandic whaling operations.

The Robert Hunter remained in Melbourne to prepare for a return to the Whale Sanctuary in December.

Once again we had the Herculean task of raising the funds for the next campaign.

By the time the Farley Mowat reached the Galapagos, Iceland decided to cancel it's whaling operations and the Farley Mowat turned it's attention to confiscating illegal long lines, intervening against shark poachers and stopping plans by a company called Planktos to dump iron dust into the ocean off the Galapagos.

That summer we investigated and seized 45,000 shark fins and over 100,000 sea cucumbers from poachers and smugglers in Ecuador.

I was awarded the Amazon Peace Prize by the President of Ecuador and a contract was placed on the heads of Sea Shepherd Galapagos Director Sean O'Hearn and myself by the sharkfin mafia of Manta, Ecuador.

Sean was forced to resign at the assistance of his wife and one of our police officer supporters sent me a bullet proof vest.

By the end of the year, Planktos had been stopped. Captain Alex Cornelissen took up the position of Sea Shepherd director for the Galapagos and I was ready to take the helm of the Robert Hunter for the return voyage to Antarctica in a campaign we named Operation Migaloo.

In a move that the late Robert Hunter would have approved of, I renamed the ship the Steve Irwin to reflect the passion of Australians in opposing illegal whaling and to focus on the symbol of the whales of Australia – Migaloo, the beloved white Humpback whale who the Japanese said they would harpoon if they got the chance.

We headed southward on December 5^th after Teri Irwin officially launched the ship under Steve's name. Onboard was a film crew from Animal Planet to begin work on a series to be called Whale Wars.

It was a long, dangerous, and successful pursuit as the Steve Irwin covered over 22,000 miles in three legs chasing the Japanese whaling fleet across the vast expanse of the remote and unpredictable Southern Ocean. We boarded a harpoon vessel creating an international incident that captured headlines around the world. Most importantly we shut down whaling operations to the point that once again the whalers failed to take their kill quota.

Of their quota of 50 Humpbacks they did not take one. Of their quota of Fin whales they did not take a single one. Of their quota of Piked whales they took 582. We saved the lives of 522 Piked whales and a total of 622 whales of all three species.

It was an economic and public relations disaster for the Japanese whaling fleet and their frustration was demonstrated when they threw concussion grenades and shot at our crew, one of the bullets striking me in the chest and a concussion grenade throwing cameraman Ashley Dunn to the deck injuring his thigh.

Fortunately my bullet proof vest stopped the bullet and there were no serious injuries from the confrontation.

We discovered that we could find them and shut down their operations. Our only handicap was the need to refuel. It takes about 10 days to return to port, a few days to refuel and re-provision and another 10 days to return to the fleet. That was when the whales 583 whales died.

If we could secure another ship we could shut them down 100%.

And that is our impossible mission for the present. We can and we will return to the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary in December with the Steve Irwin. The task now is to find and secure a 2^nd fast ship to relieve the Steve Irwin when it is forced to return to port to refuel.

Towards that end we are working to raise more funds to purchase a 2^nd ship. We also need to raise funds to fuel, outfit and provision two ships.

We won't have any problem crewing the ships. We are being overwhelmed by applications. This is a relief because now we will be able to crew the ship from a pool of many individuals of many skills and abilities. Our last campaign was slightly handicapped by a few quitters and a few faint hearted types who did not seem to understand that to be a Sea Shepherd crewmember requires a rare type of passion and courage. If someone is not willing to risk their life for the defense of a whale they don't belong on our crew. And if they don't understand why we would ask that question they don't belong on our crew.

I personally believe that taking risks to protect endangered species is far more noble and worthwhile than risking one's life to protect real estate, money and oil wells and they pin medals on people who do that.

We fight for life, for diversity and for the future of humanity and all living things and in my opinion that is the ultimate justification for sailing into harm's way.

Which brings us to Operation Musashi.

Miyamoto Musashi is a legend in Japan and I chose the name because Musashi wrote of the strategy of the twofold way of pen and sword. In other words Musashi knew that in addition to aggressive intervention, it was necessary to communicate and educate.

Last year for the first time ever in Japan, the issue of illegal Japanese whaling made the headlines. The reason is that our dramatic and aggressive tactics were news and this enabled us to tag messages to the news stories about the slaughter of the whales.

This has brought us support in Japan from Japanese people who oppose the whale killing policies of their government.

Our interventions are the sword of direct action and the media is the pen and thus our approach is exactly what Musashi had in mind.

A few years ago, everyone told us that fighting the Japanese whaling fleet was a losing cause – the ruthless crimes in the Southern Ocean were being committed by a Yakusa controlled union crewing large ruthless killing machines. The Nisshin Maru was the formidable Cetacean Death Star. The murdering crimes of the whalers were taking place over vast stretches of iceberg studded, frigid, storm tossed hostile seas. We didn't have the money. We didn't have the ships. In other words only a fool would think of venturing into those hostile waters without adequate resources on a Quixotean exercise in futility.

But I remember what my friend Martin Sheen once said to me. "Losing causes are the only causes worth fighting for."

