GreenWatch

B. McPherson Sharks maintain the delicate balance of life in our oceans. Shark finning threatens to make them extinct. Paul Watson, the face of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, has apparently left Germany. He was being detained in that country on a charge from Costa Rica. Watson has been out on bail, but was subject to stringent conditions. He failed to fulfill his bail conditions and his attorney now confirms that he has left the country. The incident for which Costa Rica was requesting extradition was for an incident that occurred in 2002. The basis for the arrest and extradition request was a charge of “violation of ships’ traffic”. Watson maintains that the incident in question took place in Guatemalan waters and he acted on the request of the Guatemalan authorities to stop illegal shark finning. Since the encounter, there are conflicting stories. For many years the Costa Rica request was ignored as it was generally accepted that it was politically motivated. ...

B. McPherson Paul Watson, long time defender of wildlife and the face of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society was arrested in Germany on a warrant issued by Costa Rica. The Costa Rican government issued the arrest warrant after asserting that Paul Watson and his crew illegally interfered with a shark finning operation in their territorial waters. The Sea Shepherd Society has a different slant on that story, alleging that they were requested to take action against the poachers by the Costa Rican government. A quote from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society page follows: “The fishermen were not injured and their boat was not damaged. The incident was fully documented for the film Sharkwater. Interpol originally denied this extradition order and deemed it as politically motivated. Therefore the question must be asked why Germany is now taking into account accusations made by illegal poachers.”- Captain Paul Watson   There is some credence to the Sea Shepherd v...

Operation Divine Wind has successfully curtailed whale slaughter in the Southern Ocean. While they could not stop all the whale kills, they drastically reduced the number of deaths. The Japanese have announced that they killed 266 minke and one fin whale. There stated quota was 1000. The Sea Shepherd Conservation society had dogged the whaling fleet during its incursion into the Antarctic Ocean seeking to kill whales for ‘research’. There is no commercial whaling allowed in the sanctuary, but the Japanese maintain they are conducting research and even paint “Research” on the sides of their vessels. The Australian government along with many others doesn’t buy that story and has banned the harpooners from their territorial waters. The whale wars continued until the last with the two harpoon vessels turning on the Bob Barker and steaming toward it trying to blind the bridge. The Sea Shepherd vessel retaliated with laser lights and distress flares. Since the beginnin...

B. McPherson Many people criticise Paul Watson and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society for their methods. The following video allows him to explain his motivation. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has issued a statement that they will continue their Operation Divine Wind in the Antarctic until the end of the Japanese whaling season at the end of March. While the Japanese government maintains that their whaling operation is non-commercial and within the bounds of the whale protection treaty, many people would dispute their stand. Each year a fleet of three whaling vessels has set out from Japan to the Antarctic during the southern summer to hunt whales. They set a quota of about 1 000 whales per season for scientific purposes. Australian researchers have offered to help the Japanese train in ‘no-kill’ whale research but have been rebuffed. The Sea Shepherd Society has attempted over the past eight years to thwart the killing of whales in the Southern Sanctuary....

By B. McPherson Sea Shepherd’s Operation Divine Wind encountered the Japanese vessel Yushin Maru No. 3 in the Southern Ocean launching containers of rotten butter and paint at the whaling ship. The Sea Shepherd Society has been active in trying to thwart the killing of whales in the conservation area for eight seasons. While the Japanese government maintains that the whales are killed for research purposes and has gone so far as to paint “Research” on the sides of their vessels, few truly believe that a quota of 1000 dead whales each year constitutes research. Each year the confrontations between the activists and the whalers become more dangerous. The latest saw the Sea Shepherd people in small, fast outboard vessels harassing the whalers with stinking butter. The Japanese responded with concussion grenades and teargas. Source News.com Information about the latest incident is still sketchy but it has been reported that three anti-whaling people have been injured. ...

By B. McPherson The Sea shepherd Society’s eighth campaign in the Southern Ocean, Operation Divine Wind , has been dogging the Japanese factory ship Nisshin Maru. Operation Divine Wind has three vessels in the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary this season – Bob Barker, Steve Irwin and the Brigette Bardot – along with helicopter capability. A new, high tech weapon is being used to good effect as well – a drone. While the Japanese government maintains that they are not conducting commercial whaling operations and have painted “Research” on the sides of their vessels, many do not believe their stand. Whale meat has found its way to the commercial markets in Japan and offers of help from non-whaling nations to assist in no-kill research have been rebuffed. The whaling fleet has a target of about 1 000 dead whales per year. The Southern Ocean around Antarctica has been designated a whale sanctuary since 1994. Research is allowed in the area and this loophole is being e...