Community | February 02, 2009 | 40 comments

Japanese whalers attack anti-whaling activists on the high frozen seas

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090202/ap_on_re_as/as_antarctica_whaling

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SamuraiDave
Japanese whalers blasted conservationists with a water cannon and hurled hunks of metal and golf balls at them in a clash Monday in icy Antarctic waters, an anti-whaling group said.

Two members of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society were lightly injured in the early morning fracas in heavy seas about 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) southeast of the Australian state of Tasmania, said Paul Watson, the group's leader.

A spokesman for the whalers said he had no information on the claims.

The group — which routinely harasses the Japanese whaling fleet during its annual hunt in the Antarctic Ocean — sent a helicopter and two inflatable boats toward one of the ships in the Japanese fleet.

The whalers began blasting conservationists on one raft with a water cannon, knocking one man off his feet and leaving him with cuts and bruises, Watson told The Associated Press by satellite phone.

Another protester was hit in the face with a large chunk of metal lobbed from a harpoon boat. He was wearing a shield on his helmet, but still suffered bruises, Watson said.

The Japanese also aimed a "military grade" noise weapon that can cause deafness and vomiting at the Sea Shepherd crew, Watson said. Some felt its vibrations but were too far away to be otherwise affected, he said.

Glenn Inwood, the New Zealand-based spokesman for Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research — a Japanese government-affiliated organization that oversees the hunt — said he could not immediately confirm or deny the Sea Shepherd's claims.

"All legal means available will be used to protect the Japanese crew and the scientists," he said.

Japan, which has described the Sea Shepherd protesters as terrorists, plans to harvest up to 935 minke whales and 50 fin whales this season. Under International Whaling Commission rules, the mammals may be killed for research but not for commercial purposes. Opponents say the Japanese research expeditions are simply a cover for commercial whaling, which was banned in 1986.

Protesters aboard the ship, named after the late Australian conservationist and TV personality Steve Irwin, set off from Australia in early December for the remote and icy Antarctic Ocean, chasing the whaling fleet for about 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) before stopping two weeks ago in Tasmania to refuel. The group found the whalers again on Sunday and resumed their pursuit.

In December, the protesters lobbed bottles of rancid butter at the Japanese.

"I will not allow them to kill a whale while we're here, and they know that," Watson said. "I'll literally rip their harpoon off their deck if I have to."
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40 comments // Japanese whalers attack anti-whaling activists on the high frozen seas

  • Tampamacfreak
    • 0
      Tampamacfreak  

    • I have been watching "Whale Wars" on TV and I just have one thing to say to the Captain Watson, I respect what you are doing, BUT, if you are going to make comments like "I would love to send it to the bottom of the sea" and people are willing to risk their lives to save whales and say your going to WAR, then please bring military style weapons with you, Buratic Acid, is not going to stop whaling. if your willing to RISK your life and sink your own ship then arm yourself with something that will put a ship on the bottom of the ocean.

    • 2 years ago
  • stealinglight
  • ipodrulz
    • 0
      ipodrulz  

    • I think the whaler's boat's sinking would cause just as much damage as them fishing. It would be nice if they could stop and find another job...

    • 3 years ago
  • nazbags
  • davzap
  • krush_productions
  • SamuraiDave
    • 0
      SamuraiDave  
    • Image

    • Whaling is not a big issue with the Japanese public as a whole. It's basically the domain of a few right wingers who have vested interests in keeping this White Elephant Industry afloat.

    • 3 years ago
  • msltj20
  • SHAWN_RITTIMAN
  • msltj20
  • mik661
  • mindcontrol
    • 0
      mindcontrol  

    • Its really quite a shame that the Japanese public are allowing this all to happen! All the Japanese American people I know, I don't think they would approve of this so why the hell aren't the Japanese people standing up and bringing down walls?

