SSCS in den Nachrichten
Herzlich willkommen bei den Sea Shepherd-Nachrichten! Hier finden Sie eine kleine Zusammenstellung von Berichten über Sea Shepherd, die weltweit in den Medien erschienen sind. Die Dokumentation und Bloßstellung von Gräueltaten gegen Meerestiere und ihre Lebensräume stellt einen bedeutenden Pfeiler von Sea Shepherds Mission dar. Daher ist jeder Bericht über unsere Arbeit (egal ob in Magazinen, Zeitungen, online, Radio oder im Fernsehen) sehr wichtig für uns.
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Aktuelle Berichterstattung
 Mar 19, 2011 -- The Huffington Post - USA
Sea Shepherd: Mission Accomplished in Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary
Last week I had the opportunity to spend a week aboard The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's vessels, The Steve Irwin and The Bob Barker upon their return to port in Hobart, Tasmania after successfully shutting down Japanese whaling operations in the southern ocean whale sanctuary--a victory that has been 7 years in the making.
Media and film crews were on hand to welcome home the captains and crew along with family, friends and supporters who showed up with fresh fruit and produce as gestures of gratitude for the ocean defenders, some who spent 94 days at sea without fresh provisions. Australian Green party member and long time Sea Shepherd advocate, Bob Brown held a press conference with Captain Paul Watson to express his support and appreciation for this year's monumental victory for the whales. .....more
Mar 03, 2011 -- The Huffington Post - USA
The 11th Hour Strikes: Saving the Blue Fin Tuna From Extinction
The fate of one of the ocean's largest fish and most important apex predators will be on the table at an inter-sessional meeting of The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) to take place February 21-25th in Barcelona, Spain. According to a recent report from the Associated French Press, several countries have failed to deliver their plans for recovery of tuna stocks to the ICCAT, which may provide some critical and overdue relief for the blue fin tuna. European Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki recently issued a letter to Spain, Italy, Malta, Cyprus and Greece, warning that the European fleet may not be allowed to catch its 2011 quota if the EU does not provide the recovery plans within the allotted time frame. .....more
Feb 16, 2011 -- CNN - USA
Japan suspends annual whale hunt
Japan has suspended its annual Antarctic whale hunt because an anti-whaling group is tailing its ship, a government official said Wednesday.
Hirosh Kawamura, an official at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said the hunt has been "temporarily suspended" since February 10 due to the actions of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
"We have experienced the dangerous attacks from them, it might take the life of crews," he said. "Considering the safety as the first priority, we decided to halt the whaling temporarily." .....more
 Feb 16, 2011 -- BBC - United Kingdom
Japan halts whale hunt after chase by protesters
Japan has suspended its annual Antarctic whale hunt following protests from a campaign group.
Activists from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a US-based environmental group, have been chasing the Japanese fleet's mother ship.
An official at the country's fisheries agency said whaling had been halted "for now" because of safety concerns.
Commercial whaling was banned in 1986 but Japan uses a regulation permitting hunting for scientific research. ....more
 Feb 16, 2011 -- The Japan Times - Japan
Activists win; whale hunt halts in Antarctic
The Japanese whaling fleet has suspended its Antarctic Ocean hunt because of obstruction by Sea Shepherd Conservation Society vessels, a Fisheries Agency official said Wednesday.
Jiji Press reported government officials are considering having the fleet return home earlier than regular years amid the moves by the marine animal rights group.
"The Nisshin Maru (whaling fleet mother ship) has been chased by Sea Shepherd vessels since Feb. 10 and thus the fleet suspended whaling since then," said Tatsuya Nakaoku of the Whaling Section of the Fisheries Agency's Far Seas Fisheries Division. "We are considering several options (to deal with the current situation), but nothing has been decided." ....more
 Feb 16, 2011 -- The Canadian Press - Canada
Japan temporarily suspends Antarctic whaling hunt after activists' harassment
Japan has temporarily suspended its annual Antarctic whaling after repeated harassment by a conservationist group, a government official said Wednesday.
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ships have been chasing the Japanese whaling fleet for weeks in the icy seas off Antarctica, trying to block Japan's annual whale hunt, planned for up to 945 whales.
Japan has halted the hunt since Feb. 10 after persistent "violent" disruptions by the anti-whaling protesters, said fisheries agency official Tatsuya Nakaoku.
So far, the attacks have not caused any injuries or major damage to the vessels, he said, but the protesters are throwing rancid butter in bottles and once the protesters got a rope entangled in the propeller on a harpoon vessel, causing it to slow down. . . more
 Feb 15, 2011 -- Sydney Morning Herald - Australia
Japan temporarily suspends Antarctic whaling hunt after activists' harassment
TOKYO — Japan has temporarily suspended its annual Antarctic whaling after repeated harassment by a conservationist group, a government official said Wednesday. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ships have been chasing the Japanese whaling fleet for weeks in the icy seas off Antarctica, trying to block Japan's annual whale hunt, planned for up to 945 whales. Japan has halted the hunt since Feb. 10 after persistent "violent" disruptions by the anti-whaling protesters, said fisheries agency official Tatsuya Nakaoku. ....more
Jan 22, 2011 -- Sydney Morning Herald - Australia
Japan's whaling fleet on the run
IN THE shadows of intent, somewhere between harmless fireworks and deadly force, lies the whaling conflict in the Antarctic.
At one end of this spectrum are the stink bombs thrown against water jets. At the other is the near fatal collision involving the Ady Gil.
Among all this piratical colour and movement, decisive moments of a decades-long struggle can pass little noticed. ....more
 Jan 15, 2011 -- Stuff - New Zealand
Southern Whaling Season Hard Work
Japanese whalers face the threat of their worst Antarctic season as conservation activists tighten their hold on the whaling fleet.
A fuel resupply that may be vital to keeping the fleet in the Southern Ocean was being thwarted by the Sea Shepherd activists, who have preoccupied the fleet.
More than a fortnight into a shortened season, few, if any, whales are believed to have been killed. For the activists, the tantalising prospect is rising that for the first time in decades of protest, whaling will be effectively shut down.
''We're doing pretty good at it,'' Sea Shepherd leader Paul Watson said yesterday, ''even though we're not being as proactive as in other seasons.'' ....more
Jan 14, 2011 -- The Age - Australia
Sea Shepherd in Control as Whalers Face Battle to Refuel
Japanese whalers face the threat of their worst Antarctic season as conservation activists tighten their hold on the whaling fleet.
A fuel resupply that may be vital to keeping the fleet in the Southern Ocean was being thwarted by the Sea Shepherd activists, who have preoccupied the fleet.
More than a fortnight into a shortened season, few, if any, whales are believed to have been killed. For the activists, the tantalising prospect is rising that for the first time in decades of protest, whaling will be effectively shut down. ....more
Jan 13, 2011 -- TVNZ - New Zealand
Sea Shepherd Plans to Intercept Supply Ship
The Sea Shepherd anti-whaling group says it has intercepted a Japanese whaling supply ship in the Southern Ocean and plans to stop it delivering its cargo to the fleet's factory ship and harpoon vessels.
The Sea Shepherd ship, Gojira said it was tailing the tanker, the Panamanian registered Sun Laurel carrying fuel and other supplies.
