Pete Thomas Outdoors

Harsh criticism as Icelandic whalers appear to have killed endangered blue whale

Blue whale at processing plant. Photo: Arne Feuerhahn/Hard to Port

By Pete Thomas

Iceland’s controversial whaling program fell under harsh attack this week when it was revealed that whalers had likely killed an endangered blue whale.

Environmental groups have shared photos of the dead whale at a processing facility. Some experts are unsure whether the mammal is a blue whale or a blue whale-fin whale mix.

Blue whales and fin whales are endangered species, and hunting them commercially is a flaunt of international law.

Icelandic whalers have spent the past several weeks hunting fin whales, under national permits, for the first time in three years. The whalers are not authorized to kill blue whales.

Photo: Hard to Port

The meat of fin whales is sold to Japan, which also has a controversial whaling program.

Sea Shepherd, which has been monitoring activity at Iceland’s whaling station in Hvalfjordur, reported Wednesday that the blue whale was killed July 7. (Sea Shepherd did not mention the possibility of a hybrid whale.)

Sea Shepherd claims that the blue whale kill is in addition to the slaughter by Icelandic whalers of 21 fin whales by the company Hvalur hf.

“No other nation – not even Japan or Norway – slaughters fin whales, and there has not been a blue whale harpooned by anyone for the last 50 years until this one was harpooned by the [vessel] Hvalur 8,” Sea Shepherd stated.

The group Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) reported the blue whale kill under a headline, “Icelandic Whalers Breach International Law and Kill Iconic, Protected Blue Whale By Mistake.”

The WDC report stated that the whale was first spotted as it was positioned on a ramp by Arne Feuerhahn, a German conservationist, who noted that the massive mammal “was strikingly different in appearance to a fin whale.”

Marianne Rasmussen, a scientist with Project Blue Whale, told the WDC: “Based on the physical appearance and coloration of the lower jaw and baleen plates, it cannot be a fin whale. The mottled-grey coloration of the body points toward a blue whale, so the whale in question is either a blue whale or a blue/fin hybrid, genetics can confirm this.”

The nonprofit Hard to Port, headed By Feuerhahn, has been following the whaling effort on its Facebook page, and has shared links to a handful of reports by Iceland-based news sites.

Blue whales are the largest creatures on the planet; they can measure 100 feet and weigh nearly 200 tons. Fin whales are the second largest whale species. Both species were hunted to the brink of extinction during the whaling era.

The International Whaling Commission adopted a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1982, but a handful of countries oppose the ban and still conduct limited whaling operations.

–Whale images courtesy of Hard to Port

Anti-whaling boat damaged in harrowing collision (video)

Dramatic videotape released Monday, showing an anti-whaling boat being sandwiched tightly between two much larger ships, underscores the tense relationship that exists between Japanese whalers and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

Sea Shepherd released the video Monday. It shows the Bob Barker being pressed between the Nisshin Maru and a Korean refueling tanker. It also shows what's said to be a flash-bang grenade explosion near the stern of the refueling ship, the Sun Laurel (image posted above, video posted below).

The Bob Barker was being used in an attempt to thwart the Nishin Maru's refueling effort in the remote Southern Ocean.

 

"The Bob Barker has sustained major damage from being sandwiched between the Nisshin Maru and the fuel tanker Sun Laurel," Sea Shepherd stated on its Facebook page. "The engine room is now visible through a crack in the floor of the galley. The Sam Simon has massive scratches and dings along their hull, and a smashed satellite dome."

The crew was said to be OK. But the incident, one of the most harrowing in the years-long history of confrontations between the two groups, reveals the serious nature of this game of chess that plays out each season in Antarctic waters.

Sea Shepherd also stated that another of its vessels, the Sam Simon, was dinged during another collision with the Nisshin Maru, and that there was a third collision that involved the Nisshin Maru.

Sea Shepherd opposes Japan's whaling effort with various harassment techniques (its boats were trailing propeller-fouling ropes at the time this incident occurred), and both sides claim that what each other is doing is illegal.

