Sea Shepherd catches up with Japan fleet; 4 whales dead so far

When the Nisshin Maru was first spotted from the air, Brown said it was in Antarctica’s Ross Dependency, within New Zealand’s territorial waters and the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, which he described as a “gross breach of international law”.

More rubbish from the SS.

The Ross Sea covers an area between 160 degrees East and 150 degrees West and 60 degrees South. Although technically claimed as part of New Zealand's sovereign waters, the claim is suspended under the Antarctic Treaty.

According to the New Zealand Media

Not to disagree Heda, but it does make one wonder why these whalers just have to do their whaling there. Its upsetting more than just SS. Could it be the diversion theory, that this is to take attention away from tuna over-fishing?

Hang your head in shame Japan, the rest of the world is watching.

let the battle begin, with Abe saying he will scale back farming subsidies within 5 years, i wonder if he'll do the same with the 2 billion yen + that the whalers get in subsidies each year?. somehow I doubt it. national pride at its worst.

Four whales killed? That's four whales too many. Asking Abbott to show some spine is a waste of time. He is the worst PM in Australian history and is too busy dismantling the Medicare system to worry about whales. He and his coalition also want to reduce the marine parks around Australia by 50%.

I do find it amusing that I get marked down for facts.

Here are some more. It's not illegal to catch whales for research. It is however illegal to throw glass bottles at people

The SS supporters will now vote me down, but that doesn't change anything.

If it's a cultural tradition, shouldn't the hunt be happening in Japanese waters? Or have they already killed everything resembling a whale and need to go further out to sea?

I do find it amusing that I get marked down for facts.

When you said:

More rubbish from the SS.

That was not a fact. Even if that one point from SS is rubbish, you said "more rubbish", which is a general condemnation of SS. Meanwhile, you failed to note the rubbish from the whalers, which I pointed out and got marked up for it.

I am not going to comment on N.Z. ocean claims as I know little about them. But I do know that people are sensitive about claims (for rather irrational reasons mostly) and you can't just call them rubbish and get approval.

Anyway, it seems to me that this one of those topics where if you post too strongly for either side and you will get marked down.

But hey, if you ever really do post facts and only facts, I will mark you up. If you throw in the word "rubbish" you take your chances.

Are you familiar with the SS?

Paul Watson tells his supporters to make up numbers - like Reagan did They said that the Ady Gil was smashed in half

I could go on. The SS constantly spread misinformation as facts. It is in fact rubbish.

Brown described “massive violence” against the whales, using grenade-tipped harpoons to catch them, and said Sea Shepherd would do “all it peaceably can to prevent this grotesque and cruel destruction”.

Show some respect for your prey

The facts are the Japanese have killed whales, legally, in international waters. In accordance with Article VIII from the IWC. And that, is legal. And a fact.

国民の税金の無駄使いをやめてください。Stop the waste of taxpayer money for whaling.

meat being carted around on this factory ship deck, offal and innards being dumped in the ocean

Those in favour of the whale killing bleat that 'IWC regulations require the catch to be consumed'. What the convention actually says is that Any whales taken under these special permits shall so far as practicable be processed and the proceeds shall be dealt with in accordance with directions issued by the Government by which the permit was granted.

Yet all that is brought back is the tasty edible bits. The fact that the offal and innards - that could be used to make eg organic fertiliser and whalebone trinkets, if the aim really was to ensure that nothing is wasted - get chucked overboard is proof that this is nothing but commercial hunting for meat. It isn't even commercial hunting in the guise of research. There is no guise apart from the joke 'RESEARCH' painted on the side of the ships. Perhaps one of the pro-wailers can explain (with a straight face, if possible) why the offal and innards aren't brought back for processing as required by the IWC?

The Ross Sea covers an area between 160 degrees East and 150 degrees West and 60 degrees South.

So what. The location the butcher fleet was found is given as 64°44' S, 162°34' W, well within the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary where whales should not be being killed for the table.