When the Gojira captain Canadian Lockhart MacLean found the Sun Laurel he immediately alerted other Sea Shepherd ships in the area which changed course to intercept the tanker. ....more
Jan 13, 2011 -- The Huffington Post - USA
Anti-whaling Group Launches Innovative iPhone App
Just when you thought that the fight to save whales couldn't get any more mainstream, The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society announced the successful launch of their new iPhone and iPad App earlier this week.
Founded in 1977, the high profile and often controversial non profit marine conservation organization remains steadfast in its direct action mission to protect endangered marine wildlife and habitats across the planet. Now you can join 'Neptune's Navy' as they continue to confront illegal poachers on the high seas in their relentless efforts to end illegal whaling and other critical issues facing the world's oceans today.....more
Jan 11, 2011 -- Herald Sun - Australia
Gillard Calls for Calm on Whaling
Escalating clashes between Japanese whalers and anti-whaling activists in Antarctic waters have sparked a stern call for calm from Julia Gillard.
Amid claims conservationists hurled illegal "flash bang" grenades in the most recent skirmish, the Prime Minister warned both sides to behave more responsibly.
"This is a remote, inhospitable, dangerous place," Ms Gillard said.
"Everybody has to act responsibly. Any sense that somehow you can act irresponsibly and somehow someone miraculously turns up to save you -- that is not the way the world works." ....more
Jan 10, 2011 -- ABC News - Australia
Anti-whaling Activists Reject Grenade Claims
Whale conservation group Sea Shepherd has rejected claims it threw illegal stun grenades onboard a Japanese whaling ship in the Southern Ocean earlier this month.
The Japanese Institute of Cetacean Research, which organises Japan's so-called scientific whaling program, has released footage showing activists onboard boats belonging to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society throwing objects onto the Yushin Maru 2
The two sides have already clashed twice this year during the annual Antarctic hunt, and the Japanese institute says at least two stun grenades and one smoke bomb were thrown in the most recent incident, with one of the grenades landing on protective nets on its harpoon ship. ....more
Jan 09, 2011 -- The Mercury - Australia
Activists’ Ballooning Success
Anti-whaling campaigners have clashed with the Japanese fleet using a state-of-the art interceptor vessel as they bid to disrupt the annual hunting campaign.
Activists on board the £2.57million Gojira trimaran catapulted glass bottles at the Yushin Maru-2 and threw ropes aimed at its propeller in the second clash already this year.
Two ships belonging to campaign group Sea Shepherd have been pursuing Japanese whaling factory vessel the Nisshin Maru for the last six days after discovering the fleet on December 31. ....more
Jan 06, 2011 -- Wall Street Journal - USA
Godzilla Returns to Fight Japanese Whalers
It’s the return of Godzilla, but not exactly how scriptwriters might have imagined it.
A speedboat belonging to the environmental group Sea Shepherd named after the iconic monster — “Gojira”, in the local language – made waves for Japanese whalers on the high seas Wednesday in what was the second altercation between the seafarers this year, according to Japan’s Fisheries Agency, and one that prompted Japan to contact Australian embassy officials in Tokyo asking Sydney to intervene....more
Jan 06, 2011 -- The Guardian - United Kingdom
Wikileaks: Secret Whale Deal Plotted by US and Japan
Japan and the US proposed to investigate and act against international anti-whaling activists from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society as part of a political deal to reduce whaling in Antarctic waters.
Four confidential cables from the US embassy in Tokyo and the state department in Washington, released by WikiLeaks, show US and Japanese diplomats secretly negotiating a compromise agreement ahead of a key meeting last year of the International Whaling Commission, the body that regulates international whaling. ....more
Jan 06, 2011 -- Daily Mail - United Kingdom
Straight into battle: High-tech anti-whaling vessel clashes with Japanese fleet in freezing
Southern Ocean
Anti-whaling campaigners have clashed with the Japanese fleet using a state-of-the art interceptor vessel as they bid to disrupt the annual hunting campaign.
Activists on board the £2.57million Gojira trimaran catapulted glass bottles at the Yushin Maru-2 and threw ropes aimed at its propeller in the second clash already this year.
Two ships belonging to campaign group Sea Shepherd have been pursuing Japanese whaling factory vessel the Nisshin Maru for the last six days after discovering the fleet on December 31. ....more
 Jan 04, 2011 -- The Japan Times - Japan
Sea Shepherd Hurt Hunt, Japan Urged Audit: Cables
Japan admitted to the United States that actions by the activist group Sea Shepherd had curtailed its annual whale hunt but opposed Washington's efforts to have it politically engage fellow whaling nation Iceland to reduce its catch, WikiLeaks cables revealed Monday.
Negotiations between Japan and the U.S. over Sea Shepherd and the future of the International Whaling Commission in November 2009 and last January were the subjects of the first U.S. diplomatic cables from the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo released by WikiLeaks. ....more
Jan 04, 2011 -- The West Australian - Australia
Rivals Continue Whaling Chase
Anti-whaling activists continued their pursuit of the Japanese fleet yesterday, with both sides showing beefed-up capabilities.
Sea Shepherd has three longdistance ships and the activists hurled bottles of a foul chemical on to the harpoon post of the whale chaser Yushin Maru No 3.
The Japanese chaser ships are heavily netted against projectiles or boarding. ....more
 Jan 03, 2011 -- L.A. Times - USA
Wikileaks Releases Documents About Anti-whaling Group Sea Shepherd
Japanese and American officials discussed taking action to weaken a prominent anti-whaling group, with Tokyo insisting that Sea Shepherd's confrontations on the high seas actually hurt efforts to reduce whaling, U.S. diplomatic cables show.
The U.S. representative to the International Whaling Commission, Monica Medina, discussed revoking the U.S.-based conservation group's tax-exempt status during a meeting with senior officials from the Fisheries Agency of Japan in November 2009, according to the documents released by WikiLeaks on Monday. ...more
Jan 01, 2011 -- Fox News - USA
Japanese Whalers, Activists Clash off Antarctica
Japanese whalers shot water cannons at anti-whaling activists on Saturday, the conservationist group's founder claimed, hours after the activists tracked down the hunting fleet in the remote and icy seas off Antarctica.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is chasing the fleet in the hopes of interrupting Japan's annual whale hunt, which kills up to 1,000 whales a year. The two sides have clashed violently in the past, including last year, when a Sea Shepherd boat was sunk after its bow was sheared off in a collision with a whaling ship. ....more
Dec 26, 2010 -- The Huffington Post - USA
'Tis the Season for Sea Shepherd to Defend Whales in Antarctica
Earlier last week I met up with Captain Paul Watson and the Sea Shepherd crew at the bottom of New Zealand's South Island as their flagship vessel, The Steve Irwin, embarked on its annual mission to the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary to defend the great leviathans of the deep against the blatantly illegal annual hunting spree by the Japanese government. Perhaps there is no translation in the Japanese language or maybe they just missed the memo, but a "sanctuary" as defined by Noah Webster is understood by the rest of the world as: (1) a place of refuge and protection (2) a refuge for wildlife where predators are controlled and hunting is illegal. ... .more
Dec 2, 2010 -- Japan Today - Japan
Sea Shepherd Ships head for Atlantic to take on Whalers
Two vessels of the anti-whaling Sea Shepherd Conservation Society left Australia on Thursday to protest and disrupt Japanese whaling activities in Antarctic waters, ahead of the start of the new hunting season.
