Japan's whalers call for action from Australian, Dutch gov'ts against Sea Shepherd

Monday 22nd December, 05:06 PM JST

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OssanAmerica at 02:38 AM JST - 24th December

OssanAmerica - You may think and say what you like but I disagree and so >it seems does Sea Shepherd.

I'm quite proud to disagree with a group of lawless militant fanatics who use terrorist and piracy methods in the name of their cause.

I dont think anyone wanted to see the >escalation but the whalers ignore >world opinion and now find their >protestations fall on deaf ears.

World opinion? What world? nobody here in my country gives a carp about whales.

Sea Shepherds direct action means the >whalers have backed off for now. >I call that a result.

Good, so you support terrorism as a means of achieving ends?
OssanAmerica at 02:45 AM JST - 24th December

Better than being a harpoon hugging fanatic who think they have the >right to steal whales out of international waters

You must be kidding. All nations take fish and other marine life out of international waters and it's not considered "stealing".

under the lie of >research.

So what if it's lie? Are they breaking the law? No. Are they breaking the IWC rules? No. If you have a problem with it complain to the IWC to change their rules.

Talk about taking international law into their hands.

The Whalers are in fact abiding by international law completely as well as IWC rules. It is up to those who challenge this to fila an action in the appropriate forum of jurisdiction. I'm still waiting for Australia to prove their "claim".

I've known Paul Watson personally for many years and he is very >dedicated to what he does. He does grand stand, but if it saves whales >with public attention so be it. .

Do you wear a fake policeman's costume with a badge as well? Can you spell vigilante?
ca1ic0cat at 05:16 AM JST - 24th December

the Japanese whalers are not doing anything that is a breach of IWC or international law. They are not in NZ or OZ territorial waters. They haven't broken any rules, laws or otherwise.

There can be a debate as to if they should be catching whales at all, but that's about it. For Sea Shepherd to go down there and behave as though they are in the right is just a farce. The fact that they are doing this kind of stuff in the open ocean in freezing waters is foolhardy.

Of course the Sea Shepherd folks seem to regard the whales as more important than people, so I guess they don't care if somebody gets hurt. But this constant whining about the Japanese "breaking laws" is a bunch of hooey. Popular with some people maybe, but hooey irregardless.
davidattokyo at 10:27 AM JST - 24th December

imacat at 12:51 AM JST - 23rd December, I see you are posting comments from me out of context as well as adding your own interpretation of them, this is a clear statement that you have conceeded that your entire argument against whaling in the international waters of the Antarctic is spurious.

NuckinFutz,

Will somebody please explain what "food culture" and "scientific research whaling" have in common?

In order to catch whales in a sustainable and optimal manner so as to both ensure the conservation of whale stocks as well as an abundance of whale meat for consumers to enjoy, scientific research is required. You can't just guess how many whales is the best number to be catching, you need to have a brain to do it. Japan's research uses a combination of data collection techniques, some of which involve taking a relatively small number of whales. A lack of alternative methods which don't require the taking of a relatively small number of whales has been recognised at the IWC's Scientific Committee.

OssanAmerica,

So what if it's lie?

Fair point, but it's not a lie anyway. All the cetacean scientists here at JT might think it is, but that doesn't make it reality.
dontpanic at 06:20 PM JST - 24th December

OssanAmerica - "I'm quite proud to disagree with a group of lawless militant fanatics" Bully, but one mans co-called lawlessness is anothers direct action, semantics really. Sea Shepherd get results.

"World opinion? What world? nobody here in my country gives a carp about whales"
I doubt you speak for everyone in your country. It was world opinion that forced politicians to support the moratorium in the first place and its world opinion that forces those politicians to continue to support it.

"Good, so you support terrorism as a means of achieving ends?" I see no terrorism. What I do see is a group not prepared to waste any more years in debate, willing to make their position known directly to the perpetrators.
browny1 at 08:29 PM JST - 24th December

davidattokyo - could you elaborate a little on "scientific research is needed". Particularly what do think is a nominal number of animals to be killed in order to garner basic data relevant to understanding the species. Let's say for arguments sake, 20+ years of killing @ 700 animals / year equals 14,000 bodies. Is this enough? Is 100 specimens enough? Is 30, 000 enough? Or is there never enough?

ICR can't seem to elicit the answer from the 1,000's & 1,000's killed to date, so I suspect they never will, because they are either luddites, liars or just don't have the cells to solve the equation.
Molenir at 03:56 AM JST - 25th December

I think, that when these lunatics try to board the Japanese Whaling ships, they should be arrested and held until returned to Japan, there they should stand trial for piracy.
OssanAmerica at 07:03 AM JST - 25th December

OssanAmerica - "I'm quite proud to disagree with a group of lawless >militant fanatics" Bully, but one mans co-called lawlessness is anothers >direct action, semantics really. Sea Shepherd get results.

