well, it's that time of year again :(

[Infern0]

Enforce the 'bloody law' over whales - Sea Shepherd

By MICHAEL FIELD - Fairfax Media | Thursday, 20 December 2007
Australia's sending of a fisheries patrol ship to shadow Japan's whaling fleet near Antarctica has been condemned by a frontline environmental group as a waste of time.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has its ship Steve Irwin - named after the late Australian crocodile media star - off Antarctica waiting to confront the Japanese whalers.
In a statement from the ship Captain Paul Watson says rival environmentalists Greenpeace have monitored the whaling for 20 years and this latest announcement from Canberra was nothing new.
"We need enforcement and we need action on this atrocity," said Captain Paul Watson, "we don't need anymore pictures of dying whales. Greenpeace has been taking pictures for years and it has not stopped the killing of the whales....
"Our response to Australia's announcement of their 'plan' to protect the whales is to drop the camera and pick up your guns and enforce the bloody laws, mate."
Sea Shepherd in previous seasons has been involved in close conflict with the whalers, including an incident of collision at sea between ships.
Yesterday Australia's foreign minister Stephen Smith and environment minister Peter Garrett announced they will send a fisheries patrol ship to shadow Japan's whaling fleet near Antarctica and gather evidence for a possible international court challenge to halt the yearly slaughter.
The icebreaker Oceanic Viking, used for customs and fisheries policing, would leave for the Southern Ocean in days to follow the Japanese fleet.
To avoid a high-seas incident and ease concern in Tokyo, heavy machine guns on the ship and side arms used by boarding crews would be locked in storage below decks, they said.
Japan's whaling fleet plans to hunt 935 minke whales, 50 fin whales and, for the first time in 40 years, 50 humpback whales for research over the Antarctic summer.
Humpbacks were hunted to near extinction until the International Whaling Commission ordered their protection in 1966.
Patrols by a low-flying A319 Airbus jet used by Australian Antarctic scientists would also follow and photograph the Japanese fleet, Foreign Minister Smith said.
"We are dealing here with the slaughter of whales, not scientific research. That's our starting point and our end point," Smith, whose centre-left Labor government won elections last month, partly on a promise of tougher anti-whaling action.
Smith said photographic and video evidence gathered by the ship and aircraft would be used before any international legal tribunals to "make the point that what we are seeing is not scientific research, but the slaughter of whales."
"If you read Australian lips, you'll say that slaughtering whales is not scientific. It's cruel, it's barbaric and it's unnecessary," Garrett added.
A Greenpeace ship left Auckland yesterday to chase the Japanese fleet.

PM backs anti-whaling campaign

By NATHAN BEAUMONT - The Dominion Post | Thursday, 20 December 2007

The prime minister has swung behind a campaign to stop Japanese whaling, as Australia prepares to send planes and an armed ship to monitor the whaling fleet near Antarctica.
Helen Clark's support, and that of other political leaders, came as New Zealand whaling commissioner Sir Geoffrey Palmer branded the International Whaling Commission - which has failed to bring an end to scientific whaling - "one of the worst international organisations in the world".
The Dominion Post began a campaign this week to halt the slaughter by Japan of up to 50 threatened humpback whales, 50 endangered fin whales and 935 minke whales.
By last night, more than 2100 people had signed an online petition urging the Japanese Government "to abandon its abhorrent whaling programme", including actress Lucy Lawless, singer Hollie Smith and radio and television presenter Marcus Lush.
Signatures had come from Papua New Guinea, France, the United States - and Japan.
Miss Clark said through a spokeswoman that she commended the campaign, which "reflected the values of New Zealanders".
Conservation Minister Steve Chadwick said the campaign - which began with Dominion Post editor Tim Pankhurst delivering a letter of protest to the Japanese embassy - would increase the pressure on Japan.
"Every effort that exerts pressure is constructive and helpful. We need to do it collectively ... so there is a concerted strategy here to say we find whaling something that really does set the hearts and minds of New Zealanders against it."
National leader John Key said his party did not support the killing of endangered species. "We're pretty bipartisan with the mainstream view on our abhorrence of whaling."
Greens co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons said: "This is a crucial time for the world community to send a very strong message to Japan that what they're doing is not acceptable. There is no market for the whale meat."
Sir Geoffrey called for the IWC to be remodelled to end Japan's annual whale slaughter.
The commission is powerless till at least 75 per cent of the IWC delegates vote to change Article 8 of the International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling - the right to scientific whaling - which was approved in 1946.
Anti-whaling countries have tried to change the treaty several times, but failed each time to muster the required support. Recent IWC meetings have been plagued by allegations of vote-buying.
"The IWC is one of the worst international organisations I have been involved with," Sir Geoffrey said. "It is a massively challenging environment.
"Sometimes it feels like I am banging my head against a brick wall. I have spent a lot of years trying to understand the situation, but I still can't get my head around this. It is becoming a joke."
Australian planes and a ship will watch Japanese whaling ships off Antarctica, collecting photographic and video evidence that its government could use in legal action to stop the whaling.
Greenpeace ship Esperanza left Auckland yesterday for the Southern Ocean.

any thoughts on this? or do you guys think it's a matter for the south pacific only?