Sea Shepherd’s flagship vessel Steve Irwin, accompanied by the Bob Barker, left from a wharf in Hobart, the capital of Tasmania. They are expected to arrive in the Antarctic Ocean in around three weeks.
The two vessels will joined in coming days by the Gojira, a 35-meter vessel, high-speed interceptor vessel that replaces the Ady Gill, a trimaran that was damaged beyond repair last January in a collision with a vessel of the Japanese whaling fleet. ....more
Nov 23, 2010 -- Sydney Morning Herald - Australia
Avatar pilot turns sights in whalers
Hollywood actor Michelle Rodriguez says she plans to take direct action against Antarctic whaling because the law is not working.
Rodriguez, star of the movie Avatar and the TV series Lost has tested her sea legs with Sea Shepherd activists in preparation for a campaigning spot in the summer of 2011-12.
Speaking after reaching Hobart aboard the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin, she said there was no single way to bring an end to whaling. ....more
Nov 16, 2010 -- News - Australia
Avatar Michelle Rodriguez star joins Sea Shepherd
Hollywood actress Michelle Rodriguez, star of blockbuster Avatar, is in Fremantle throwing her support behind anti-whaling activist group Sea Shepherd.
Rodriguez said she will be on board Sea Shepherd’s flagship vessel MY Steve Irwin when it sets sail at 4pm today for Hobart where crew plan to replenish supplies before heading to the Southern Ocean in December. ... .more
Sept 09, 2010 -- The Sun - United Kingdom
First pics of Dolphin Hunt
These are the first pictures of Japan's shameful dolphin hunt that sees more than 20,000 of the beautiful mammals slaughtered every year.
Our undercover pictures show the first victims of the annual ritual — held in tiny pens after being herded into them by bloodthirsty fishermen.
Most of these will be sold to dolphin parks around the world but thousands more are killed in hidden coves for their meat.
Local officials lock down the area to stop the world witnessing the cull which starts every September.. .more
August 11, 2010 -- The Sydney Morning Herald - Australia
Nostalgia carries risk for these whale hunters
Thin, smart and bespectacled, Peter Hammarstedt could easily pass scrutiny in the Faroe Islands last month for what he said he was: a visiting Swedish film student.
Hammarstedt, 28, took in the sights of these wild North Atlantic islands, plugged into the local grapevine, and with his video camera, bided his time.
For, around Hobart, Hammarstedt is better known as a long- serving Sea Shepherd crewman, currently the mate on the group’s ship, Bob Barker, which is idle in the Derwent for the southern winter.
And Hammarstedt was in the Faroes to document Europe’s sole surviving cetacean drive hunt, of pilot whales.. .more
30. Juli 2010 -- The Sun - Großbritannien
Brutal slaughter of pilot whales
The disembowelled bodies of brutally slaughtered whales line a dockside just 230 miles from Britain - as families with children wander among them.
More than 200 protected pilot whales were hacked to death with knives and sharpened hooks by fishermen who trapped them in coves on the Faeroe Islands.
Disturbing images show deep gouges where whalers hacked at the animals to sever their spinal cords. Others show the bodies of unborn calves torn from their mothers' wombs.
Crowds of islanders, including youngsters, gathered to watch the slaughter, known as "the grind". . . more
 June 6, 2010 -- France24 - France
Green group to launch Mediterranean tuna 'blue rage'
Conservation Society Sea Shepherd will on Monday launch a "Blue Rage" campaign against the poaching of threatened bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean, the director of its French branch told AFP.
The group's boat Steve Irwin arrived on Saturday in Malta, near where Greenpeace activists clashed on Friday with French commercial tuna fishing vessels, director Lamya Essemlali told AFP.
She and the group's founder, Paul Watson, were to join the vessel and its crew of about 40 people on Monday to launch the campaign which would last until mid-July, she said.
"We want to stop the poachers," Essemlali said, adding that Sea Shepherd's boat would consider sailing into Libyan waters, where many poachers operate, to protect the bluefin. . . more
June 4, 2010 -- Los Angeles Times - USA
'Whale Wars' Captain Paul Watson swims with the pod
With his bushy white beard, stout figure and cargo pants, Captain Paul Watson looks more like a hard-edged seaman than the star of one of television's more popular reality shows. But at a busy restaurant in downtown Los Angeles this spring, the 59-year-old at the center of "Whale Wars" was being confronted by his new identity as a celebrity.
After being seated, Watson was promptly greeted by a waiter, who presented him with a tray full of vegan hors d'oeuvres. "Compliments of the chef," the waiter said. "He's a big fan of your show."
Indeed, the controversial Canadian activist's profile has risen dramatically because of the success of his Animal Planet show, which documents his Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's travails in the waters off Antarctica as it battles Japanese whaling fleets. Since the show's inception in fall 2008, the program has become the channel's second-highest-rated program and last season averaged over 1 million viewers an episode, according to the channel. . . more
April 13, 2010 -- The First Post - United Kingdom
Victory for Sea Shepherd as whale catch halved
The Japanese whaling fleet has returned from the Antarctic with its smallest catch for years, blaming "violent interference" from the militant Sea Shepherd conservation group.
The whalers' final total of 506 minke whales and one fin whale was well short of its 935 target – and the lowest on record after the 2006-07 season when the fleet had to return home early with just 505 whales after a fire broke out on a Japanese ship.
Shigetoshi Nishiwaki of the Institute of Cetacean Research, the body that conducted the Antarctic whaling expedition, told reporters: "Anger is the word."
He added that Sea Shepherd activists "say they protect the sea but they don't care about leaking oil or leaving pieces of a broken ship behind". He was referring to an incident in January when Sea Shepherd’s powerboat the Ady Gil was sliced in two by a Japanese whaling ship. . . more
March 14, 2010 -- The Sydney Morning Herald - Australia
Sea warrior
 Paul Watson tells Alex McClintock why he won't give up fighting for the whales.
'I've never feared for my life. I don't know why. Maybe it's a feeling of denial or maybe being able to appreciate the danger," captain Paul Watson says, his voice lighting up.
You get the distinct impression that it's the latter. The president of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has certainly faced his fair share of perils, and recounts tales of derring-do with glee.
Watson excitedly describes how 30 drunken sealers kicked in his hotel room door while he was protesting the Canadian seal hunt in 1995.
"They were all standing there ready to attack me and all I could think of was: 'I'm not going to give in to these guys.' One of them came at me and punched me in the side of the head, so I took him down with a stun gun. Another came in from the other side and I took him out. That confused them so much that the police were able to get in and get them off me." . . . more
February 24, 2010 -- Time Online - USA
Australia to Japan: Stop Whaling, or Else
On Dec. 7, 2009, the Steve Irwin, a ship belonging to the radical anti-whaling Sea Shepherd Conservation Society departed from the port of Fremantle, in Western Australia, bound for Antarctica. It was farewelled by members of the celebrated animal conservationist's family, who supported the Sea Shepherd's Mission to obstruct the Japanese whalers in Antarctic Waters.