“That’s just a gruesome, bloody, medieval scene which has no place in this modern world.”

It still mistifies me when they make comments like this. If this was a haul of hundreds of snapper or salmon, or thousands of eels or crabs, they would never say something like that. They would never comment on how medieval and gruesome it was. So in the end, is it just because whales are big? If whales were much smaller but still endangered or at risk, would an organization like SS still be throwing millions and millions of dollars at stopping it?

Even if that one point from SS is rubbish, you said "more rubbish", which is a general condemnation of SS.

Speaking to a collision on January 6, 2010 between a Japanese whaling vessel and the Sea Shepherd vessel Ady Gil: "The Ady Gil, a Sea Shepherd vessel, it's a fast patrol boat, was sitting still in the water when the Shonan Maru #2 came by, deliberately turned into it, rammed it, cut it in half, sunk it and destroyed it."

"In 30 years, we've never injured anybody, we've never broken a law."

Paul Watson on "Larry King Live", June 2009

“The fact is – never been convicted of a crime.”

Paul Watson, Worldfest 2006

“I’ve got no criminal record.”

Paul Watson Interview, September 2008

Every year they make claims that within 24 hours are proven to be completely false. Bunkum. Or, for want of a better word. Rubbish.

This is not a medieval society? Actions on many levels would prove the contrary

It still mistifies me when they make comments like this.

It plays well in the media and gets headlines, after all this is what it is all about isn't it? P. T. Barnum said there was a sucker born every minute and the supporters of the SS swindle prove it by throwing money at the SS circus. It's not about the whales, it's about the delusional pirate fantasies of Paul Watson and his Robin Hood complex.

The SS are an absolute joke. If they were Somalian they would have been labelled "pirates" a long time ago and thrown in jail.

Putting the lives of the Japanese crew members secondary to the welfare of the whales is, in my opinion, disgusting. I am not pro-whaling by any means, but the tactics used by the SS are quite frankly vile.

Use dialogue, not aggression, to stop whaling.

Use dialogue, not aggression, to stop whaling.

Greenpeace, the Aussie government, etc., have tried dialogue. It didn't work.

"“There is nothing scientific about this, it is butchery,”

BINGO! But hey, when you point that out to the apologists they'll just fall back on the "you're attacking cultural tradition (in diesel ships, in the Southern Ocean!)". Probably half the people who defend whaling couldn't stomach the pictures taken while they defend a lost cause.

Heda_Madness: "I do find it amusing that I get marked down for facts."

Umm... sorry, my friend, but saying "More rubbish from the SS" is not 'fact' by any definition of the word. Check it out in the dictionary, then check 'opinion', and after that 'fiction'.

There wouldn't be a need for either, if the Japanese kept to their international waters and and admitted it was commercially fishing, then their would be no need for SS to endanger either themselves or the Japanese. The oceans are being plundered,polluted , and not just by fishing. Nobody listens to the scientific community, money rules. do you really think governments care, if you do, your disillusioning yourselves.

SS spokesman: “gross breach of international law”.

and then the very next paragraph explains that it is not a breach of any law. Nor even a breach of a "moratoriam"

The commercial hunting of whales is prohibited in the sanctuary, which was designated by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in 1994, but Japan catches the animals there under a “scientific research” loophole in the moratorium on whaling.

Sorry, SS is loose with the facts. And that is a fact.

The butchery is irrelevant. The question should be whether it's justifiable to kill the animals in the first place.

I've heard whale stocks have recovered from when they were initially sagging (and therefore banned), and if such is true, then I am ok with it myself. Can anyone dig up some actual numbers on whale stocks?

barbaric to kill such majestic creatures. since the meat isn't even in demand.

"More rubbish from the SS" is not 'fact' by any definition of the word. Check it out in the dictionary, then check 'opinion', and after that 'fiction'.

I looked up fiction it said see any comment from the Sea Shepherd.