 

[Del Boy]

In principle - there sure be an enforced global ban on this disgusting practice. Zero tolerance.

 

[A Can of Man]

People kill cows all the time. Pigs as well. Neither animals are very stupid. As long as they're not being hunted into extinction I don't see what the big deal is.
Yes, apparently dolphins are number 2 in intelligence in the world. Then don't whale for the intelligent dolphins.

 

[The Other Guy]

actually they do, in Japan... but that's not important right now.

Whaling has been done for thousands of years. If these people want to get into a boat and chase after a whale in the pacific, then that's their choice.

 

[MontyB]

any thoughts on this? or do you guys think it's a matter for the south pacific only?

Personally I am a fan of outlawing the process except in terms of traditional methods. ie if you want to row a boat off shore and spear one for food more power to ya but it should be stopped as a commercial process and if any of them get near our waters we should make a statement by blowing them out of the water.

 

[A Can of Man]

Obviously you can outlaw the practice in your own waters.
But whaling is just another form of harvesting. If you outlaw whaling, you'll also have to outlaw culling of cows. If whaling is socially acceptable over there, then that's the way it is.
Unless whaling presents a clear and present danger to your country's security or economy, I don't think there's much ground in going after it.

 

[Infern0]

Obviously you can outlaw the practice in your own waters.
But whaling is just another form of harvesting. If you outlaw whaling, you'll also have to outlaw culling of cows. If whaling is socially acceptable over there, then that's the way it is.
Unless whaling presents a clear and present danger to your country's security or economy, I don't think there's much ground in going after it.

it IS and economic consideration for both NZ and Aust due to the eco-tourism parts of our economies

also, comparing whales, to cows is a red herring. cows aren't endangered, long lived, or slow to breed as whales....we had a fair crack at wiping some species out of the ocean....lets not do it again.

remember, japan says it's for "research"....a claim that most marine biologists call a crock. and that the only reason japan has got away with such and obvious lie, is due to their buying off poor member countries part of the IWC.


personally, i wish sea shepard the best of luck in their "hunt" for these japanese murder ships. i'd be much happier if our navy put a couple of shells into their wheelhouse though

 

[A Can of Man]

On a moral standpoint, comparing killing whales to killing cows is not red herring.
However, on an economic standpoint comparing killing whales to killing cows is completely incorrect.
Obviously this stuff is not for research.
But your argument is that of moral, not economical.
"personally, i wish sea shepard the best of luck in their "hunt" for these japanese murder ships."
That is why I compared killing whales to killing cows.
Being away from the environmental crowd for a while I kinda forgot these things are badly endangered. You're right, whaling should be banned. Whales should be preserved. Someone's gotta bio engineer some kind of quickly reproducing whale to be farmed in Japan or something.

 

[Del Boy]

If the practice was necessary to preserve life on this planet it would be adifferent matter as far as I am concerned, but the current situation stinks.

I would like to see it as a bullfight. Now people say bullfighting is cruel - but how about one man against one whale in a set area. Luvly! Maybe the whale could be persuaded to manage without a harpoon. If the man loses we could make candles outa him. The more I consider it - the better it sounds. Hmmm. Or we could can all the losing men like sardines. Big cans with bloody great keys. We could call them Texas Sardines.

 

[MontyB]

personally, i wish sea shepard the best of luck in their "hunt" for these japanese murder ships. i'd be much happier if our navy put a couple of shells into their wheelhouse though

Yes but I am sure you can now see why I believe New Zealand needs an air combat force, a Japanese whaling boat may be able to out run a frigate but I am prepared to bet they wont outrun an antiship missile.

Seriously perhaps its time we pushed our claim on the Ross Shelf a little further and added the 200 mile economic zone down into the Antarctic possessions, if Aussie followed suit much of the southern ocean would become territorial waters.

 

[mmarsh]

it IS and economic consideration for both NZ and Aust due to the eco-tourism parts of our economies

also, comparing whales, to cows is a red herring. cows aren't endangered, long lived, or slow to breed as whales....we had a fair crack at wiping some species out of the ocean....lets not do it again.

remember, japan says it's for "research"....a claim that most marine biologists call a crock. and that the only reason japan has got away with such and obvious lie, is due to their buying off poor member countries part of the IWC.


personally, i wish sea shepard the best of luck in their "hunt" for these japanese murder ships. i'd be much happier if our navy put a couple of shells into their wheelhouse though

---------------------------------

Yes but it is their culture to eat Whale.