The Steve Irwin was later joined by two more vessels from the Sea Shepherd's fleet: The high-tech stealth boat Ady Gil, which sunk in the Southern Sea following a collision with whaling boat on Jan. 6., and the Bob Barker, a ship that survived a collision on Feb. 6 and is currently exchanging rancid-butter bombs with water canon fire from the whalers. On Feb. 15, New Zealander Pete Bethune, the former captain of the Ady Gil crew, boarded Japan's Shonan Maru 2 in the middle of the night, presented the skipper with a $3 million invoice for sinking the Ady Gil, and attempted a citizen's arrest. Bethune was detained by the crew of the Japanese vessel, and according to Paul Watson the President of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society the ship has turned back to Japan. Bethune could be facing trespass charges in Tokyo. "It's one more whaling ship out of the water," said Watson, who is onboard the Steve Irwin. "Our presence has cost them $70 to $80 million dollars.". . . more
 February 9, 2010 -- The Japan Times Online - Japan
Watson to whalers: We will never surrender
Despite speaking on a bad line from somewhere off Antarctica, the message from Paul Watson was loud and clear:"We will never retreat or surrender the southern oceans till we drive the Japanese whaling fleet out of here. We are not going to back down on this, and we are getting stronger every year. Every year we come down with more support." For the fifth year running now, Watson, the charismatic 60-year-old founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, is pursuing Japan's whaling fleet across the frigid Southern Ocean with his ragtag "Neptune's Navy" of supporters. . . more
January 16, 2010 -- The Age - Australia
Battle for whales too weak, poll finds
More than eight in 10 Australians say the Federal Government is not doing enough to prevent Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean, a poll has found.
The strong feeling stretches across all age groups, with only 9 per cent saying the Government is doing enough.
The finding comes as a Japanese political and business consultant warned of the danger of the dispute to relations between the two and a small group of protesters demonstrated outside the Japanese embassy yesterday.
The Australian Government is trying to reach a diplomatic solution while keeping the threat of legal action as an option.
In a UMR national poll of 1000 people between January 7 and 11, 94 per cent opposed Japanese whaling.
Three-quarters said they were prepared to refuse to buy Japanese products or services to pressure Japan to stop whaling. . . . more
January 15, 2010 -- Wired - USA
Whaling Protesters Pioneer Non-lethal Warfare
An altruistic millionaire spends a fortune on high-tech vehicles and an arsenal of non-lethal weaponry — including sonic blasters and photonic disruptors — for a vigilante battle against similarly-armed villains. Nope, it's not a comic book plot. This is real life, according to a story in the New Yorker about the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's recent tussle with some Japanese whalers. And it raises interesting questions about the future of non-lethal devices as tools of protest.
In an article called "Streetfight on the High Seas," the magazine interviews Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson. He describes how the group went into action in a converted whaling ship and a 78-foot wave-piercing trimaran, capable of 45 knots. This boat is often described as looking like something out of a Batman movie; a million dollars of the purchase price was supplied by Hollywood lighting magnate Ady Gil, and the boat was named after him.
The fight started when a Japanese ship, the Shonan Maru 2, attacked the Shepherd vessel MV Steve Irwin with a water cannon and a Long Range Acoustic Device 'sonic blaster.' The Sea Shepherd folks have their own LRAD; they haven't used yet. (This leads to the question of what happens when two LRAD-armed opponents get into a standoff – a battle of wills, determined by who has the best hearing protection.). . . more
January 6, 2010 -- The New York Times - USA
Anti-Whaling Vessel Damaged in a Collision at Sea
An anti-whaling group's high-speed boat and a Japanese whaler reported colliding at sea on Wednesday, with each blaming the other.
Video taken from the deck of the Japanese ship, Shonan Maru 2, showed the collision with the Ady Gil, a sleek black trimaran belonging to a group that aggressively confronts the Japanese whaling fleet each year as it plies the waters south of Australia and New Zealand.
The video shows a frothy wake coming from the stern of the Ady Gil, although it is unclear whether the trimaran was moving. The Shonan Maru 2 was directing a water cannon at the Ady Gil before and during the collision, which is clearly seen on the video, and the bow of the Ady Gil was sheared off. . . more
December 25 , 2009 -- The Globe and Mail - Canada
Ottawa seeks help with seal message
The federal government is opening a new front in its decades-old clash with anti-sealing groups, shifting the battlefield from ice floes to the Internet.
Concerned that seal protests timed for the Vancouver Winter Olympics may further bloody the country's reputation, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade posted a contract for a company to monitor and neutralize “well-organized anti-sealing groups” who are cultivating vast support online through Facebook, Twitter and other social-networking sites.
One such group, the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, recently launched a site that features the cute Olympic mascots Miga, Quatchi and Sumi murdering a frightened seal. Several other sites run by Humane Society International, the International Fund for Animal Welfare and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society all post videos of Canadian hunters clubbing seals and dragging their bleeding carcasses across the ice. . . more
December 14 , 2009 -- The Sydney Morning Herald - Australia
Japanese harpoon whaling talks
The first harpoon of this year's whaling season has been fired, and it was shot by Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada.
Like the grenade-tipped harpoons his whalers shoot in the Antarctic, it left its target bloodied and flailing. Still alive, but barely.
Okada's weapon was his words, and his hit was on peace talks that were hoped to bridge the global whaling divide.
Now the question is: how can countries like Australia honestly keep these International Whaling Commission talks going?
Okada was speaking in his first interview with Australian correspondents in Tokyo since the new Democratic Party of Japan came to power promising broad reform.
He was asked straight out whether Japan was reviewing its whaling policy, and did not equivocate in reply. "We do not think that there is a need for a policy review at this point of time."
Oh really? Then what about these IWC meetings that have dragged diplomats around the world in the past three years, largely at Japan's behest?
If Tokyo has decided there is no need to change, it's time for other countries involved, like Australia, to stop the sham. . . . more
November 19, 2009 -- Mother Nature News - USA
Japan's whaling season has begun
Japanese whalers have set out for waters off the Australian Antarctic Territory. Australians await their arrival with trepidation, as this is the third season since Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s government pledged to end whaling in the Southern Ocean.
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) confirms that each year, the Japanese fleet begins whaling in mid-December and alternates each year between the Australian Antarctic waters and the Antarctic Ross Sea. The IWC has been working for years to curb whaling. . . . more
November 16, 2009 -- CBS News Las Vegas - USA
Sharks Slaughtered to the Brink of Extinction
Sharks have lived in the oceans for 400 million years and since they are at the top of the food chain, they have shaped the evolution of pretty much everything else that lives in the sea. It means that anything that puts sharks at risk could have profound effects on the ecosystem of the oceans.
Right now, sharks are in trouble and it's mostly because of soup.
Try to find someone who will defend shark finning. You can't. Neither the stores that sell the fins nor the restaurants that serve the soup. Shark fin soup is considered a status symbol in Asian cultures, but when the I-Team asked the local Asian Chamber of Commerce where it stands on sales of shark fin, the spokesperson said she was unaware of any controversy about shark finning. . . . more
October 21, 2009 -- News.com - Australia
Arrest the whalers, activist demands
AUTHORITIES should arrest Japanese whalers if they hunt in Australian waters this summer, a radical protest group says.
Japan is expected to target Australia's Antarctic waters for its annual whale hunt.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which will send two vessels to harass the Japanese fleet, wants to see the whalers put in the dock.
