Those perilous "pirates" of preservation,
Sea Shepherd, drove the Japanese whale killers from the Southern Ocean on Monday. Outstanding! The factory ship
Nisshin Maru was caught processing whales inside the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary but was chased away across 60°S latitude by the
Sam Simon, the
Steve Irwin and its helicopter. Three other
Sea Shepherd vessels will patrol should the factory ship attempt to rendezvous with its harpoon ships. Currently they are not hunting and separated by hundreds of miles. The express goal of Sea Shepherds is to disrupt the whale hunt so effectively as to making whaling economic nonsense. However, the Japanese whalers have demonstrated their stubbornness in defense of a what they claim is a cultural activity, and the government subsidizes their loosing operations.
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| courtesy: Sea Shepherd Australia |
When the
Nisshin Maru was located by the sea-going activists, blood covered its decks from the butchering of four minke whales
[photo].
Sea Shepherdsays the whalers are poachers since the hunting takes place within the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. The Australian head of the organization said his fleet will continue to do whatever it takes to ensure no more whales suffer a painful death at the hands of the Japanese butchers. Japan engages in whaling under cover of a "scientific research program" permit issued by the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. Very little, if any research is going on, but the whale meat does end up in Japanese fish markets. Whale is considered a delicacy in Japan. The US branch of the organization was enjoined from interfering with Japanese whaling vessels, so it handed protection operations to
Sea Shepherd Australia. None of its vessels sailing in international waters fly a US flag.
Sea Shepherd claims to have saved the lives of 4500 whales since it began its Antarctic Whale Defense campaigns. The latest, Operation Relentless, is its tenth campaign.