I agree that the Humpback (which I have seen in the wild, a very impressive animal) should be protected due to their few numbers but we cannot forbid another culture to hunt whales just because they look cute on postcards.

The Hindus worship cows, but they are not going to stop me from having a good NYC burger.

 

[Infern0]

---------------------------------

Yes but it is their culture to eat Whale.

not as much as they would like you to believe....hell it was in almost EVERYONE here's culture to eat/hunt whale....now the only ones making noise are norway and japan


whale meat was only really an option (as in large, commercial catches and factory ships) for japanese in the food shortages after wwII


also, it's "scientific" research, not a commercial hunt....so the meat shouldn't end up in the markets every year

When the commercial whaling moratorium was introduced by the IWC in 1982, Japan lodged an official objection, but withdrew this objection in 1987 after the United States threatened it with sanctions. Thus, Japan became bound by the moratorium, unlike Norway, Russia and (more disputed) Iceland. In 1987 Japan stopped commercial whaling activities in Antarctic waters,[3] but in the same year began a controversial scientific whaling program, JARPA.
The Japanese government mainly justifies this type of whaling by asserting that analysis of stomach contents provides insight into the dietary habits of whales, analysis of whale ear plugs is the only accurate way to ascertain the age of a whale, the degree of interbreeding in the population can only be ascertained from tissue samples and examination of whale ovaries is required in order to determine the age of sexual maturity. However, this approach has been criticized by many scientists on the International Whaling Commission's Scientific Committee.[9]
Japan's scientific whaling program has remained controversial, with anti-whaling groups maintaining that the killing of whales is unnecessary for scientific purposes and that the real reason for the scientific kills is to provide whale meat for Japanese restaurants and supermarkets. Countries opposed to whaling have raised similar concerns and passed non-binding resolutions in the IWC urging Japan to stop this program. The Japanese government points out that hunting of whales for research purposes is specifically sanctioned under IWC regulations and that those regulations specifically require that whale meat be fully utilized upon the completion of research.
In 1994, Australia attempted to stop some of the Japanese whaling program by enforcing a 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) around the Australian Antarctic Territory. However, Antarctic territories are not generally recognized internationally. In particular, the Antarctic Treaty, to which Australia is a signatory, specifically states that all claims to Antarctic territories remain unresolved while the treaty is in force (the treaty was originally devised to prevent conflict between the USSR and USA during the Cold War). Legal advice obtained by the Australian government indicated that attempts to stop Japanese whaling in the Australian Antarctic Territory by resorting to international courts may, in fact, have led to Australia losing its claim to that territory.
In 2002, Japanese whalers took five Sperm, 39 Sei, 50 Bryde's and 150 Minke Whales in the northern catch area and 440 Minke whales in the southern catch area. The catch was carried out under the IWC's special license for whaling research. In 2005 Japan announced that they would significantly expand their whaling. With the adoption of this plan, Japan’s take will include 100 Sei Whales, 10 Sperm Whales, 50 Humpback Whales, 50 Fin Whales, and 50 Bryde’s Whales, some of which are considered endangered, along with 850 (+/- 10%) Minke Whales which are classified as near threatened .[10]
In the 2006-2007 Antarctic whaling season, Japanese whalers took 505 Minke Whales, of which 262 were pregnant females. They also killed three Fin Whales, one of which was pregnant.[11]
The most vocal opponents of the Japanese push for a resumption of commercial whaling are Australia, New Zealand and the United States, whose stated purpose for opposing whaling is the need for conservation of endangered species.

it's a joke, they're thumbing their noses at the international community

 

[Del Boy]

whale meat was only really an option (as in large, commercial catches and factory ships) for japanese in the food shortages after wwII


Exactly the same here. Due to meat shortages post ww11. it was not popular here, and created the pun on the popular song 'We'll meet again', becoming the complaint to our butchers 'Whale meet again'.


Very informative post Inferno.

 

[A Can of Man]

Who cares when it started. Is it not culture because it started 50 years ago? Does something have to have started at least 200 years ago to be considered culture?
You protect the endangered species, but those which are not endangered and still are enough to attract tourists to New Zealand and Australia, there should be a hunting quota.
Like Mmarsh said, the whole "it looks cute on postcards" stuff doesn't do it and another reason why the whale - cow comparison works.

 

[The Other Guy]

cows look cool on postcards...