Sea Shepherd has a huge fan base,  but many also vehemently oppose the group and the way it operates. This latest incident, or set of incidents, has inspired typical reactions. Sea Shepherd is either commended or carrying its mission dangerously too far.

This is the second set of collision incidents that occurred during the whalers' attempts to refuel. After last week's incidents, the government of Japan and the Institute of Cetacean Research, which manages the annual minke whale hunts, announced that they had temporarily suspended whaling operations.

The ICR blamed Sea Shepherd for last week's collisions.

Japan annually targets nearly 1,000 whales, claiming the missions are scientific and using a lethal research loophole in the wording of an international moratorium on commercial whaling to skirt the ban.

Few legitimate scientists, if any, believe that killing 900-plus minke whales is necessary or beneficial to the whales from a scientific standpoint. The whale meat, not surprisingly, is sold commercially in Japan. 

--Pete Thomas

Sea Shepherd's new anti-whaling ship had ties to whaling?

The vessel doesn't look ferocious or exceptionally speedy, like other new boats the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society unveiled before previous campaigns against Japanese whaling. But the SSS Sam Simon (pictured above, and below), which was put on public display this week in the Tasmanian port of Hobart, is not as ordinary as it looks.

Sea Shepherd claims the 183-foot patrol ship, built in 1993 by the Japanese as the Seifu Maru, was previously used to obtain ocean data that benefited Japan's North Pacific Whaling Program. It was even docked alongside whaling vessels.

The ship was retired two years ago and purchased recently by Sea Shepherd with funds donated by Sam Simon, co-creator of the perennial hit TV show "The Simpsons."

Locky Maclean, captain of the Sam Simon, said in a news release: "After months of secrecy, it is such a great feeling to finally be able to fly the Sea Shepherd flag from the main mast, and yes, Sea Shepherd now owns a real Japanese research ship!"

The Sam Simon, which will depart for the Antarctic whaling grounds next week, carries a crew of 24 volunteers who are "ready to brave the Southern Ocean to seek out and shut down the illegal Japanese whaling fleet," Sea Shepherd states.

Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research has set a quota of nearly 1,000 minke whales and 50 endangered fin whales during a campaign that, like the others, is described as research oriented.

Japan skirts a long-standing International Whaling Commission ban on commercial whaling by operating under a lethal research loophole contained within the language of the moratorium.

The whaling effort has been sharply criticized by other nations but Japan has maintained that minke whales are not endangered and that whaling is part of the Japanese culture.

The Japan Times this week published the results of a survey of 1,200 Japanese citizens from around the country. Of people between the ages of 15 and 79, 26.8 percent favored the continuation of Japan's whaling program, while 18.5 percent said whaling should end.

The other 54.7 percent had "no opinion" on the matter, but 88.8 percent of those surveyed said they had not bought whale meat in the last 12 months.

If whaling is controversial, so are the harassment tactics used by Sea Shepherd and its captain, Paul Watson. They have included tossing stink bombs onto whaling ships and ropes onto boat propellers, and both sides have been involved in ramming incidents.

What remains unclear, now that Sam Simon is intimately involved in the anti-whaling movement, is whether this annual series of skirmishes will somehow end up being featured, in some manner, in an episode of "The Simpsons."

--Note: This post also appears on the GrindTv.com Outdoor channel

Sea Shepherd anti-whaling vessel damaged by rogue wave

Somewhere in Antarctic waters,  Japanese whalers are cheering their good fortune as Mother Nature has knocked one of the enemy's three ships out of its fight against the killing of whales.

The Brigitte Bardot, a scout boat for the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, was struck by a rogue wave in heavy seas as it pursued the whaling factory ship, Nisshin Maru.

According to Sea Shepherd, the vessel suffered a cracked hull and damaged pontoon. It will be escorted to Fremantle,  Australia, by Capt. Paul Watson aboard the Steve Irwin. There were no injuries to any of the 10 Brigitte Bardot crew members.