You know when the Sea Shepherd is lying because they open their mouth. My favourite was when they said the Shonan Maru left the scene of the collision with the Ady Gil. Unfortunately for them every report had a photo of the Shonan Maru in the background. Something acknowledged in the official reports.

Yet more rubbish. A fact.

It seems a majority of JT readers aren't happy about this whaling.

Sea Shepherd claim what Japan is doing is a "gross breach of international law".

But, as the story states, "Australia has taken Japan to the International Court of Justice seeking to have its research whaling program declared illegal, with a ruling due this year."

The only reasonable way to resolve such a controversial issue is to leave it to the courts. But the predetermination evident in the rhetoric from Sea Shepherd suggests to me that they aren't going to pay attention to the result, if it goes against Australia.

That's not fair dinkum.

Which ever way the court decision goes, you'd expect both sides to abide by it.

Heda_Madness: "I looked up fiction it said see any comment from the Sea Shepherd."

You blew it with the 'fact' thing, so just face it. An opinion is NOT fact. If I said, "I don't think whale meat is healthy!" you would probably have no problem stating that what I said was opinion, and rightfully so. If I backed I just said, "Whale/dolphin meat is unhealthy" and provided stats of the people in Taiji who gorge on it, for example, THAT would be fact. Your 'rubbish' bit is simply opinion, AND fiction to boot.

But hey, I'm curious as to your stance on what Japan is doing with whaling: science or cultural tradition? or is science the cultural tradition? Mayonnaise vs. soy-sauce.... tough one, scientifically speaking.

Go whalers go!!

I wish they'd brought some 50cals with them, so they could defend themselves and sink a few SS ships.

http://seashepherdlies.com/

http://www.individualism.com/2009/02/paul-watsons-cultural-imperialism-intolerance-and-bigotry/

The Sea Shepherd claim that the Japanese whalers were in New Zealand waters. This is not true. This is a lie. This is FACTUALLY incorrect. It's not my opinion. It's international law.

It's not my opinion that it's more rubbish. it is factually correct that it is more rubbish. The SS constantly lie. It's proven every single year.

Not my opinion. But based on the fact that what they say is proven to be false.

Can anyone dig up some actual numbers on whale stocks?

According to IWC figures, the 'best estimate' of the population of minke in the Southern Hemisphere was 720,000 (510,000-1,010,000) 1985 to 1991 and 515,000 (360,000-730,000) 1992 to 2004. For some reason the wailers look at these figures and claim they show that population levels are recovering to pre-wailing levels.

http://iwc.int/estimate

No, what the whalers claim is that the numbers of Minke can be harvested sustainably. Which is the precise purpose of the IWC.

The Sea Shepherd claim that the Japanese whalers were in New Zealand waters. This is not true. This is a lie. This is FACTUALLY incorrect.

They state that they were butchering whales at the location 64°44' S, 162°34' W. It is a FACT that this is well inside the internationally- recognised Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary where hunting for meat is not allowed.

Would you like to provide the 'facts' as to why 'research and the processing as far as practically possible of all whales taken under special permit' involves chucking huge amounts of processable innards into the sea and bringing home only the choice tasty cuts?

I believe the harpoons are rigged with explosives (I believe a Norwegian design) to minimize suffering by stopping the whales heart instantaneously, (although I think it's not 100% effective) and was designed as an answer to those who were saying letting the animal bleed to death or dragging it backwards to drown still took too long and inhumane.

Just food for thought, is it more humane for the animal that gets killed to be:

1) In it's natural habitat until moments before it's death? Or 2) to be genetically modified, crammed in a cage disease ridden quarters full of droppings and urine, pumped full of antibiotics and kept alive until it's the time of butchering?

I believe Japan is in the IWC because they are serious about sustainable whaling and want sustainable whaling to be accepted internationally while Whale protection activists believe the IWC exists to end whaling all together. If this was the case, whaling for research would not be tolerated either.

I think both sides can never agree because their goals are mutually exclusive, so no progress can be made until the court renders it's decision.