And enough people have called me a fool to the point that I have no problem believing them and thus striking out on the path of the fool like Don Quixote on a hopeless mission to protect innocence and life was, well to be frank, it was very appealing.

And now our hopeless, impossible mission has made such an impact that I now believe we can win this war to drive the criminal whalers out of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

There is no question that we have the moral high ground. The Japanese whalers are targeting endangered and defenseless whale in a whale sanctuary in violation of international law and the moratorium in commercial whaling. They are sadistic killers involved with the Japanese Yakusa in an industry that has no honour and of no necessity to the welfare of the Japanese people.

We are going forth to defend and protect life. We have never injured anyone. We are so non-violent that our ships are vegan vessel. We have never been convicted of a felony crime anywhere in the world. We are volunteers risking our lives to protect life.

The Japanese government can call us eco-terrorists and pirates until Mount Fuji erodes away but the fact remains that we fight for life and they kill for profit.

In this case the good pirates wear black and our Jolly Roger is a symbol of hope for the whales and for the protection of our oceans. We are pirates of compassion and life in a battle to subdue and defeat the pirates of greed and death.

Woody Allen once said that 90% of success was just showing up. In this case he is absolutely right. We just need to continue showing up on the tail of the Japanese fleet, harassing them and intervening against their killing. We need to wear them down by forcing them to endure financial losses every year until they are so far in debt they will have to submit.

We can and we will destroy the Cetacean Death Star. We intend to sink the Japanese whaling fleet – economically. Without hurting a single person we can drive their operation into bankruptcy and we can end the killing.

Your investment in our operations have and will continue to show results.

What is the life of a whale worth to you?

Your trust and support for my crew and I will be repaid with the gift of life for the whales and a gift of promise to the future survival of our oceans.

More information at www.seashepherd.org

GREAT NEWS: Sea Shepherd Onshore Volunteering

noreply@blogger.com (I´M A DIVER) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 23:56:00 +0000

Sea Shepherd is best known for their volunteer crews who sail the high seas on board our conservation vessels to protect marine wildlife, and now we need assistance in many ways.

Sea Shepherd campaigns are only possible because of the day-to-day efforts of our many volunteers. Sea Shepherd is always in need of outreach volunteers, fundraisers, donated supplies, information distribution, research work, etc., etc...

Here are a few ideas that will really make a difference:

• OUTREACH -- We can provide you with SSCS newsletters (log) and master copies of information sheets which you can copy to your heart’s content to use in any of the following ways:

* Tabling at a Local Event, Expo or Making Your Own Information
Table:

Help create awareness of the problems facing our world -- including the destruction and exploitation of marine wildlife worldwide. We provide the materials, you set up a decorative display at an already-arranged event or find a location in your town where you can set up an information table. Hand out information and talk to people about Sea Shepherd — focus on getting new members to join!

* Hold a Benefit for SSSC at a Local Pub, Restaurant, Community Meeting Place:

Use your creative energies to put together a small concert or theme event for the benefit of your favorite charity (SSCS!). If you know musicians or entertainers (comedians, magicians, or other performers) you can easily put together a fun night. You could collect a door charge for SSCS and have an information table inside the event.

* Cultivate Public Awareness:

Participate in protests/demonstrations led and/or organized by Sea Shepherd! Let us know if you are available to meet at a public place or government building to display signs, get petitions signed and get the word out!

"Use your creativity to reach out to the public - create billboards and/or signs to educate the public!"

* Have a Sea Shepherd Party:

Invite everyone you know to join you for a House Party featuring videos of exciting Sea Shepherd footage saving marine life on the high seas! Plan ahead: Get newsletters from the office, information sheets and buy or borrow a videotape to show on your VCR. (If you have a birthday to celebrate, you could ask for donations in lieu of gifts...)

* Distribute information:

Copy and distribute Sea Shepherd info to anyone and everyone that may be interested in helping to protect marine wildlife. Please stress to them that a donation of any kind sent to our main address (P.O. Box 2616, Friday Harbor, WA 98250) would be very helpful, and that for donations of US$25.00 or more they will receive our newsletter and be eligible to crew on our ships SSCS accepts credit cards. SSCS also offers a recurring gift donation plan called the Direct Action Crew - donors can make a monthly or quarterly donation via their MasterCard, Visa, or American Express and from the U.S. or Canada they may use their checking account. See the form on the backside of the Donation Form, which is stapled into the middle of each newsletter.

• BECOME A SSCS NEWSLETTER “BULK DISTRIBUTOR”:

Help distribute our bi-annual newsletter, the Sea Shepherd Log! Each time we print it, we will send you whatever quantity you think you can hand out to potential supporters or place in a prominent public setting(i.e., library, coffee house, book store, scuba or marine shop, etc...).

• CULTIVATE MEDIA AWARENESS:

In the never-ending quest to wake up and shake up people into realizing there is wildlife in peril, it helps to get as much media coverage as possible. Send a letter or call your local TV and radio stations, newspapers and magazines telling them about the work that SSCS has been doing for 25+ years. Aside from being a story with a good cause, the footage and photographs are dynamic and exciting, and make for a great show or article. We get many new members from every article, TV show, news coverage and documentary that airs about SSCS. *You can give the media our main telephone numbers (360-370-5650) and we will be happy to provide them with images or video.