This temporarily leaves only one Sea Shepherd boat, the Bob Barker, to attempt to stay with the whaling fleet as the fleet bounds toward the hunting grounds.

In the accompanying Sky News video report, Watson said the Steve Irwin will return to the Antarctic after the escort mission and rejoin a campaign the group calls "Operation Divine Wind."

"It's not going to stop our attempt, but it is a setback because it takes out one of our boats," Watson told the Associated Press.

Japan annually targets more than 900 whales in what it refers to as scientific missions, thus skirting a long-standing international moratorium on commercial whaling. The wording in the moratorium allows for lethal research.

This is Sea Shepherd's eighth campaign against the effort. Last season the whalers were forced to quit early, far short of their quota, because of Sea Shepherd's harassment efforts. This season one of the Japanese harpoon boats is carrying members of the Japan Coastguard.

These hunts are expensive and Japan has been criticized not only for continuing to hunt whales, but for funding the extra security with money earmarked for relief in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake and tsunamis last March.

Japanese whalers, with beefed-up security, are off to the hunt

The Japanese whaling fleet has left for the Antarctic, its ranks reportedly bolstered by Coast Guard officers in an attempt to ensure a successful hunt amid what promises to be more determined opposition by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

So begins another Whale Wars saga, which will heat after both sides have reached the whaling grounds and confrontations begin.

How effective will Japan's secret security measures become? Will this be the season somebody gets killed or seriously injured?

A member of the Japan Coast Guard recently told the Japan Times, "We have decided to beef up security as never before."

Will Sea Shepherd, then, be as successful as it was last season, when it forced Japanese whalers to quit early after filling only one-fifth of their  kill quota of 900-plus minke whales? And are Sea Shepherd members really prepared to die, or face the prospect of death, in order save whales?

There was brief optimism among anti-whaling nations that Japan would quit its so-called scientific expeditions after last season. They're extremely costly, the science is questionable and demand for whale meat in Japan has steadily declined over the years.

Some believe, however, that Japan is continuing to hunt minke and fin whales, using a lethal research loophole in the wording of an international moratorium on commercial whaling, simply because it refuses to capitulate to Sea Shepherd pressure.

Whaling interests in Japan also believe the minke whale population is robust enough to justify killing 900 of them each year, plus a handful of endangered fin whales. (Minke whales are not endangered.)

Japan has sent three ships, led by the 720-ton Yushin Maru, to the whaling region, which includes the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. The ships reportedly are carrying Coast Guard officials for only the third time since 1987, when the moratorium was put in effect. (Japan's Fishery Agency has remained secretive about specific details of this expedition.)

Sea Shepherd also is sending three ships, all of them painted black, and 88 crew members in a campaign it calls "Operation Divine Wind."

Because of beefed-up security measures, it could be the most dangerous of eight Sea Shepherd campaigns against the Antarctic whaling effort.

Capt. Paul Watson, the Sea Shepherd leader, spoke up for his crew of volunteers on the group's website:

"The men and women of my crews, past and present, have given themselves in a great enterprise to defend life, to defend the whales, and all of them for the rest of their lives will be able to look back with pride at what they have done, the adventure of it, the nobility of it, and the success and satisfaction of knowing that because they intervened – thousands of whales were spared the vicious and horrific death from the merciless harpoons of the Japanese whaling fleet."

Sea Shepherd is making final preparations in Fremantle and Hobart, Australia.

Australia and New Zealand have condemned Japan's whaling effort but have no plans to send an observation vessel to the remote and icy whaling area.

Whether a search-and-rescue effort will be required on the part of Australia, which is closest to the whaling area, is another question soon to be answered.

-- Image of the Sea Shepherd vessel Bob Barker is courtesy of Sea Shepherd

Is rocker Ted Nugent really going to slay 20 whales?

Among the catchier Friday morning headlines: "Rocker Ted Nugent Tells Belmont Shore Patch Columnist He'll Kill 20 Whales."

That was followed by the subhed: "Controversial hunter-rocker modestly vows to slay the mammoth creatures this year."