They state that they were butchering whales at the location 64°44' S, 162°34' W. It is a FACT that this is well inside the internationally- recognised Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary where hunting for meat is not allowed.

Which is covered in Article VIII and therefore hunting is allowed.

Heda_Madness: "They state that they were butchering whales at the location 64°44' S, 162°34' W. It is a FACT that this is well inside the internationally- recognised Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary where hunting for meat is not allowed."

Cleo has it bang on, as FACT. Now how about your 'opinion' about rubbish, since she is 100% correct? Doesn't change the fact that you in your initial comment about what is 'rubbish' is not at all fact but fiction.

In any case, go SS!! Like I said, most whale eaters would probably puke if they saw the pictures SS took from the helicopter (no sonic weapon terrorism from the Japanese this time, thankfully) while ingesting the 'cultural tradition' they merely eat out of spite towards international criticism.

CNN did a special on this topic. We are all well aware about this sad topic and this is a red button of Japan.

Interesting to read many irrational Japanese responses here. Remember the earthquake donation money from us went to the Whale Research project. Japan lied to us. I cannot forgive you for that,.

So just to confirm in your opinion a statement by the SS which is proven to be incorrect is a fact. A statement by Cleo which is also proven to be incorrect is a fact.

No wonder I've got it wrong.

what the whalers claim is that the numbers of Minke can be harvested sustainably

The GoJ goes still further and claims -despite the IWC numbers - that the minke population is not only growing rapidly, but that the minke is stealing food from other species of whale and needs to be culled in order to save the Blue Whale. (The Fisheries Agency has also referred to the Minke as 'the cockroach of the sea' - fact or opinion? Hmmm.

http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/economy/fishery/whales/iwc/minke.html

Lies, damn lies and statistics.

And an interesting quote from Masayuki Komatsu of the Fisheries Agency, explaining Japan's research programme and why catches are smaller than originally planned: According to plans, Japan was supposed to catch up to 935 minke whales in the Antarctic Ocean, but actually it caught only 506 in fiscal 2009. This is because of sluggish sales of whale meat. Since it is unpopular with consumers, in an effort to cover whaling costs, Japan reduced the number of catches to maintain prices at high levels.

What was that again about scientific research whaling not being a coverup for commercial hunting? http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201005300214.html

The Sea Shepherd claim that the Japanese whalers were in New Zealand waters. This is not true. This is a lie. This is FACTUALLY incorrect. It's not my opinion. It's international law.

Of course it's a lie. Just read the rest of the article.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully denied whaling was taking place within his country's maritime jurisdiction, saying the site was considered international waters, as he condemned the "pointless and offensive" practice.

The SS constantly lie.

Yes, Heda. So do the whalers. So do SS supporters. So do whaling supporters. If you accepted that you would truly be on to something.

Interesting to read many irrational Japanese responses here.

Probably not as many as you think - very few Japanese posters on this site.

A statement by Cleo which is also proven to be incorrect

My statement was, They state that they were butchering whales at the location 64°44' S, 162°34' W. It is a FACT that this is well inside the internationally- recognised Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary where hunting for meat is not allowed.

Which bit of this do you imagine has been proven to be incorrect?

Do you dispute the location?

Do you dispute that the location is inside the Whale Sanctuary?

You say, Which is covered in Article VIII and therefore hunting is allowed. 'Scientific research' whaling is allowed; commercial whaling is not. The fisheries man (see my post at 5:18pm) has stated clearly that quotas are set in line with sales of whale meat. Please explain how this is not commercial whaling, and why it should be allowed in a Whale Sanctuary.

Still waiting for an explanation of why the offal and innards aren't processed as the IWC Article VIII requires.

They state that they were butchering whales at the location 64°44' S, 162°34' W. It is a FACT that this is well inside the internationally- recognised Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary where hunting for meat is not allowed.

The "whale sanctuary" is based on a 1923 territorial claim. That claim was nullified by the 1961 Arctic Treaty. It's either/or, not both, and NZ signed on to the Arctic Treaty.