It's what they've done. As long as they don't go crazy, then good hunting!

A limit, like deer season. only one whale... or something.

 

[Infern0]

Japan has backed down on plans to slaughter humpback whales for "scientific purposes" after strong protests by New Zealand, Australia and 30 other anti-whaling nations.
The Australian Embassy in Tokyo last night delivered a demarche - a formal protest document - to Japan's foreign ministry objecting to plans to kill more than 1000 whales.
Japan last month sent its fleet to Antarctica on its largest whaling expedition, including 50 humpback whales in its catch - for the first time since the 1960s.
The fleet will still kill up to 935 minke whales and 50 fin whales. However, even before the protest document was delivered, Japanese public broadcaster NHK announced the humpback cull had been scrapped.
"Japan has decided to delist humpbacks from the whaling list for now due to concern about the negative impact on relations with Australia," NHK said, quoting unnamed officials.
Japan had earlier denied remarks on Wednesday by Thomas Schieffer, the US Ambassador to Tokyo, who claimed Japan had agreed in diplomatic discussions to drop its plans to harpoon 50 humpback whales.
A spokesman for Conservation Minister Steve Chadwick said the New Zealand Government would not comment until the claim had been confirmed officially by Japan.
In an earlier statement announcing New Zealand's participation in the international diplomatic protest, Chadwick described killing whales for "so-called scientific research" as "abhorrent".
New Zealand led last year's demarche against Japan, which involved 27 countries, and Kiwis remained "at the forefront of international efforts to prevent whaling", Chadwick said.
By last night more than 6100 people had signed a petition started by Wellington's Dominion Post calling for a halt to Japan's whaling programme.
The humpbacks Japan intended to kill under the guise of scientific research were already being studied by non-lethal research programmes in Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia and Tonga.
Humpback and fin whales populations were yet to recover from decades of over-exploitation from commercial whaling.
Chadwick said the Government would continue working through diplomatic and other channels, including the International Whaling Commission, to reaffirm its strong anti-whaling position.

 

[A Can of Man]

Good on you guys.
1000?? Jesus those guys hate Whales don't they? What brought about their sudden need to slaughter a crapload of whales anyway?

 

[Del Boy]

Nice one Oz!

 

[Infern0]

Humpback whales may be safe for now, but a fresh wave of pressure is building on Japan after its vow to continue hunting the even more endangered fin whale in the Southern Ocean.
New Zealand conservation officials said yesterday the fight against whaling was far from over, and pledged to look at ways to support Australia in confronting Japan.
In a bow to mounting international pressure, Japan took humpbacks off its hunting list on Friday "for one year or two".
It will still slaughter 50 endangered fin whales, however, as well as 950 smaller minke whales this summer.
It will be the first time fin whales - the second largest creatures on the planet - have been hunted since the 1960s. They were brought to the edge of extinction before commercial whaling was banned in 1986, and even now may number only 5000 in the Southern Ocean.
The Australian Government made a formal diplomatic protest, backed by 31 countries, in Tokyo on Saturday night to mark the start of Japan's whaling season.
Sir Geoffrey Palmer, New Zealand's commissioner to the International Whaling Commission, said killing fin whales was unacceptable. "They are more endangered than humpbacks and they are much bigger. These animals are very difficult to study. The idea that you're going to kill them off before you find out about them is really pretty awful."
Conservation Minister Steve Chadwick said the humpbacks' reprieve was welcome, but did not go far enough.
"It's a good start, you have to say. But we're now worried about the fin and the minke, and there's a heck of a long way to go there."
The Australian Government has sent navy ships to monitor the whalers and to prepare material for an international legal challenge.
"Australia's taken a great lead here," Ms Chadwick said. "There's a certain frustration that we've been at the table for years and not seeing any shifts, so the Australian decision for surveillance and monitoring is very effective."
She would look at ways New Zealand could help out. "I'm going to have to take a strategy paper to Cabinet in mid-January when we're back about our proposed approach in support of Australia."
Though it could be slow-moving, the whaling commission was still effective and the best avenue for talking to Japan. "It's no good if we all go on our high horse and Japan leaves the table ... If you change the structures, that's just more time. And we don't have a lot of time to buy here."
Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said the hunt was in line with international treaties, and he hoped it would not damage relations with Australia.
Two protest ships, Greenpeace's Esperanza and Sea Shepherd's Steve Irwin, are planning to meet whalers in the Southern Ocean.
Greenpeace Australia Pacific chief executive Steve Shallhorn said activists would use inflatable boats to get between the whales and the whalers' harpoons.
By last night more than 6750 people had signed The Dominion Post's anti-whaling petition.

 

[A Can of Man]

Is there some place I or any of the board members can sign this petition as well?