Captain Paul Watson cited an Australian federal court ruling in 2008 which ordered a Japanese whaling ship out of Australian waters because it had unlawfully slaughtered whales.
"All Australians should expect the Australian Government to enforce the law,'' Capt Watson said from the US.
''(If someone) is blatantly in contempt of a federal court ruling, they should be arrested or at least escorted out of the waters.''. . . . more
August 26, 2009 -- Reality TV World - US
Animal Planet renews 'Whale Wars' reality series for a third season
Animal Planet announced that it has renewed Whale Wars for a third season.
Whale Wars' second-season finale aired last Friday night on Animal Planet, and it was the most-watched episode ever of the reality series -- averaging 1.3 million total viewers. Overall, Whale Wars' second season was the second-best performing series in the network's history, averaging 1.08 million total viewers per episode.
In addition to its ratings success Whale Wars also recently received its first-ever Emmy nomination, as it was recognized in the Outstanding Cinematography For Nonfiction Programming category. . . . more
August 13, 2009 -- Treehugger - US
Captain Paul Watson of Whale Wars
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is at work all over the world, but you’ll know Paul Watson best for patrolling Arctic waters intercepting whaling convoys. Whale Wars, now in its second season on Animal Planet, follows Watson and his feisty crew aboard the Steve Irwin as they ram boats, hurl stink bombs, and try to otherwise spoil the whale hunt. In the process, Watson claims he has been shot and his crew pummeled with fire hoses, golf balls, and high-tech sound cannons. All the while the debate rages over whether this is terrorism, piracy, or heroism.
In our interview, Watson gives details of these daring encounters and drops some details of the coming season when his fleet will add the Earthrace, a record-breaking eco-speedboat, to directly intercept Japanese harpoon boats. Love him or hate him, Watson claims to be closing in on victory: “Our objective is to sink the Japanese whaling fleet economically, and I think we're achieving that. One more season, maybe two, and we'll put them out of business.”. . . more
August 4, 2009 -- MTV - US
Modest Mouse Get Ugly In Heath Ledger-Directed 'King Rat' Video
Animated clip intended to raise awareness of whaling practices was completed as tribute to the late actor.
In 2007, Isaac Brock — wild-eyed, unkempt mastermind of Modest Mouse — mentioned in an interview that Oscar-nominated actor Heath Ledger had expressed interest in directing a video for "King Rat," a throwaway track from MM's We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank.
Not only that, but famed director Terry Gilliam, with whom Ledger was working on "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," had agreed to animate the clip. It all seemed rather odd, and Brock appeared nonplussed by the project (telling VH1, "I hope it works out and I don't sound like a f--ing liar at the end of this"). Modest Mouse fans around the world greeted the news with a resounding "Wha?!?"
Then, in early 2008, Ledger was found dead in a New York apartment, and the entire project was quickly forgotten by pretty much everybody except Brock and the California-based artist collective known as the Masses.
Masses members Daniel Auber, Norris Houk, Jade Taglioli and Sara Cline picked up the reins, determined to finish the "King Rat" video as a tribute to their friend (and Masses member) Ledger. Some 18 months later, the video is finally complete, premiering Tuesday (August 4) on Modest Mouse's MySpace page, iTunes and the Masses' Web site. . . . more
June 9, 2009 -- TV By the Numbers - US
Whale Wars Sophomore Voyage Outperforms Last Season by Double Digits
Captain Paul Watson and his seafaring, anti-whaling crew from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society captured nearly 1.2 million viewers (1.17M) in the season debut of WHALE WARS on Animal Planet. The action-packed, adrenaline-fueled environmental adventure series delivered double-digit audience gains compared to its first season average (HH: 846K, +23%; P25-54: 638K, +21%; M25-54: 399K, +29%; P18-49: 625K, +25%; P2+: 1.17M, +24%). Compared to the WHALE WARS series premiere last year, last Friday’s season premiere delivered significant increases (HH +17%, P25-54 +41%; M25-54 +73%; P18-49 +45%, P2+ +22%).
Animal Planet ranked #1 among all cable with M25-54 and #2 with P25-54 at the 9 PM and 10 PM hours respectively (excluding movies). WHALE WARS fueled the network’s success at 9 PM while the Planet’s recent hit series RIVER MONSTERS contributed to the 10 PM victory.
Among all cable programs on Friday night, WHALE WARS and RIVER MONSTERS ranked in the top five among M25-54.
“WHALE WARS is one of the most exciting series in the network’s history and a terrific launch for our summer season with ten more weeks of amazing storytelling for the show’s fans,” noted Marjorie Kaplan, president and general manager of Animal Planet. “Animal Planet is building a strong slate for a passionate audience with series like WHALE WARS, RIVER MONSTERS and a new season of JOCKEYS returning later this summer.”. . . more
June 2, 2009 -- Fox News - Los Angeles, USA
Web Extra! Whale Wars
"Whale Wars", the highest rated show on Animal Planet is returning for a second season. The show follows members of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society as they try to stop whaling ships from capturing and killing whales caught under the guise of research.
Captain Paul Watson and Shannon Mann are interviewed by the hosts of Good Day LA about the upcoming season. . . . more
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April 14, 2009 -- The West Australian - Australia
Sea Shepherd claims victory against Japanese whalers
The captain of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is delighted skirmishes between his volunteers and Japan’s whaling fleet caused the whalers to fall short of their target catch.
Captain Paul Watson, who led the protest, said yesterday’s media reports revealing Japan killed 679 minke whales when it aimed for 935 during the five month hunt which kicked off in November was encouraging.
“It’s the third year in a row that they have lost profits,” Capt. Watson told thewest.com.au
He said he used the term ‘profits’ as he felt he had to talk the fleet’s language.
“The goal is to bankrupt them so it’s not worth their effort,” he said.
“One more year and we will have them.”
Yesterday Kazuo Yamamura, president of Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha, which operates the whaling fleet, told reporters he was upset by damage allegedly caused to his ships by Sea Shepherd.
He told the media he was “enraged” and his blood was “boiling with anger”. . . . more
March 18, 2009 -- Surfer - US
Kelly Slater Teams Up With Sea Shepherd
This year’s Australian Quiksilver Pro witnessed a remarkable moment in surfing history when nine-time ASP champion Kelly Slater joined lifelong eco-crusader, Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, to announce the recent launch of a Quiksilver Australia/Sea Shepherd partnership.
The deal includes a customized Quiksilver sponsored Sea Shepherd clothing line featuring a signature Kelly Slater board short. For every retail item sold, the industry giant will donate $5 to help support the efforts of the self-proclaimed, “Neptune’s Navy.” . . . more
February 25, 2009 -- NBC4 Los Angeles - US
Animal Award Nominees Announced
The Disney film "Bolt" and the tear-jerker "Marley and Me," along with television dramas "Bones," "Grey's Anatomy" and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," were among the nominees announced Wednesday for the Humane Society's awards honoring news and entertainment media that showcase animal issues. . . . more
February 11, 2009 -- The Mercury - Australia
Whaling war win claimed
THE Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin is returning to Hobart after withdrawing from its watch on Japan's whaling fleet.