Your post makes sense only if you have a time machine, Cleo.

So you're waiting for an explanation as to why the offal and innards aren't processed?

Here's one. Because it was said by Bob Brown. Who also claimed that they were in international waters. As a witness, he's not entirely reliable now is he?

The "whale sanctuary" is based on a 1923 territorial claim. That claim was nullified by the 1961 Arctic Treaty.

We must be looking at different Whale Sanctuaries, cos according to the IWC the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary was adopted in 1994:

http://iwc.int/sanctuaries

Getting confused with the Antarctic Treaty? Different thing altogether, establishing Antarctica as a scientific preserve and banning military activity on the continent. Covers all land and ice shelves but not the surrounding waters. Nothing to do with whales.

Of course it's a lie. Just read the rest of the article.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully denied whaling was taking place within his country's maritime jurisdiction, saying the site was considered international waters, as he condemned the "pointless and offensive" practice.

That's been updated since I first posted and had the false accusations thrown at me. For everything that the SS say, someone else will disprove them.

Here's one. Because it was said by Bob Brown

I have not seen any whale offal fertiliser, whalebone trinkets and ornaments or other stuff that non-meat bits could be processed into, in the shops. Where are they? Why aren't the icr doing their best to reduce their huge debt to the Japanese taxpayer and to meet their obligations to the IWC by processing and selling all this stuff?

Answer - they don't process the offal because they're there to take the meat.

Maybe it is a Japanese cultural thing to antagonise everyone else on the planet, they do appear to be doing an outstanding job

Cleo, the Arctic Treaty is contingent on the signatory giving up territorial claims on the Arctic. No territorial claims = no authority to create whale sanctuaries by fiat. If NZ wishes to annul their participation in the Arctic Treaty, revive their 1923 claim and claim authority over arctic territorial waters, then they have every right to. Until then, the whale sanctuary is just toothless feel-good posturing, and as legit as the self-proclaimed whale sanctuary in my bathtub.

why would research be done using a factory ship?? something smells fishy

The only country that has been killing whales for food under the guise of doing scientific research is Japan. The UN needs to shut Japan down and stop this practice.

If people really gave a hoot about anti whaling they would spend more efforts attacking the IWC to change the law and ban whaling altogether. However most people who are against whaling are apathetic in that they rely too much on groups like Greenpeace/Sea Shepherd et al. to lead the movement.

Im sorry Japan shame on you !!!!! You say the whaling is for experimental purposes but pictures and news footage all across the world is showing blood and guts. Come on Japan you want the world to have some compassion for China crossing territorial waters but out at sea you try to come up with unheard of justification for your whaling purposes. This starting to make me thinking otherwise about alot of other things that has happened historically. Come clean dont lie the world is watching. Does this mean uou have to harpoon and gut not one but four whales i dont call that an experiment I call it total lies and deception this will only get bigger and people will lose respect because one lie will only make what Japan call the truth about other historical things less believable

.......................................... Japan’s fisheries agency said its program was being conducted “in line with a research plan submitted to the IWC”. “We are not aware of the existence of a whaling sanctuary, so we don’t want to comment on their arguments,” an agency spokesman said of Brown’s claims.

The Japanese foreign ministry said research whaling was “not a violation or an abuse of a loophole in the international convention”.

Maybe it is a Japanese cultural thing to antagonise everyone else on the planet, they do appear to be doing an outstanding job

Yeah, must be huh?

Whether its killing whales or killing insects, it's all the same damn thing. And the SS continue to be hypocrites. "No, don't kill the whales!" Why don't you go to a slaughter house and tell them to stop killing animals for food? Go on, TRY to turn the whole world vegetarian. Or maybe try to save insects? "Nah, they aren't beautiful and they're troublesome and they aren't endangered or anything like that." is most likely gonna be their answer. I'm not saying the Japanese whalers are right, I'm not saying they're wrong either. However, the SS are really just made up of stupid children. I say stupid children because actual children would probably be smarter than those guys.