That is the exact same kind of reasoning upon which terrorist actions like 911, London, Madrid,etc and now Mumbai are based. It's only a matter of semantics to people who do not value law or human life.

"World opinion? What world? nobody here in my country gives a carp about whales"

I doubt you speak for everyone in your country. It was world opinion >that forced politicians to support the moratorium in the first place and >its world opinion that forces those politicians to continue to support it.

If this "world opinion" could put in place a moratorium, then this same "world opinion" should be able to close any loopholes. Why haven't they? BTW- trust me, nobody here in the US cares about whales right now.

"Good, so you support terrorism as a means of achieving ends?" I see no >terrorism. What I do see is a group not prepared to waste any more years >in debate, willing to make their position known directly to the >perpetrators.

So the ends justify the means for you? Wait till you become the victim of a violent crime and see if you still feel that way.
cooeecobber at 01:21 PM JST - 25th December

Dear, oh dear! That "T" word is used rather a lot on this blog, don't you think? If the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society was a terrorist organisation, how can they maintain offices in the USA, Canada, Australia, Brazil, France, Ecuador, the Netherlands, and South Africa? I think it's rather callous, to the memory of those who have died at the hands of terrorists, to be using language this way. But, alas, the rhetoric always goes this way at this time of the year, by some bloggers, who are obviously paid by whaling interests. It's a bit rich, though, for the whalers to be calling for action from the Australian government, when the whalers are in violation of an Australian Federal Court Order, prohibiting them from whaling, in what Australia claims as it's EEZ!
browny1 at 05:09 PM JST - 25th December

cooee - spoken with spirit.
dontpanic at 06:25 PM JST - 26th December

OssanAmerica - I've witnessed both violent crime and terrorism first hand. I know the difference and feel your over-egged labels dont justify the facts. Linking Sea Shepherd with the 9/11, London, Madrid and Mumbai terrorist attacks demonstrates what little grasp of reality you have.
cloudyeyes at 03:55 AM JST - 28th December

"I've witnessed both violent crime and terrorism first hand. I know the difference and feel your over-egged labels dont justify the facts. Linking Sea Shepherd with the 9/11, London, Madrid and Mumbai terrorist attacks demonstrates what little grasp of reality you have."

So, forcibly boarding vessels isn't piracy? Throwing objects, disabling ships and ramming them isn't? Is forcibly entering someone's home, throwing dog poo all over their walls, then filing a false kidnapping report against them not a crime? THIS is the light I view these activists in. How would you feel if I gathered a crew and did the SAME THING to the Sea Shepard?

It's all criminal behavior. The Sea Shepard even has a skull and crossbones as it's flag, for f's sake. If you can't link piracy to terrorism in your own little head, YOU have little grasp on reality.
dontpanic at 09:54 PM JST - 28th December

"If you can't link piracy to terrorism in your own little head, YOU have little grasp on reality". More overstatement, this time linking direct action to disrupt the whalers with piracy. Sea Shepherd havn't shot their way on board, taken control, captured the crew and stolen any whaling ship.

Sea Shepherd arent being pleasant, theyre not there to be nice to the whalers. No one has taken any notice of the anti-whalers until Sea Shepherds actions became robust enough to cause people to take stock. Proof that measured actions can and do succeed after years of failed debate.
USARonin at 12:33 AM JST - 29th December

I agree with the guy in the article. "Cult".

-like 'global warmin''.
space_monkey at 12:22 PM JST - 29th December

Hi all, I have lived in Japan fr 7 years and discussed whaling with many many Japanese. Here are some things I realized: 1. No one in Japan even knows that this is an issue so no one cares. 2. I walk past a whale restaurant everyday on the way to the train station. 3. When I buy a can of tuna in a supermarket it sits next to a can of whale meat.

The no. 1 most important reason for Japan to stop whaling is this:

IF EVERY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD CONDUCTED "RESEARCH" AND RESUMED COMMERCIAL WHALING, THE SAME AS JAPAN, THERE WOULD BE NO WHALES.

The essential flaw in every argument of Japan is that it is on the assumption that they will be the only ones doing it. Imagine if every country in Africa, Asia, South and North America, and Europe started commercial whaling again.

This point undermines how truly stupid and selfish Japan's policy of whaling truly is.

The noly way to protect the whales id if EVERYONE agrees to stop, not everyone excluding Japan.

Honestly, I have debated this issue with many many Japanese and this is the strongest and most logical argument for Japanese to stop whaling.

Stop being selfish Japan. Stop whaling now.