      The battle should be fought on 2 fronts the ocean and back in Japan. Awareness needs to be raised in Japan about what is actually going on, the people need to be motivated to make some changes in their government so this can't continue to go on.

      Com on Japan get your shite together!

      ~ Mind Control

    • 3 years ago
  • SamuraiDave
  • Tankguy
    • 0
      Tankguy  

    • When i first watched "Whale Wars" i initially had a negative view of Capt. Watson's treatment of his crew and his tactics. But i later changed my mind because all of his crew are volunteers who read and signed a declaration stating that they were willing to risk death or dismemberment for this cause. So there is nothing wrong with the way Watson treats his crew.

      As a former Naval officer i can say that the way he runs his ship is the way all ships must run. I admire and respect him more than Greenpeace (and he is a founding member of Greenpeace) because unlike Greenpeace he is actually willing to do something about his cause instead of just taking pictures and writing letters to goverments that dont give a crap about whales.

      I had to do research on whaling in college and let me tell you that the whaling laws are weak at best and the Japanese trample all over them. Yes millions of animals are slaughtered for human consumption and i contribute to it because i eat meat. But most people who understand nothing about biology think they are saving these whales because they are beautiful. WRONG. These whales hold in important niche in marine ecology that DOES effect humans. These whales cant be captured and bred in captivity to replenish their population like seals or elephants. Once these whales are gone then they are gone for good.
      So no, this is not a "semi-trivial" issue. International laws are being broken and no goverment is doing a damn thing about it. Captain Watson has more courage and conviction then all of the dullards replying to this article with antipathy

    • 3 years ago
  • erikherron
    • 0
      erikherron  
    • Tankguy:

      That's really interesting. Do you have any links to info about the role that whales play in marine ecology. It seems that this may be what the issue really hinges on.

    • 3 years ago
  • damnneargenius
    • 0
      damnneargenius  
    • Tankguy:

      If the cause is legitimate I suppose the tactics are justified, but the only problem is, once someone loses one's trust, it becomes hard to feel secure trusting them (obviously).

      It is an exceptionally well-devised operation they have going on all things considered, but what is the end-game?

      Are the Japanese going to change their perspective on seafood? Would that require a ground-up educational or cultural shift?

    • 3 years ago
  • elnawal
  • Stevox
  • davzap
  • superfinet
    • 0
      superfinet  

    • Research allows KILLING specimen whales?! that seems wrong on SO many levels.

      stop protesting and start slaughtering; jam their rudders and propellors, breach their hulls, sink their ships!

      the best defense in any situation is a strong offense

      The whales can't defend themselves against technological hunters, so take technology and harpoon these bastards in the arse of their ships!

    • 3 years ago
  • damnneargenius
    • 0
      damnneargenius  

    • Although the first season of Whale Wars was quite interesting to watch, it does make one wonder about what the hell is really going on in Captain Watson's head.

      Of all the problems in the world, he certainly has chosen to focus on a semi-trivial one, and his tactics and mentality are questionable. He is definitely a manipulative type, as became evident in the way he spun (or completely made-up) stories to go with the footage.

      On one hand, it's impressive that he has such a cool set of resources (if I had a ship, helicopter, etc. I would certainly use it much differently), on the other, you wonder just what is the difference between a whale and the thousands of other life forms (including humans) that are slaughtered daily.

      When the "good guy" resorts to lying and pushing his own crew around as he did last season, it certainly makes one wonder whether he is truly a compassionate human being or just on some sort of power trip using whales as an excuse to play cowboy wannabe pirate.

      It certainly does make for cheap reality show entertainment for Animal Planet, but when you see the whole "he said, she said" nonsense that basically comes down to cultural differences, it gets a little hard to completely understand.

      Sure, causing any life form to suffer is wrong, but how does one pick and choose their battles?

      If there were really a universal uproar to the whaling issue, why is it not banned politically with military enforcement?