Do things legally. Be patient you idiots. Don't do harm to others just because you don't like what they're doing, especially if you're all hypocrites who don't care about 99.9% of all the other animals on this planet.

Is the stance against whaling due to the personification of the whales or because of the scarcity of the breed?

i don't seem to hear a lot of complaints against shark hunting yet most of those breeds are being hunted to extinction for just the fin.

yet whales due to the humanization of television and movies has become powerful symbol. i remember in the 50's through the 70's not much would have been said by anyone. even by western countries, whales where no longer hunted as a rule, but it was a rule, it was not a religion- which is what it is now.

looks like the community is being ruled by a couple of movies instead of the science it is supposed to be supporting

Akkio, you bring up some good points. But I'm going to disagree with you. If these Sea Shepard people want to spend their time defending whales, more power to them. There are ALL kinds of people out there defending the wildlife and forests, more power to them. What? You want everyone to sit in front of their TV and do nothing? The psychopaths running the governments of this finite planet would love it if you just sat back and watch TV.

even by western countries, whales where no longer hunted as a rule, but it was a rule, it was not a religion- which is what it is now.

It wasn't that long ago, relatively speaking, that the United States and Australia were at the forefront of whaling.

The whaling trade was a major industry in Australia during the nineteenth century employing hundreds of ships and thousands of men and providing the colonies with export commodities worth 4.2 million pounds by 1850. Sydney was the main Australian whaling port with a fleet that produced whale oil and baleen valued at 2.6 million pounds between 1825 and 1879.

In fact, the Australians took to attacking the Japanese when the Japanese wouldn't assist them in their whale killing.

On March 31, 1831, Russell, a former British naval officer, and the crew of the Lady Rowena landed at an isolated spot on the misty eastern shores of Hokkaido and, it was reported, "its sailors destroyed a village and fired on its inhabitants"

The Australians used to hunt whales in Japanese waters and now the Japanese hunt whales near Australian waters. What goes around comes around.

praack, Paul Watson's Cuba arrest warrant was over a confrontation connected to shark finning:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18055030

Protesting shark-finning to the point at which arrest warrants are issued is sort-of protesting shark-finning. This is protested all over the world all the time. Just FYI, there is no such protest against Japan's North Pacific whale hunt, which maybe you have not heard of. Japan carries this one out every year unhindered by SS because of the location of the hunt. Japan takes so much meat from the North Pacific hunt that that they can't sell it. They couldn't even auction it:

http://ph.news.yahoo.com/75-japans-nw-pacific-whale-hunt-unsold-official-174352998.html

I have no objection to people eating whale. I object to tax-funded whaling missions that annoy the hell out of other countries and make Japan look like an international pariah though. The only thing the Antarctic hunts prove is that such hunts are not commercially viable. That's the true science.

Nessie, you're at the wrong end of the world. It's the Antarctic not the Arctic, and the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary was established by the IWC, not by New Zealand.

praack

i don't seem to hear a lot of complaints against shark hunting

Maybe you just aren't listening? It was trying to stop illegal shark finning that got Watson on the Interpol red list.

overchan

Therere plenty minke whales and their population is going up.

Evidence? The IWC estimate figures show that the population appears to be going down, not up.

Where's Moby Dick when you need him?

On a more serious note, I find that photo of the ship's deck pretty disgusting... and yes I would feel the same if that amount of blood had come from fish or whatever.

I also find it difficult to understand how pro-whalers can only see whales as meat, as big fish. They seem incapable of understanding that killing intelligent animals is wrong - the most intelligent land mammal hunting and killing the most intelligent creature in the sea. Maybe it's human arrogance, or the myth that everything on the planet was put there for us to eat. Do they ever look at reports of cetacean intelligence? Do they even care?

Either develop non-lethal means of researching whale numbers, or stop. Only two options I can stomach.

Go Japan (whalers)

Hang your head in shame Japan, the rest of the world is watching.