Now for some perspective. The Patch.com story clearly was posted because of the sensational value of Nugent's claim. Of course the Motor City Madman, as fond as he may be of hunting down wild animals, isn't going to slay any whales.

The rocker/hunter/conservationist made the claim, jokingly, during the Thursday night debut of the Philip Friedman Outdoors radio show, which airs at 9 p.m. on AM 830.

Nugent, an ardent bow-hunter with outspoken beliefs on just about any topic, was asked what he thought about Capt. Paul Watson and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's annual efforts to harass Japanese whalers during their controversial hunts in the Antarctic region.

In other words, Nugent was goaded by Friedman, who knew the rocker does not have a filter and would provide entertaining sound bytes.

It might have surprised some, however, to hear that Nugent would side with the Japanese over minke whale hunts that are condemned by so many nations and individuals. The hunts are carried out in the name of research to get around a loophole in a global moratorium on commercial whaling.

Nuget claimed that minke whales are a renewable resource, like many land critters, and that if the Japanese like to eat whale meat they ought to be able to hunt the whales. (Minke whales are not endangered.)

Watson might counter that fewer Japanese are eating whale meat these days, that a lot of meat is wasting away in freezers and that whale meat contains high levels of mercury. That is, if Watson even cares about what an aging rock star might think about the way Sea Shepherd operates.

Friedman, of course, has extended an open invitation for Watson to appear on his show.

Those who missed the Nugent interview can hear it via this link.

Whalers criticized in Japan for quitting season early

Japanese whalers headed home from the Southern Ocean after quitting early this season because of harassment from activists, might not like their homecoming reception.

ABC News in Australia quotes Masayuki Komatsu, a former delegate to the International Whaling Commission, as calling the whalers' position "cowardly."

The whalers' so-called scientific whaling missions, conducted annually in Antarctic waters, are run by the Institute of Cetacean Research through the Fisheries Agency.

The decision to quite early, after killing only 174 minke whales and two fin whales (the annual quota is 900-plus), was made because of relentless harassment from members of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

The ABC story also quotes restaurateur Michio Kono, whose specialties are whale steaks, stew and sashimi, as saying, "I think the government is full of cowards. Whale meat is delicious and healthy. It's part of our culture. This decision is pitiful."

Kono's statement is not accurate. Whale meat contains high levels of mercury and fewer people in Japan are buying it, judging from growing stockpiles in freezers around the country.

It's unclear whether Japan will carry out another Southern Ocean whale hunt next season.

-- Pete Thomas

Photo: Australian Customs Service file photo

Twitter: @Pete_Thomas

Has Japan's whaling program really gone belly-up?

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is understandably proud to have forced an early end to Japan's whaling effort this season in the Antarctic, and to have played a role, perhaps, in bringing an end to whaling in the region.

It's also understandable that the many critics of Sea Shepherd and Paul Watson, the group's controversial leader, have fallen silent during the past week.

That's because Sea Shepherd's relentless harassment  -- all those stink bombs, prop-fouling ropes and near other disruptive measures -- has, in fact, made a difference.

Though it's naive to believe Japanese whalers have harpooned their last leviathan, it seems that the nation's so-called "research" whaling program is either near death or seriously diminished.

That's probably due more to economic realities and increasing international opposition than fears of facing Sea Shepherd activists at sea. However, the Sea Shepherd presence -- this was the group's seventh consecutive harassment campaign -- has reduced the number of whales being killed, especially during the past two campaigns, providing for Japan's Fisheries Agency a smaller return on its investment.

Watson, in an interview Sunday night on "Fish Talk Radio" in Southern California, said Sea Shepherd's objective all along has been to "bankrupt" the Japanese whaling program, and that "it looks like we've finally succeeded."

Japan has used a "lethal research" loophole in the wording of a longstanding International Whaling Commission ban on commercial whaling to justify its hunts. The program, which is funded by government subsidies and the sale of whale meat, is deeply in debt.