It is hailing its protest operation a success, saying it located the Japanese whaling fleet earlier than in the past and physically prevented whalers from killing whales over 27 days.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society said this meant many fewer whales were killed, more whaling profits lost and the whaling fleet would not meet its quota for the fourth consecutive year.
Captain Paul Watson said the ship planned to be back in Hobart by February 21. For next summer, the society would have a new ship as fast as the Japanese harpoon whalers and with a longer range.
This would be in addition to the Steve Irwin. . . . more
February 10, 2009 -- Canberra Times - Australia
Anti-whalers vow to return more forcefully
Anti-whaling activists have vowed to fight Japanese whalers with a bigger, faster and more powerful ship next hunting season.
Protesters from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society have backed away from their intense clash with whaling vessels in the Southern Ocean, but say they'll return next year with a longer range ship.
Steve Irwin captain Paul Watson said after deciding to return to Australian shores yesterday, ''We need to block those deadly harpoons and we need to outrun these hunter killer ships and to do that I need a ship that is as fast as they are and I intend to get one and I intend to return next year.''
The decision ends a season of extreme clashes between whalers and protesters, with some saying confrontations were the most intense seen in the past five years. . . . more
February 10, 2009 -- Wildlife Extra - UK
Sea Shepherd leaves Antarctica
The Sea Shepherd ship the Steve Irwin and her crew have withdrawn from the Japanese whaling fleet to begin preparations to return with a faster and longer range ship.
"I have said always said that we would do everything we can short of hurting people to end illegal whaling in the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary," said Captain Paul Watson. "We have done everything we could with the resources available to us this year. We have shut down their illegal operations for over a month in total. We have cost them money and we have saved the lives of a good many whales. And although we are willing to take the risks required, even to our own lives, I am not prepared to do to the Japanese whalers what they do to the whales. The escalating violence by the whalers will result in some serious injuries and possibly fatalities if this confrontation continues to escalate." . . . more
February 9, 2009 -- Los Angeles Times - USA
Whale war subsides as Sea Shepherd leaves Japanese fleet, heads home
It was fun while it lasted, wasn't it?
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's effort to harass and minimize Japan's whale hunt in the Antarctic has come to an end, as the activists have exhausted their fuel and drained their resources.
But it was an entertaining month-long, two-part episode. Tales of hurling rotten butter at the savage whale killers, if that's how you regard them. Blasting water cannons at the criminal eco-terrorists, if that's how you regard the activists.
There were vessel collisions, and the Japanese even lost a crewman overboard in a nonrelated incident.
Now Sea Shepherd's vessel, the Steve Irwin, is leaving antarctic waters and leaving the whalers to hunt minkes unopposed. . . . more
 February 9, 2009 -- News24 - South Africa
Whale activists end showdown
Animal rights activists said on Monday they were ending their harassment of Japanese whalers in the Antarctic for the season, warning that a person could get killed if the confrontation escalated.
Japan has been stepping up international pressure to try to rein in the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which has vowed to physically stop the slaughter of the ocean giants.
Sea Shepherd said that its Steve Irwin ship, which engaged in a clash with the whalers last week, was heading back to Australia with only four days of fuel reserves left.
"Another four days is simply not worth getting someone killed," said Paul Watson, the Canadian captain of the ship.
"We have done everything we could with the resources available to us this year," he said in a statement.
"We have cost them money and we have saved the lives of a good many whales."
He vowed to return next season - and hoped to come with a faster ship to evade the whaling fleet.
. . . . more
 February 6, 2009 -- Associated Press - wire service
Ships collide in Antarctic whaling clash
A group of radical anti-whaling activists said they were pelted with bloody chunks of whale meat and blubber after their boat collided Friday with a Japanese whaling vessel in a dramatic Antarctic Ocean clash Japan condemned as "unforgivable."
It was the second battle this week between the whalers and their foes. No one was injured, but the skirmishes mark the resumption of potentially life-threatening run-ins in a contentious fight that has become an annual fixture in the remote, icy and dangerous waters at the bottom of the world.
"The situation down here is getting very, very chaotic and very aggressive," activist Paul Watson, captain of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's vessel, told The Associated Press on Friday by satellite phone.
The clashes come as diplomatic efforts to resolve the controversy surrounding Japan's scientific whaling program appear to have stalled.
Japan — which has described the protesters as terrorists — plans to harvest up to 935 minke whales and 50 fin whales this season. Under International Whaling Commission rules, the mammals may be killed for research. Opponents say the Japanese research expeditions are simply a cover for commercial whaling, which was banned in 1986 . . . more
February 6, 2009 -- The Sydney Morning Herald - Australia online/print news
There she blows
JAPAN'S whaling fleet is said to have mounted a co-ordinated attack on Sea Shepherd anti-whaling activists, threatening to disable their ship in Antarctica's Ross Sea.
The Sea Shepherd leader, Paul Watson, said the 8000-tonne factory ship Nissin Maru repeatedly tried to ram his vessel Steve Irwin, and three harpoon boats trailed ropes to entangle its propeller.
In yesterday's five-hour conflict, Captain Watson said sonic devices were used against a Sea Shepherd helicopter forcing it to retreat, and resulting in the injury of an activist.
The response by the fleet came as the Japanese entered a fifth day under an increasingly tense pursuit by the Steve Irwin that was continuing last night.
On Monday, Sea Shepherd was forced to back off from an action in the face of the defences, and the activists failed in an attempt to entangle the propeller of the harpoon boat, Yushin Maru No.3, with a line flung in its path.
Captain Watson said when two fast inflatable boats were launched yesterday, the whaling ships turned on a full attack . . . more
February 3, 2009 -- The Japan Times - Japaneses online/print news
Protesters, whalers fight over use of illegal weapons
The hardline antiwhaling group Sea Shepherd Conservation Society on Monday accused Japanese whalers of using illegal weapons systems to repel its vessel as it pursues the fleet in the Antarctic Ocean.
An official at the fishery agency in Tokyo immediately denied the allegation, saying the whaling ships are not equipped with any of the weapons alleged by the group.
The agency also said that crew on two rubber dinghies from the Steve Irwin, Sea Shepherd's flag vessel, threw bottles of dye at the whaling fleet in an apparent attempt to disrupt their activities.
The agency said nobody was injured in the incident and no damage was caused to the ships of the whaling fleet.
The U.S.-based antiwhaling organization said the whalers used a number of measures in their assault, with some Steve Irwin crew members sustaining injuries during the attacks.
"The whalers are deploying water cannons, concussion grenades, acoustic weapons and throwing solid brass and lead balls at Sea Shepherd crew members," the group's founder, Paul Watson, said.. . . more
 February 2, 2009 -- Aljazeera - Qatar online/print news
Activists clash with Japan whalers
 Two environmental activists have been injured in clashes with Japanese whalers in the Southern Ocean, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society says.
The group said in a statement that one person was cut and bruised after being knocked over by a high pressure blast of water while the other was hit in the face by a metal object.
The activists were trailing the Japanese whaling vessels far southeast of Tasmania in inflatable boats launched from the group's flagship Steve Irwin.