• WISH LIST DONATIONS:

Keep an eye on our “Wish List” to see what items are needed both on the ship and in the office. Feel free to call the office any time for an updated list. If you are asking someone else to donate an item, be sure to mention that in the United States, Sea Shepherd is what is called a 501(c)(3) non-profit, which means that cash and material donations are tax-deductible. When we receive a material gift, the donor can provide proof of the “fair market value” for which we can issue a receipt.

• OFFICE VOLUNTEERS:

The Society is seeking responsible volunteers with strong communication, general clerical and organizational skills for office work at our HQ, satellite offices, or even from their own home. Volunteers will participate in a variety of projects and general office activities. Please call the office at 360-370-5650 or email volunteer@seashepherd.org to see how you can help in the offices or from your home.

• VOLUNTEER CREWMEMBERS:

SSCS is constantly looking for crewmembers to work aboard our vessels that sail international waters to investigate, document and enforce marine conservation-related laws, regulations and treaties, as well as for other creative conservation work. Crewmembers are chosen by skills, dedication and commitment, and also by the time that they have available. Wherever our ships are docked there is a necessity for people to help maintain and clean the vessels. So, if our ship comes into a port near you, we may need your help. To volunteer to crew on our ships, visit our crewing page and download a printable application.

MORE IDEAS...AND NOT JUST FOR STUDENTS!

1. Set up a fund-raiser at your school or in your town (bake sale, lemonade sale, car wash).

2. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper or write a report about Sea Shepherd. Conservation Society to help your community, class and teacher learn about an organization of “regular citizens” just like yourself who decided to stop talking about problems and do something active to make a difference!

3. Start a club at school or with your friends -- continue in your efforts to tell more people about what is happening to our world and start taking care of it now.

* Plan letter-writing meetings -- Once you learn about some way that marine life is being harmed, learn as many facts as you can, gather all of the addresses of government officials who could help stop the abuse and get everyone to write intelligent, polite and direct letters. In the U.S., write your Senators and Representatives -- to find out whom to write, call 202-224-3121 for Senate Information and 202-225-3121 for House of Representatives information.

* Plan events similar to the ones mentioned above (fundraising, dances, parties or video-watching).

Thank you for all of your efforts to support Sea Shepherd!

http://seashepherd.org/volunteer/volunteer_onshore.html

Onshore Volunteer Coordinator
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
PO Box 2616
Friday Harbor, WA 98250 USA
Fax: +1-360-370-5651

E-mail: volunteer@seashepherd.org

Shortfin Mako Shark

noreply@blogger.com (I´M A DIVER) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 21:40:00 +0000

The shortfin mako shark is a sleek spindle shaped shark with a long conical snout. This shark has short pectoral fins and a crescent shaped caudal (tail) fin. There is a distinct caudal keel on the caudal base. Its second dorsal fin is much smaller than the first. The teeth are are slender and slightly curved with no lateral cusps, and are visible even when the mouth is closed. There is marked countershading on this shark: dorsally it is a metallic indigo blue while ventrally it is white.

The shortfin mako can grow to lengths of 3.9 meters (13 feet). There is still some uncertainty about its life-span, but it is suspected to reach ages of between 11-23 years.

As one of the fastest sharks in the ocean, this powerful shark can attain burst swimming speeds of up to 35 km/h (22 mph) and can leap clear of the water to heights of up to 6 meters (20 feet). These qualities have made this species a sought after sport fish in some parts of its range.

Distinguishing Characteristics

Teeth are visible even when the mouth is closed
Teeth are long and slender with smooth-edged cusps
Distinct countershading, dorsally blue and ventrally white
Moderately short pectoral fins
Underside of the snout is white
Lunate tail and caudal keel

Diet

The shortfin mako feeds mainly upon bony fishes including mackerels, tunas, bonitos and swordfish, but may also eat other sharks, porpoises and sea turtles.

Reproduction

Female shortfin makos usually become sexually mature at a length of 3 meters. Developing embryos feed on unfertilized eggs in the uterus during the gestation period of 15-18 months. The 4-18 surviving young are born live in the late winter and early spring at a length of about 70 cm, but have no placental connection during development (ovoviviparity). It is believed that females may rest for 18 months after birth before the next batch of eggs are fertilized.

Habitat

Shortfin mako sharks live in tropical and temperate offshore waters. They are a pelagic species that occur from the surface down to depths of 150 meters (490 feet). This shark is seldom found in waters colder than 16 degrees Celsius.

Range

The shortfin mako is found worldwide. In the western Atlantic it can be found from Argentina and the Gulf of Mexico to Browns Bank off of Nova Scotia. In Canadian waters these sharks are not abundant as they prefer warm waters, but neither are they rare. Shortfin makos are often found in the same waters as swordfish as they are a source of food and both fish prefer similar environmental conditions.