Japanese whalers annually target about 900 minke whales and 50 fin whales, despite a shrinking demand for whale meat domestically. They succeeded in killing only 174 minke whales and two fin whales this season. They killed 506 whales last season.

Fisheries Agency officials have acknowledged that the whaling ships are not fast enough to outrun Sea Shepherd boats. According to the online newspaper, Yomiuri Daily, officials with Japan's  Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry recently discussed the possibility of ending research whaling in the Antarctic. But the same story quoted Minister Michihiko Kano as saying, "We can't say anything definite about that."

A high-ranking ministry official, who chose to remain anonymous, revealed that options under consideration include the continuation of research whaling, but with a Japan Coast Guard escort; building new vessels that are faster than Sea Shepherd's; replacing research whaling with commercial whaling; continuing with the current program; and ending the program.

The first two options are too costly and not practical. The third would involve coming to an accord with the IWC so that some level of commercial whaling could legally be carried out. The fourth is not practical given the Sea Shepherd factor. The fifth, of course, is what most people outside of Japan are hoping for. 

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out over the next year or so.

-- Pete Thomas

Photo: Sea Shepherd crew members gather at the bow of the Bob Barker during this season's Southern Ocean campaign against Japanese whaling. Credit: Sam Sielen / Sea Shepherd

Tensions mount between Sea Shepherd activists, whalers

The so-called Whale Wars saga involving Japanese whale hunters and Sea Shepherd Conservation Society activists appears to have reached a boiling point.

The crew of the Yushin Maru 3 on Friday issued a mayday signal, claiming it was under attack by the activists from the Sea Shepherd vessel Bob Barker. Sea Shepherd countered that the Bob Barker was seven miles away when the distress signal was issued, and accused the harpoon boat crew of trying to ram and destroy its smaller harassment boat.

“It was like staring death in the face when that steel hull suddenly turned into us. We just narrowly avoided being cut in half,” said Locky  MacLean, captain of the the boat, named Gojira.

The Institute of Cetacean Research, the group supporting the so-called scientific whaling missions, issued a news release stating that the assault continued for hours despite the mayday call, and that activists "deployed at least 10 propeller foulers and threw more than 80 butyric acid-filled glass bottles and at least five smoke bombs against the Yushin Maru 3."

The Yushin Maru 3, one of three harpoon boats involved in the Southern Ocean hunt, apparently had been tailing the Bob Barker in an attempt to prevent it from pursuing the factory processing ship, Nisshin Maru. Sea Shepherd stated that a Gojira crewman radioed the Yushin Maru 3 and said it would not be hassled if it stopped tailing the Bob Barker.

Sea Shepherd also claims that someone on the harpoon boat hurled a "bamboo spear" at an activist driving an inflatable vessel alongside the harpoon boat. Sea Shepherd posted video of that incident on its website.

-- Pete Thomas

Photo: Sea Sherpherd activists are fired upon by water cannons. Credit: Gary Stokes / Sea Shepherd

 Twitter: @Pete_Thomas

Sea Shepherd locates Japanese whaling factory ship

 

After three-plus weeks of skirmishing with Japanese harpoon boats, activists opposing the country's Southern Ocean whale hunt today announced they had located the factory processing ship.

"We finally have this serial killing death ship where we want them," said Capt. Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which is campaigning against the hunt for a seventh season. "This whaling fleet belongs to us now -- lock, stock, and smoking harpoon gun."

The Sea Shepherd fleet of three boats encountered two of three Japanese harpoon boats on Dec. 31 about 1,700 miles southeast of New Zealand.

The processing vessel Nisshin Maru and the harpoon boat, Yushin Maru, had apparently used the other two boats as decoys as Sea Shepherd tried to stay with them and also pursue the factory ship.

Watson, who is controversial because of his group's militant tactics, presumed that no whales had been killed because the factory ship was being kept on the run.

However, when he and his crew aboard the Steve Irwin spotted the Nisshin Maru today, as it was entering the ice-filled Ross Sea, they saw a whale being processed on its deck.

"Sea Shepherd's objective now is to make sure that whale is the last one taken this season," a news release states.