Sea Shepherd Launches Operation Waltzing Matilda

[Van Housing]

Operation Waltzing Matilda is a Spectacular Success

The Japanese whaling fleet set out for the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary with a permit issued by the Japanese government to kill 935 protected Minke whales, 50 endangered fin whales and 50 endangered humpback whales. Their objective was to kill 1035 whales in total.

Intervention by the three ships of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society prevented them from taking that number. Sea Shepherd crewmembers were successful in cutting that kill quota by more than half. Their success at saving the humpbacks was 100%, and their success at saving fin whales was 98%.

Of the fifty humpback whales that were targeted, they did not take a single one.

Of the fifty fin whales that were targeted, they managed to kill only one.

Of the 935 targeted Minke whales, they killed 506.

In total, the illegal Japanese whalers murdered 507 whales.

Sea Shepherd successfully saved 528 whales- our biggest impact on the whale quota to date.

It was worth the months of effort. It was worth the cost. It was worth the loss of the Ady Gil. It was worth the arrest of Captain Pete Bethune.

Thanks to the courageous crews on the Steve Irwin, the Bob Barker, and the Ady Gil, thanks to the hundreds of shore based volunteers, thanks to the thousands of supporters, and thanks to Bob Barker and Ady Gil, Sea Shepherd hunted down the whale killers, confronted them, harassed them, and shut down their operations for a third of their season.

What did this cost the Japanese fleet?

If the average value of a whale is a quarter of a million dollars, then we succeeded in depriving the Japanese whaling fleet of around $132 million USD.

It is safe to say that the Japanese whaling industry did not make a profit this season. The whaling fleet needs to kill at least 700 whales just to break even on expenses.

And on top of their loss of profits was the waste of fuel expended while being chased by Sea Shepherd, the cost of security and defense systems, the cost of surveillance flights, public relations expenses, loss of labor costs (because the workers did nothing while the ships were being pursued). With no whales to cut up, they sat in the mess and gambled drinking sake and tea.

continues:
http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-...-100412-1.html

[kommodius]

Result!

Ray & da Boyz

[Van Housing]

Yes it was a great result! Next year, Sea Shepherd hopes to have more ships down there to stop the whalers.


BTW, the first three episodes of "Whale Wars", a documentary series following Sea Shepherd's campaigns in the Southern Ocean, can be downloaded from the Animal Planet site (along with other clips):

http://animal.discovery.com/tv/whale-wars/

"On "Whale Wars," only one group stands between a controversial whale-killing machine and its prey: the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society."

[Van Housing]

From ABC online, April 12th:

"Whalers blame low catch on Sea Shepherd

The last ship of Japan's Antarctic whaling fleet has sailed home with the lowest catch in years and whalers have blamed the shortfall on high-seas clashes with environmental group Sea Shepherd.

...
This season's confrontations in icy Antarctic waters saw the sinking of a Sea Shepherd vessel, the Ady Gil, and the arrest of one of its activists, Peter Bethune, who faces trial in Japan for assault, trespass and three other charges.

Whalers and their opponents also blasted each other with water cannons, while activists hurled rancid butter stink bombs and the whalers targeted the environmentalists with a sonic crowd-control device.

"I am furious," the whaling fleet's leader, Shigetoshi Nishiwaki, said."

from:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...12/2870859.htm

[Van Housing]

"Environment groups say the International Whaling Commission's (IWC) proposal to allow some whales to be killed is a return to commercial whaling.

The IWC's proposal would let whalers harpoon 400 minke whales and 10 fin whales each year in Antarctic waters until the 2015-2016 season.

Fin whales are an endangered species and green groups say the only reason their numbers are strong again is because of the ban on commercial whaling.

Australia says it will not support the proposal and in a surprise twist New Zealand has also said it will not support it."

continues:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...23/2881601.htm

[Van Housing]

"THE government has legal advice that a possible international compromise deal allowing limited commercial whaling would undermine its promised legal challenge against Japanese whaling in the International Court of Justice.