Japanese authorities on Sunday admitted the fleet had turned hoses on the activists, who had hurled bottles of paint or rotten butter, but rejected claims that brass and lead balls were thrown at the protesters. . . . more
February 2, 2009 -- The Telegraph - UK online/print news
Japanese whalers accused of 'military-grade' weapons againt protesters
Japan's whaling authorities have denied claims by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society that whalers have used "military-grade" concussion grenades, acoustic weapons and solid brass and lead balls against the environmental group.
Two of the crew of the Steve Irwin have sustained injuries in the clashes in poor weather in Antarctic waters, according to Paul Watson, founder of Sea Shepherd and captain of the ship. One campaigner was injured after being struck by a water cannon, the other hit in the face by a metal ball.
"Our research whaling fleet only used water cannons and did not use any other weapons," said Toshinori Uoya, a spokesman for the Far Seas Fisheries Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in Tokyo.
"The fleet did use water canons, but only to prevent them from approaching their own vessels in inflatable craft," he said. "They did not target the crew and only fired at the boats."
The agency's claims are in stark contrast to Sea Shepherd's reports of the clashes.
"It is a very dramatic scene out here as ships zig zag back and forth in thick ice and heavy swells," said Watson. "The whalers are deploying water cannons, concussion grenades, acoustic weapons, and throwing solid brass and lead balls at Sea Shepherd crewmembers. . . . more
 February 1, 2009 -- Inquirer.net - Philippines online news
Japan's whalers ‘on the run' again
Japan's whaling fleet is once more on the run in Antarctic waters after being tracked down by ship-borne environmental activists, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society said Sunday.
The group's ship the "Steve Irwin" found the whalers after searching through fog and rough weather for nearly a week after a break to refuel in the southern Australian port of Hobart, Captain Paul Watson said.
"We are seven miles from the fleet and approaching. We see the Nisshin Maru and two harpoon vessels the Yushin Maru 1 and the Yushin Maru 2," Watson said on the group's website.
"The Steve Irwin is now in close pursuit of the Japanese whaling fleet." . . . more
February 1, 2009 -- Voice of America - US online/broadcast news
Anti-Whaling Group Says it Has Located Japanese Fleet
The anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd Conservation Society says its chase ship has located Japan's whaling fleet near Antarctica and is in pursuit.
In a statement Sunday, the U.S.-based group said that after a week of searching their vessel was 11 kilometers from the Japanese mothership Nisshin Maru and two harpoon vessels and was closing in on them.
Japan has called the Sea Shepherd activists "pirates" and "eco-terrorists" because of their use of aggressive tactics, such as boarding, stink bombs and collisions. But the activists say the whalers are the real "pirates" because their hunt violates international law. . . more
February 1, 2009 -- Reuters - wire service
Anti-whaling group says closing in on Japan fleet
A U.S.-based hardline anti-whaling group, seeking to disrupt Japanese whaling near Antarctica, said it had spotted the fleet and was closing in on it, raising the risk of a confrontation.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, blamed for collisions with the Japanese fleet in recent years, said three ships had been spotted, including two harpoon vessels, which appeared to be engaged in hunting whales amid loose ice, fog and 40-knot winds.
"We are seven miles from the fleet and approaching. We see the Nisshin Maru and two harpoon vessels the Yushin Maru 1 and the Yushin Maru 2," the group's founder Paul Watson said in a statement.
Sea Shepherd's Dutch-registered ship Steve Irwin returned to the Southern Ocean in late January after it was forced to head for Tasmania to refuel after several weeks at sea, pursuing the Japanese fleet.
"They appear to be whaling and are moving. As we approached closer they began to move full speed toward the open ocean. The Steve Irwin has engaged both engines and we are slowly closing the gap." . . more
January 27, 2009 -- The Los Angeles Times - US online/print news
Whale hunt update: IWC to consider easing ban to reduce Japan's annual kill
News item: The International Whaling Commission is considering easing its ban on commercial whaling to allow Japan to hunt whales off its coast — if Japan promises to kill fewer whales in the Antarctic.
Reaction: What the IWC ought to do is keep the ban in place and tighten the loophole that allows Japan to hunt whales in the Antarctic in the name of science, then turn and sell the whale meat commercially to a populace that is increasingly turned off by the product.
There are only three nations remaining with whaling industries: Norway, Iceland and Japan, whose industry is the largest, claiming up to 1,000 whales annually. Japan has essentially ignored a 1986 ban intended to protect intelligent mammals that for generations endured wide-scale slaughter, with many species hunted to the brink of extinction.
The U.S., thankfully, believes the ban should remain in place. Conservation groups do too. Said Capt. Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, of a proposed lifting of the ban: "It's sort of like saying to bank robbers that you can't rob a bank in the city, but we'll let you do it in the country."
The issue will be raised during the IWC's meeting in June.
. . . original article
 January 22, 2009 -- Prensa Latina - Cuba online news
Australia Against Whales' Slaughter
Canberra, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, assured today he will keep on with the diplomatic pressures on Japan to try to compelthat country to abandon controversial whale-hunting in Antarctic waters.
In a press conference, Rudd pointed out that his government is involved in a diplomatic process to see if they can find a way to solve this matter.
The head of state stressed that the International Whaling Comission has planned half way through 2009 to check the quota given to Japan to capture these mammals.
Kevin Rudd ruled out the possibility of initiating legal actions to stop the whales’ slaughter in the waters of the frozen continent.
This way, Prime Minister responded the ecologist organization Sea Shepherd that the day before showed itself prepared to abandon its chase against the Japanese whaler fleet if Australia and New Zealand adopted legal measures against Japan.
The ecology group considers that those two countries should make use of a report published this week by the International Fund for Animals Welfare by virtue of which Canberra and Wellington have the authority to stop the polemical slaughter.
The text written by a group of Australian jurists, warned that the Antarctic Treaty forces to examine the impact on the environment of any activity carried out in those waters.
. . . original article
January 17, 2009 -- The Australian - Australia online news
Hundreds welcome Sea Shepherd to land
HUNDREDS of people have flocked to Hobart docks to welcome the anti-whaling vessel Steve Irwin, which is in port to refuel before heading back to the Southern Ocean to pursue the Japanese whalers.
Greens leader Bob Brown said there was an outpouring of support from local people when the vessel arrived on Saturday afternoon.
"Here in Hobart, it's Sea Shepherd city today," Senator Brown said.
"The support is just phenomenal, it seems like everybody's supporting them except the (Australian) Government."
Senator Brown welcomed the captain of the Steve Irwin, Paul Watson, to Australia and presented him with a box of apricots.
"Some fresh Tasmanian produce, I didn't want them getting scurvy," he said.
Some of the ship's crew have headed off to the Salamanca markets and shops to buy more fresh food, but Senator Brown said they were in good shape after weeks at sea.
"They're looking in very good nick, the whole lot of them."
The Steve Irwin will spend five days in Hobart picking up fuel and other provisions, before returning to Antarctic waters to pursue the Japanese whalers.
. . . original article
January 17, 2009 -- Reuters - wire service
Anti-whaling ship in Australia, plans return to Antarctica
Anti-whaling activists seeking to disrupt Japanese whaling around Antarctica said Saturday their ship had docked in Tasmania and should head back to the Southern Ocean next week.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society temporarily called off its operations earlier this month after its flagship the "Steve Irwin" ran low on fuel, and refused to divulge where it was heading.