Go take a survey of 100 young people and ask if they have eaten whale. Blaming an entire country for something a few ships/companies do makes me wonder why you haven't purchased your one-way ticket out of Japannyet.

"Anti-whaling activists Sea Shepherd said they had zeroed in on a Japanese fleet Monday and captured evidence that four whales had been slaughtered, alleging the ships were found inside a Southern Ocean sanctuary."

There was no need for SSCS to "capture evidence" a term deliberately used to suggest that the whalers are doing something illegal. And to feed their hallucination that they are somehow sanctioned by some country or organization with any jurisdiction to act as an enforcer of their own interpretation of laws. They're not, so all anyone has to do is ask and they will tell you how many they captured. In fact they even submit their target figures to the IWC Scientific Committee before the program commences. Four minkes on the deck is no big deal. Even the U.S. which is anti-whaling has admitted that the population is such that Japan could take 4000 per year and not harm the stocks. And that famous "Southern Ocean Sanctuary" again. Nobody, SSCS members, it's supporters and AFP are capable of reading the IWC website which EXEMPTS research whaling from recognizing sanctuaries. What are all these SSCS supporters going to do when the IWC rules in Japan's favor?

You would hope Abe would end the subsidies for the whalers, it's a waste of money no matter what side of the issue you're on. Subsidies only skew the result.

That said, SS's actions are counterproductive in terms of ending whaling by the Japanese because, as we've seen from Abe's visit to Yasukuni, when you tell Abe that he shouldn't do something chances are he's going to cock a snook just to prove that he can and you can't stop him.

Since what the Japanese whalers are doing falls into this loophole of research they'll do it. But I think, if it were up to the Japanese voters (and SS wasn't provoking them) then the voters would decide to end the subsidies.

Of course, as has been pointed out, Watson and SS fall into the "doing well by doing good" category of 1%ers. As long as people keep sending money to SS and Watson the honchos will get wealthy. It really is a circus. Nothing good is going to come out of any of this.

The IUCN Red List categorizes Minke whales as the LEAST CONCERN.

So we know that this whale hunting is not illegal, and Minke whales are not even close to endangered. Can someone explain to me what these SS pirates are fighting for?

Can someone explain to me what these SS pirates are fighting for?

Ideology.

Go take a survey of 100 young people and ask if they have eaten whale. Blaming an entire country for something a few ships/companies do makes me wonder why you haven't purchased your one-way ticket out of Japannyet.

I'm still on the fence when it comes to whaling, but as for the above point, whaling is subsidized by the Japanese government, so whether or not the average person is eating whale, their elected representatives are supporting whaling. Therefore for people who are against whaling, criticism of Japan as a whole on this subject is justifiable.

But I think, if it were up to the Japanese voters (and SS wasn't provoking them) then the voters would decide to end the subsidies.

Forgive me if I have a few zeros wrong, but Japan spends about 90 trillion yen a year including some 60 trillion (IIRC) on social security programs, while taking in only 40-50 trillion yen in tax revenues.

Result, huge government debt. My conclusion, Japanese voters will never vote for cuts to government spending. This is no doubt part of why Abe wants to generate inflation in order to help put the government's books in order.

Abe himself is from Yamaguchi apparently, where whaling has been a part of their local economy (the whaling boats sail from Shimonoseki), so there's no chance of Japan giving up all forms of whaling while he is Prime Minister (even if forced to give up research whaling by a possible unfavourable ICJ judgement). I think fisheries minister Hayashi also has some similar type of background.

Antarctic minke whales - like the three dead ones filmed on the deck of a Japanese whaling ship yesterday by radical environmentalists Sea Shepherd - are so abundant that scientific work may show they can be formally fished, International Whale Commission (IWC) documents show.

There could be well over a million minke whales in Antarctica.Japanese whaling research papers submitted to the IWC - based on work from "scientific" whaling cruises - suggest there are possibly over two million minkes in the area south of Australia and New Zealand.