The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has vowed to carry out by November his 2007 election promise to take legal action to stop Japanese ''scientific'' whaling in the Southern Ocean, if there was no agreement for a phase-out of whaling at a crucial International Whaling Commission meeting in June.

But the government has been advised that a compromise on the table at that meeting - explicitly condoning limited commercial whaling for 10 years - would render virtually obsolete its case that the practice was illegal under international law. "

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/wh...0402-rjy5.html


"Representatives to the International Whaling Commission from a dozen countries are meeting in Washington negotiating a compromise agreement for the limited resumption of commercial whaling with strong controls for the next ten years. Conservationists from both Sea Shepherd and Greenpeace have attacked the proposal, "At the moment, it appears that the whales are making all the concessions, not the whalers and this proposal keeps dying whaling industries alive and not the whales." said Greenpeace Japan Programme Director Junichi Sato.

...
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society also rejected the notion of resumption of commercial whaling compromise being brokered by nations like New Zealand and the United States with Japan. Captain Paul Watson said “Just what is it about this word ‘sanctuary’ that people don’t understand. Sanctuary means no killing, it means protection, it means refuge, it means asylum, and we intend to protect the whales within the sanctuary with all the resources available to us.”

Commercial whaling in the waters south of sixty degrees is a violation of the Antarctic Treaty. “The killing of even one whale is a violation of international conservation law,” said Captain Paul Watson. “In addition to protecting the lives of individual whales we are also defending the integrity of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. Whaling ships from Japan or anywhere else have no legal right to kill whales within the Sanctuary.”

Sea Shepherd has vowed to return to the Southern Ocean Sanctuary unless a kill quota of zero whale kills is established. “I am amazed that these nations are negotiating with poachers,” said Captain Watson. “They don’t negotiate with elephant poachers, shark finners, and drug traffickers, so why do the Japanese whalers get special consideration? The answer of course is that Japan is an economic power and makes demands backed up by economic pressure.”

“If they push compromise, we will answer with confrontation,” Captain Watson said, “New Zealand claims that the compromise will cut the kill quota in the Southern Ocean in half. We have already cut it in half so the compromise will achieve nothing additional. We’re not satisfied with half, we want 100% protection, nothing less. If the compromise cuts the quota in half than we will return to cut the reduced quota in half, or more than half. We will not quit the sanctuary until the last harpoon is retired.”

Sea Shepherd claims the intervention by the three ships of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in the last season saved 528 whales, preventing the Japanese whaling fleet achieving a self imposed kill quota of 935 Minke whales, 50 endangered fin whales and 50 endangered humpback whales. The whalers failed to take any humpback whales, only one fin whale, and 506 Minke whales.

“We hit them long and hard this year and all our efforts and risks have paid off. There are now 528 whales swimming freely in the Southern Ocean that would now be dead if not for the fact that we intervened. It is a happy day for my crew and I and conservationists worldwide, a happy day indeed.” said Paul Watson. "

more:
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/201...5/18645661.php

[Van Housing]

Japan harpoons whaling compromise

"Japan says it is not interested in cutting its whaling program in the Antarctic in return for being allowed to resume commercial whaling in coastal waters.

...
Japan opposes the compromise because it aims to cut their Antarctic catch.

The country's fisheries minister, Hirotaka Akamatsu, says the plan goes against what Japan has been requesting.

"Japan greatly appreciates the proposal to allow us to resume coastal whaling," he said.

"But Japan cannot accept a cut in its Antarctic whaling ... it's too drastic."

Japan wants both a resumption of commercial whaling and a continuation of the Antarctic hunt."

from:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...section=justin


Rudd urged to act on Japan

"THE Coalition and Greens are demanding the Rudd government take its long-threatened legal action over whaling against Japan, now that Tokyo has rejected a peace deal.

The International Whaling Commission's compromise proposed halving Japan's Antarctic catch to 400 minke whales and 10 fins. It offered a commercial hunt instead of contentious ''scientific'' whaling."

http://www.theage.com.au/environment...0426-tnc7.html