At a Hollywood fundraiser (where else?) earlier this month, the activist organization Sea Shepherds showed off a replacement for the high-speed
Ady Gil that was rammed by a Japanese whaling vessel in the Southern Ocean. The Ocean Adventurer is a 115 foot monohull vessel with outriggers and is intended to be a fast interceptor, the same role played by the
Ady Gil before it was rammed by the
Shonan Maru No. 2 early this year. The sinking of the Ady Gil has been surrounded by controversy, with its
former captain blaming the Sea Shepherd founder, Paul Watson, for ordering the damaged craft scuttled. Greenpeace
has disowned Watson, a former member of its board of directors, for his confrontational tactics, and "inability to commit to non-violent" means. The new boat will join a fleet of two other vessels in the seventh campaign, "Operation No Compromise", to harass the Japanese whaling fleet. The eco-warriors claim to have saved the lives of 2,000 whales over the course of their operations. Their operations have also brought international attention to commercial whaling by the Japanese conducted under the guise of 'cetacean research'. Whether the fragile looking
Ocean Adventurer fairs any better against the steel hulled Japanese whaling ships can be seen on the Discovery Channel TV show
"Whale Wars" that follows the activists' vigilante exploits.
In other conservation news from the southern hemisphere, the University of Queensland announced recommendations for the establishment of marine reserves in Australia's southwest marine region which covers coastal ocean from Kangaroo Island in the south to Shark Bay in the west [map]. The scientific study provides
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| sanctuaries in blue |
the Australian government with a basis for action to protect 57 species listed for conservation in an area with more unique marine life than on the Great Barrier Reef in the northeast. In the early '90s the federal government reached an agreement with state governments to establish a system of marine reserves. The plan establishes protection for 1,465 marine species at the 50% level as well as protection for 486 underwater features supporting marine life. Professor Hugh Possingham, lead scientist, sees the conservation principles behind the plan as being applicable to all of Australia's marine areas.
