Whaling // Current

Anti Whaling- Sea Shepherd Demands Action by the Netherlands

In a news release today, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands stated support for an amendment to Dutch law that would facilitate vessel deregistration. Dutch Sea Shepherd Board member Laurens De Groot responded, “We have a Dutch ship with a Dutch captain and Dutch crewmembers, and we demand that the Dutch government take action to protect our safety from the dangerous and illegal attacks by illegal Japanese whalers in the Southern Ocean.”

De Groot is a former Rotterdam police officer who now serves onboard the Rotterdam registered marine conservation ship Steve Irwin for Sea Shepherd.

The Steve Irwin is scheduled to depart from Fremantle in Western Australia on December 7th, 2009 to once again interfere and harass illegal Japanese whaling operations in the waters off the coast of Western Australia.

The Japanese whalers are targeting endangered whales in an established international whale sanctuary in violation of the global moratorium on commercial whaling and in violation of the Antarctic Treaty.

“I am appalled that the Prime Minster Jan Peter Balkenende has agreed to change Dutch law to de-flag the one ship in the world that is actually doing something to oppose illegal whaling,” said De Groot. “We have not injured anyone, we have not been charged with any violations. The Japanese whalers have tried to kill us yet the Prime Minister refuses to hear our side of the story. He is more interested in appeasing the criminal activities of the Japanese whalers than he is of protecting the safety of Dutch citizens. We demand as Dutch citizens on a Dutch flagged ship that our government warn the government of Japan to cease and desist their violent attacks on the crew of the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin.”

Prime Minister Balkenende responded to concerns expressed by the Prime Minister of Japan that, "as to whaling, I explained the Dutch government is working on a change in the law that would make it possible to take adequate measures against Dutch ships that commit unlawful acts."

The truth is that the crew of the Steve Irwin has not committed any unlawful acts. The Dutch government has not cited the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society or the Captain and crew of the Steve Irwin with any violations. The governments of Japan and Australia have not charged Sea Shepherd with any violations.

“This is all political and it is not proper for the Prime Minister of the Netherlands to be threatening to pass legislation to remove the Dutch flag from a vessel that has not been charged with any wrong doing,” said Captain Paul Watson, Sea Shepherd Founder and President. “The Prime Minister should be more concerned about protecting the safety of Dutch citizens than he seems to be about protecting the interests of the Japanese whale poachers.”

The Sea Shepherd whale defense campaign this year is called Operation Waltzing Matilda and will be the sixth expedition to intervene against illegal Japanese whaling. During these encounters, the Japanese whalers have used acoustical weapons, concussion grenades, and have even shot at Sea Shepherd crew. One bullet struck Captain Paul Watson in the chest and was stopped by his Kevlar vest.

“I think that the Prime Minister should be more concerned about Japanese violence than about our non-violent measures to stop illegal whaling,” said De Groot.In a news release today, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands stated support for an... more

ksutherland27
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18 days ago
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"Whale Whores" mocks the parodox with the conservation movement

~y2009m10d29-Whale-Whores-mocks-the-parodox-with-the-conservation-movment

soheilr
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19 days ago
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Japan-Still killing Whales-research... Sure.

TOKYO (AP) -- Japan said Monday it has caught 59 whales - one short of the maximum... more

ksutherland27
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22 days ago
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4 comments

Japan harpoons 59 whales off northern island

Japan said Monday it has caught 59 whales — one short of the maximum allowed by... more

jefftego
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28 days ago
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2 comments

Fourth-grader may be youngest to kill whale

Native Alaskans say a fourth-grader may have become the youngest person to kill a... more

knews121
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1 month ago
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5 comments

Icelandic Whaling Condemned by 26 Countries

Twenty-six countries Friday issued a joint statement putting diplomatic pressure on... more

jefftego
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1 month ago
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Japan Gets to See Dolphin-Hunting Documentary 'The Cove' - TIME

September heralds the six-month dolphin-hunting season in Taiji, a small seaside town in Japan's southwestern Wakayama prefecture. And residents are sensing the attack on them has also begun.

The Cove — a U.S. documentary with the air of a spy thriller that has been called "advocacy filmmaking at its best" since its release on July 31 — depicts Taiji's centuries-old tradition of killing dolphins with an unflinching eye on the sometimes gruesome process.