      I'll just stay neutral on this one until I see that Captain Watson's words can be trusted again. After watching him get saved from a bullet (that was never fired) by his badge at the end of last season, I have my doubts about the attention (ratings) versus principle on which the show exists.

    • 3 years ago
  • SamuraiDave
    • 0
      SamuraiDave  
    • damnneargenius:

      "If there were really a universal uproar to the whaling issue, why is it not banned politically with military enforcement?"

      Are you living on the same planet as the rest of us? Rarely do we see anything militarily enforced with any competency even with universal uproar. Remember Rwanda?

    • 3 years ago
  • idealist
    • 0
      idealist  

    • we cant let anyone hunt whales into extinction! and its getting really close! we have to take this sort of action to a higher power!

    • 3 years ago
  • Tankguy
    • 0
      Tankguy  
    • idealist:

      When i first watched "Whale Wars" i initially had a negative view of Capt. Watson's treatment of his crew and his tactics. But i later changed my mind because all of his crew are volunteers who read and signed a declaration stating that they were willing to risk death or dismemberment for this cause. So there is nothing wrong with the way Watson treats his crew.

      As a former Naval officer i can say that the way he runs his ship is the way all ships must run. I admire and respect him more than Greenpeace (and he is a founding member of Greenpeace) because unlike Greenpeace he is actually willing to do something about his cause instead of just taking pictures and writing letters to goverments that dont give a crap about whales.

      I had to do research on whaling in college and let me tell you that the whaling laws are weak at best and the Japanese trample all over them. Yes millions of animals are slaughtered for human consumption and i contribute to it because i eat meat. But most people who understand nothing about biology think they are saving these whales because they are beautiful. WRONG. These whales hold in important niche in marine ecology that DOES effect humans. These whales cant be captured and bred in captivity to replenish their population like seals or elephants. Once these whales are gone then they are gone for good. So no, this is not a "semi-trivial" issue. International laws are being broken and no goverment is doing a damn thing about it. Captain Watson has more courage and conviction them all of the dullards replying to this article with antipathy.

    • 3 years ago
  • erikherron
    • 0
      erikherron  

    • This is absurd. I bet these protesters all come from wealthy upper-middle class families. Who else would waste so much time and money on something that doesn't effect human beings. The global economy is in crisis, disease and destitution are rife, and they spend millions trying to stop Japanese fishermen from doing their jobs...

      It's okay. I'm sure in 30 years they'll all be yuppie drones.

    • 3 years ago
  • SamuraiDave
    • 0
      SamuraiDave  
    • erikherron:

      the japanese government spends millions propping up this white elephant of an industry posing as a scientific research which could be better spent elsewhere.

      Sea Sheperd is an organization that receives Donations to stop whaling not deal with economic crisis or disease.

    • 3 years ago
  • DouginLA
    • 0
      DouginLA  
    • erikherron:

      Yeah why should we protect intelligent mammals from being hunted for a niche industry. Whale hunting and the killing of Dolphins are some of the greatest tragedies on Earth.

    • 3 years ago
  • duasol
  • SamuraiDave
  • wekebu
    • 0
      wekebu  

    • yes, thank you anti-whaling teams. Please keep pressure on Japan for their illegal killing of these intelligent mammals.

    • 3 years ago
  • charfman
  • iameam
  • DouginLA
    • 0
      DouginLA  
    • iameam:

      There have been reports of the protestors throwing Malatov cocktails at the whalers. I think if they truly want to stop them they are going to have to get more militant. I am all for sinking the whaling ships.

    • 3 years ago
  • AswegoAsdego
  • SamuraiDave
    • 0
      SamuraiDave  

    • "Under International Whaling Commission rules, the mammals may be killed for research but not for commercial purposes."

      What they didn't specify was that the research was open to the general public for a nominal fee in order to taste test the scientifically harvested whales to see which beer goes with which type of whale meat.

    • 3 years ago
  • BFAM_RVS
  • Blkwdw
  • SamuraiDave
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