However, founder Paul Watson told Reuters on that it had arrived in Hobart, capital of Australia's southern island state of Tasmania, where it was docked. It should refuel by Tuesday and head back to the ocean either Tuesday or Wednesday, he said.
Australia's whaling-opposed government had earlier rejected Japanese requests to disallow the vessel to dock and said it would allow the "Steve Irwin" to re-supply at an Australian port before returning to the Southern Ocean.
Plans are for the ship to remain in Antarctic waters until March, when Japan's annual whale hunt is due to finish, Watson said. . . more
January 16, 2009 -- The Age - Australia online/print news
Whaling ship faces delays in Indonesia
Indonesia has become involved in the dispute over Antarctic whaling as authorities delay the repair of a Japanese ship to decide whether it should be allowed into dry dock.
The whalers are having to make do without one of three catcher ships, Yushin Maru No. 2, reducing the fleet's killing power for much of the polar season.
The ship arrived recently in Surabaya, East Java, to replace a propeller damaged in heavy ice when the vessel fled the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin in Australian Antarctic waters last month.
Indonesian Government officials had queried Japanese claims that the harpoon-equipped, whale-killing vessel was a research ship, the Jakarta Animal Aid Network said.
"I think, I hope, they will refuse permission for it to dry dock," network spokeswoman Femke den Haas said yesterday. . . more
January 15, 2009 -- The Los Angeles Times - US online/print news
Japanese whaling fleet endures rising tide of opposition
 Could it be karma, bad luck, or merely unfortunate circumstances that have victimized the Japanese whaling fleet in the Antarctic region?
The three-vessel fleet, which has been hounded relentlessly by a crew aboard a Sea Shepherd Society ship, has already lost a crewman, who fell overboard and is presumed drowned.
More recently, one of its damaged ships, the Yushin Maru #2, has been ordered to leave the Port of Surabaya, East Java, in Indonesia before making repairs to its propeller. Australia and New Zealand do not allow the ships in their ports because large-scale commercial whaling has been condemned internationally.
Now, it seems, neither will Indonesia, which received communiques from Australia asking that it deny the whaling ships any services. . . more
January 15, 2009 -- The Age - Australia online/print news
Garrett should meet Sea Shepherd: Greens
Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett has been urged to personally meet an anti-whaling ship when it arrives in Hobart to refuel on Saturday.
The Sea Shepherd vessel Steve Irwin has suspended its pursuit of Japanese whalers through Antarctic waters in order to refuel.
It is due to dock at noon (AEDT) on Saturday and will spend five days in Hobart.
Greens leader Bob Brown has promised the Steve Irwin a warm reception, and he wants Mr Garrett to be there in person.
"I think it would be fantastic, he would have 21 million Australians behind him if he did that," Senator Brown told AAP, adding the symbolism would seen to be very strong in Tokyo. . . more
January 12, 2009 -- The Age - Australia online/print news
Japanese whalers 'fear Aussie arrest'
Japanese whalers sent a damaged vessel thousands of kilometres to be repaired in Indonesia because they feared arrest if they landed in Australia, an anti-whaling group says.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society said one of Japan's three main harpoon vessels, the Yushin Maru No.2, was damaged around December 20.
Since then, the vessel had avoided docking at relatively close ports in Australia or New Zealand, and travelled all the way to Surabaya, Indonesia for repairs, Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson said on Monday.
"They can be served with a warrant if they go into Australia," Captain Watson told AAP via satellite phone from the Southern Ocean.
"There is a Federal Court order banning them from whaling in Australian territorial waters and they are in contempt of that order.
"They could be detained. They won't go into an Australian or New Zealand port.". . . more
January 8, 2009 -- Canberra Times - Australia online/print news
Japan snubbed over anti-whaling ship
Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard says there is no reason to ban an anti-whaling ship from docking at an Australian port.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship Steve Irwin has suspended its chase of a Japanese whaling fleet in Antarctic waters and is heading towards Hobart to refuel.
Japan plans to ask Australian to block the vessel from entering the country, saying Sea Shepherd's "pirate-like" and violent actions must be rejected.
The Japan Whaling Association has said both Australia and New Zealand should bar the Steve Irwin from their ports.
But Ms Gillard said there were no grounds to ban the Steve Irwin from docking in Hobart, although the vessel is yet to request to do so.
"We have not received an impending vessel request from the Steve Irwin," she told reporters in Melbourne on Thursday.
"Should such a a request be received, then the Steve Irwin will be permitted to dock at an Australian port. . . . more
January 7, 2009 -- Stuff - New Zealand online/print news
Captain rejects Japanese harassment claims
The captain of an anti-whaling ship, which offered to help search for a Japanese whaling ship's missing crewman, rejects claims he continued to harass the whalers during the search.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's ship Steve Irwin has been pursuing Japanese whaling ship Kyoshin Maru No 2 in an attempt to prevent it whaling.
Early on Monday morning Hajime Shirasaki, a 30-year-old engine room oiler, was reported missing from the Kyoshin Maru No 2 and is believed to have been washed overboard, and drowned, in Antarctic seas with four metre swells.
The Japanese ship claimed the Steve Irwin's harassment continued while it was searching for the missing man.
The Steve Irwin approached without its lights on and "began to harass and disrupt navigation", a statement said.
The statement said the Steve Irwin called the Japanese vessel and said it had "come to help in the search for the missing crewman". . . more
January 7, 2009 -- The Age - Australia online/print news
Whaling foes clash over missing sailor
Anti-whaling activists deny they obstructed the search for a missing Japanese crewman feared drowned in freezing Antarctic waters.
The man fell overboard from the Japanese whaling fleet on Monday.
Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR) accused the Sea Shepherd vessel, which has been chasing the whalers for weeks and throwing stink bombs at them, of using their distress call to pinpoint their location.
According to the ICR, the protesters then lurked in the vicinity without its navigation lights on, disrupting the search.
But Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson said he tried to help.
"We offered assistance in the search and their response was that they did not want any help from eco-terrorists," he told AAP. . . . more
January 6, 2009 -- The West Australian - Australia online/print news
Japan wants Australia to reject whaling protesters' port calls
Anti-whaling activists yesterday dared the Federal Government to ban them from docking at an Australian port to refuel after Environment Minister Peter Garrett would not dismiss a call from the Japan Whaling Association to veto their entry.
Steve Irwin captain and Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson said yesterday he had decided to take the longest course and head to Australia to refuel to challenge Mr Garrett.
On Sunday, the Whaling Association called on the Federal Government to stop the Steve Irwin entering a port, calling the crew terrorists.
Mr Garrett said yesterday that no complaint had been lodged against the Sea Shepherd but any request would be considered under relevant laws. There had not been any problems in the past with the Steve Irwin entering Australian ports.
However, a spokesman for Mr Garrett said later that the responsibility for any decision would rest with Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith and Customs Minister Bob Debus.
Capt. Watson said he would bypass the quicker routes of Chile and New Zealand and head for Hobart to issue Mr Garrett and the Federal Government with an ultimatum. Sea Shepherd has accused the Government of paying lip service to the whale slaughter and breaking its election promise to take an aggressive stance.
"Peter Garrett made the decision for us really," he said. "It's time to put the Government to the test. Will the Government refuse entry to a ship bearing Steve Irwin's name and carrying a crew of 15 Australian citizens?" . . . more
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