The documentarians, led by photographer turned director Louie Psihoyos and dolphin trainer turned activist Richard O'Barry, have stirred both international outcry and acclaim at film festivals from Sundance to Seattle with their footage of the slaughter that takes place every year in a remote cove in Taiji.

Earlier this week, the town decided to release 70 of the roughly 100 dolphins from the previous week's catch. But Taiji fishermen aren't the only ones bowing to international pressure.

Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) chairman Tom Yoda announced on Sept. 16 that the festival will screen the film, after previously rejecting it for TIFF's official selection (the festival starts next month).

Having come under fire for initially rejecting the documentary, Yoda said the reasons for rejecting or accepting films aren't generally discussed, as the festival receives more than 700 entries each year.

No film festival has a moral obligation to accept a film, but TIFF's slogan of "Action! For Earth" raised more than a few eyebrows when the widely lauded eco-documentary didn't make the cut. In the end, Yoda said, the festival "decided to take The Cove due to international attention worldwide."

The Cove casts Taiji's dolphin hunt as one town's dirty secret...the reality, however, is that Japan culls about 20,000 dolphins across the nation every year. To those in Taiji and other areas where dolphin hunting is permitted, the global reaction to The Cove has a whiff of the enduringly contentious whaling debate (Japan has hunted whales in the name of "SCIENCE" for decades despite environmentalists' ire).

The new wave of criticism of dolphin hunting that has been spurred by the film has many fishermen and local bureaucrats rolling their eyes over what they interpret as a another bout of foreign outrage at a practice that is legal, regulated and culturally acceptable in Japan, where dolphin meat — like whale — is eaten in the regions where it's hunted.September heralds the six-month dolphin-hunting season in Taiji, a small seaside town... more

julesrs007
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"Cove" Town Suspends Dolphin Slaughter

September 11, 2009—The Japanese town made infamous by the movie The Cove has... more

julesrs007
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2 months ago
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MIGHTY MOVIE PODCAST on HuffPost: Dan Stone & James Joyner on AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD

Paul Watson dropped out of Greenpeace because he felt they weren’t doing enough to... more

DanPersons
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3 months ago
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Eskimos Bring It

Climate Change is affecting us all, but it's often tricky to calculate just how.... more

James_Stewart
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3 months ago
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RARE Whale Being Slaughtered for Meat...

http://brightcove.newscientist.com/services/player/bcpid1873822884?bctid=32634270001... more

TheJerryMadden
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3 months ago
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MIGHTY MOVIE PODCAST on HuffPost: Louie Psihoyos on THE COVE

Who the hell didn’t love FLIPPER? Cute ‘n’ cuddly (and how many sea creatures do... more

DanPersons
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4 months ago
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Join the appeal to stop the Dutch Government passing an act to stop the Sea Shepherd

The Netherlands wants to ban the controversial anti-whaling organisation Sea Shepherd... more

JCollier
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The Cove - a new documentary that exposes the horrific flipside of Flipper.

The Cove is a new documentary that exposes the horrific flipside of Flipper. Shot in the historic town of Taiji, Japan -- which is the birthplace of modern day whaling methods -- the film follows activist Ric O'Barry in his crusade to save the 2,000+ dolphins that are captured and/or slaughtered in a remote cove there each year.

Before O'Barry became an activist, he was an unwitting beneficiary of the dolphin trade. A one-time dolphin trainer (the mammals are closely related to whales), O'Barry first made a name for himself in the 1960s working on the Flipper TV series. "I feel somewhat responsible because it was the Flipper TV series that created this multi-billion dollar industry," says O'Barry, who older and wiser is appalled at the idea of dolphins in captivity in zoos and amusement parks around the globe. He now works for the Earth Island Institute, trying to save these wondrous creatures from this fate -- and worse.

His undercover work at the cove, exposing the atrocious practices of the Japanese fishing industry, caught the attention of former National Geographic photographer Louie Psihoyos, who directed the movie about O'Barry's work at the cove. Using high-tech hidden surveillance equipment, the duo were able to capture the covert activities at the well-guarded cove, that had – up until now – been hidden from world view. Even the Japanese dolphin industry it seems is aware that it must remain concealed if it is to continue.

At the end of the film, O'Barry storms the International Whaling Commission with footage from the cove that convinces many to disengage from the corrupt organization which sets whaling quotas which are intertwined with the issue of tolerance for Japan’s dolphin trade. For O'Barry, giving interviews in support of the film is the next step towards exposing the practices of those in the dolphin trade who are happy to perpetrate unmentionable cruelty and ply mercury laden dolphin flesh that in truth is too toxic for human consumption.

Hit the link above for an interview with Ric O'Barry.The Cove is a new documentary that exposes the horrific flipside of Flipper. Shot in... more

AndreaKnoll
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5 months ago
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'Spaceship' boosts anti-whaling force against Japan's might

"Earthrace" is joining the fight for the whales. JAPAN has asked Australia to... more

julesrs007
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'Spaceship' boosts anti-whaling force against Japan's might

Japan has asked Australia to prevent the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin leaving port to harass its whalers in the Antarctic next summer, but the plea may have little effect.

The anti-whaling activists plan to upgrade their fleet from an ageing, former North Atlantic fisheries patrol boat to include another ship - something out of the future. The global speedboat Earthrace would head south under Sea Shepherd colours next summer, the group's leader Paul Watson said.

"It looks like a spaceship. It can do 40 knots and dive under waves completely. We'll be using it to intercept and block harpoons."

In 61 days last year Earthrace circled the globe fuelled by biodiesel. The New Zealand owner/skipper, Pete Bethune, said he decided to become involved because "this is happening in my backyard and it really pisses me off. I'm going to make a stand."

He said he was adding half a tonne of Kevlar to the vessel to toughen it against the ice. It had the endurance to go half way round the world on a tank of fuel.

"They won't get away from me," he said.

Earthrace's role was unveiled as the International Whaling Commission heard that Sea Shepherd's protests endangered the lives of whalers in the Southern Ocean last summer when the Steve Irwin was involved in two collisions.

"These are highly dangerous, and it can only be described as a miracle that there has been no death or large-scale accident to date," said a Japanese delegation member, Jun Yamashita.

"We cannot tolerate such audacity," Mr Yamashita told the commission. "We ask for

all appropriate measures, including a ban on the ship from leaving port, so that we can prevent these acts from being repeated."

Mr Watson, who is not permitted inside the meeting, said the Steve Irwin was soon to leave Brisbane for Hobart after a $500,000 refit. Its buckled hull plates had been repaired, and it was fitted with a powerful water cannon on the bow to match the whalers'.

He dubbed next summer's campaign Operation Waltzing Matilda and has adopted a symbol with a kangaroo wearing a pirate's eye patch.Japan has asked Australia to prevent the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin leaving port to... more

jefftego
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5 months ago
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'The End of the Line' examines the perils of overfishing

Whoever thought that our heart-healthy, low-cal, doctor-approved trips to the supermarket fish counter would become fraught with moral choices?

That's exactly the case being made by "The End of the Line," the disturbing new documentary on what overfishing is doing to the world's oceans. (It opens in Los Angeles next Friday.) The film from director Rupert Murray and investigative journalist Charles Clover was screened Monday at UCLA to mark World Oceans Day. Producer Lawrence Bender and longtime environmental activist Kelly Meyer (wife of Universal Pictures President RonMeyer) hosted a crowd that included Rosario Dawson, Saffron Burrows and Kimberly Estrada.

Later this summer, the campaign will include broadcast and online public service announcements featuring Martin Sheen, Alyssa Milano, Rosanna Arquette, Ellen Page, Kelly Preston, Anthony LaPaglia, Gia Carides, Brenda Strong, Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon, Shawn Pyfrom, Keisha Whitaker, Ken Baumann, Kelli Williams, Dave Lieberman, Rene Auberjonois and former NBA player John Salley.

There's a new optimism stirring among activists in this community because after eight years of outright hostility emanating from the Bush White House toward environmental issues, the Obama administration is more willing to engage questions that involve complex international questions.

"The End of the Line," based on Clover's groundbreaking book of the same title, is the first feature-length documentary to take on the overfishing crisis.

According to the filmmakers, failure to take quick action will mean the end of most commercial fishing within less than half a century with dire consequences both in terms of depleting the food supply and the loss of jobs.

To make their case, Murray and Clover not only traveled to fishing grounds all over the world, but also confronted politicians and celebrity restaurateurs on camera.

As examples of what's in store for other popularly consumed species, Murray and Clover examine in detail the near extinction of commercial cod stocks and the impending collapse of bluefin tuna populations around the world, much of the latter caused by the West's newly aroused appetite for sushi and sashimi.

(Add that happy thought to your deliberations the next time you're trying to decide whether to spring for the toro at the local sushi bar.)Whoever thought that our heart-healthy, low-cal, doctor-approved trips to the... more

julesrs007
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5 months ago
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YouTube - IFAW Efforts for Whales

Pierce Brosnan on Capitol Hill Asking for Your Support

julesrs007
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Eco Maniac: Finding Nemo

I watched a couple of PBS videos last week about orcas and beluga whales that blew my mind and broke my heart. Of course, I'd just heard and met Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society a few days before, so I was particularly engaged and enraged about whale issues. (Although, did you know that orcas are actually dolphins, not whales?)

Whales are under human attack on more than one front and the results are horrifying. Some experts say that as the oceans go, so go humans, and orcas, in particular, are the best indicator of how the oceans are fairing because they are at the top of the underwater food chain.

Whaling: A hugely controversial and internationally banned practice, whaling is allowed by Norway and Iceland, although Japan also partakes using the guise of scientific research as a means to line their pockets and supply the country's taste for whale meat. The problem is – besides the legal and moral questions – there's been a surplus for the past few years so prices have been dropping precipitously. Yet, the slaughters continue. Iceland just kicked off their annual hunt last week.

Navy Sonars: There have been a couple of instances – as documented in the PBS piece on orcas – of Navy sonars wreaking havoc in the oceans. In the Puget Sound, orcas were the only known victims; but in the Bahamas, both dolphins and whales scurried to the beach to escape the sonic assault. Nevertheless, national security trumps all, or so ruled the Supreme Court last November in a case that would have limited offshore exercises when marine mammals were nearby.

Toxins: Did you know that 27% of the beluga whales in the St. Lawrence Estuary off the coast of Quebec have cancer, including breast cancer? That rate is similar to the rate in humans. The belugas in the Cook Inlet (Alaska) have been a separate subpopulation for about 10,000 years. If they die off, they will not be replaced. Yet, as I've previously covered, Governor Sarah Palin doesn't care too much. She'd rather have her oil and gas exploration projects. Orcas from all over are living with 3-400 times the amount of toxins that appear in our systems. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) stay in their systems for 30 to 50 years and contaminate the meat the whalers are so keen on selling. The Pacific Northwest orcas ingest the PCBs through eating salmon, their favorite snack. But wild salmon are also on the wane due to farm-raised salmon polluting the waters with sea lice that the baby wild salmon can't fight off.

There are other man-made hindrances for whales to battle, such as boats that cause propeller accidents and nets or other debris that cause entanglements. I dare say that all of the ocean critters can survive without us, but I don't think we can survive without them. We need to find a better way.

Orcas - http://www.pbs.org/video/video/1099394282
Belugas - http://www.pbs.org/video/video/1094847767I watched a couple of PBS videos last week about orcas and beluga whales that blew my... more

spandadham
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6 months ago
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Current Green Fetaured Community Member: Jefftego

Last week, Stopnoise recommended jefftego for his great and tireless environmental... more

leahl
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6 months ago
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tagged w/ Whaling

Anti Whaling- Sea Shepherd Demands Action by the Netherlands

"Whale Whores" mocks the parodox with the conservation movement

Japan-Still killing Whales-research... Sure.

Japan harpoons 59 whales off northern island

Fourth-grader may be youngest to kill whale

Icelandic Whaling Condemned by 26 Countries

Japan Gets to See Dolphin-Hunting Documentary 'The Cove' - TIME

"Cove" Town Suspends Dolphin Slaughter

MIGHTY MOVIE PODCAST on HuffPost: Dan Stone & James Joyner on AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD

Eskimos Bring It

RARE Whale Being Slaughtered for Meat...

MIGHTY MOVIE PODCAST on HuffPost: Louie Psihoyos on THE COVE

Join the appeal to stop the Dutch Government passing an act to stop the Sea Shepherd

The Cove - a new documentary that exposes the horrific flipside of Flipper.

'Spaceship' boosts anti-whaling force against Japan's might

'Spaceship' boosts anti-whaling force against Japan's might

'The End of the Line' examines the perils of overfishing

YouTube - IFAW Efforts for Whales

Eco Maniac: Finding Nemo

Current Green Fetaured Community Member: Jefftego

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tagged w/ Whaling

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© 2009 Current TV, LLC
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