The IWC this week posted the agreed minutes of the scientific committee annual meeting held in South Korea in June.

It gave Japan permission to carry out whaling "biopsy sampling and photo-id work" in the Ross Sea this month. "The use of consistent protocols over time makes this series of cruises a valuable resource, not least for analysing ice effects."

The IWC said that in the 2012/13 summer, they had approved a dedicated sighting survey by Japan in the Southern Ocean. They said "four research vessels" were used, including three "sighting/sampling vessels" and one research base vessel. "Unfortunately, the research activities were interrupted several times by the Sea Shepherd, which directed violent sabotage activities against Japanese research vessels."

Interesting story there, Heda_Madness. http://www.stuff.co.nz/science/9584384/Antarctic-minke-whales-can-possibly-be-fished

"Antarctic minke whales can possibly be fished".

Now there's a headline that'll get some blood boiling! The poor author of this article must be getting a massive barrage of emails now from Sea Shepherd supporters, and you've already got a few thumbs downs for it as well I see.

This bit from the article was interesting:

The IWC complained it was difficult to review Japan's plans without detailed design information "but noted that this seems unavoidable given security considerations".

Such a review might have been useful ammo for one side or another at the ICJ case, but Sea Shepherd look to have prevented that possibility.

How long do you think Sea Shepherd would stay in business if they started attacking businesses inside Australia.

They're still here after attacking the Australian Government's White Whale cull and stopping the Western Australian Government's plans to drill for oil in a Humpback nursery

http://www.seashepherd.org.au/kimberley-miinimbi/operation-kimberley-miinimbi-update.html http://www.seashepherd.org.au/news-and-media/2014/01/04/australians-oppose-cull-of-protected-great-white-sharks-by-barnett-government-1553

fxgai, I'm not surprised I got the negative ratings. But it's very interesting what the official IWC minutes stated

"Unfortunately, the research activities were interrupted several times by the Sea Shepherd, which directed violent sabotage activities against Japanese research vessels."

Brown described "massive violence" against the whales, using grenade-tipped harpoons to catch them, and said Sea Shepherd would do "all it peaceably can to prevent this grotesque and cruel destruction", also urging Australia and New Zealand to take action.

Hahaha. Former Green Brown, once again, lies about the eco-terrorist SS "peaceably" preventing legal whaling as if Brown isn't aware of the eco-terrorist SS violent history. What a hoot.

When the Nisshin Maru was first spotted from the air, Brown said it was in Antarctica's Ross Dependency, within New Zealand's territorial waters and the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary ......

vs

New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully denied whaling was taking place within his country's maritime jurisdiction, saying the site was considered international waters.....

Who are we to believe? The known liar Brown or the NZ Foreign Minister?

Hopefully the whaling fleet stays on the run, and this is the last year for their operations

if the aim really was to ensure that nothing is wasted

Who said that was the aim? Don't forget Article VIII says;

so far as practicable

Sorry but parts being chucked overboard are not proof that it is commercial whaling.

That would be the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary that DOESN'T apply to Japanese hunting of Minke whales, under the IWC's own Article V.

Greenpeace, the Aussie government, etc., have tried dialogue. It didn't work.

Actually it did. The Japanese agreed to a plan that would have immediately cut the number of whales they hunted and after 5 years would have cut it again. Yet the Australian's torpedoed that proposal because their 'dialogue was "Do it our way or else!"

All the best to Sea Shepherd and a speedy end to the whaling season

After the ICJ rules that Japan is conducting Research Whaling legally I hope the many SS supporters are able to procure lives.

The SSCS is reporting that they have lost contact with the Nisshin Maru and one harpoon ship. The assumption is that the killing of whales has started again while the SSCS starts running in circles again.

Strange that's not reported on the SS site nor does a search provide any links to articles reporting that?

Strange that people can't find a story that is on at least two major Australian news outlets.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environment/whalers-turn-tables-on-activists-20140108-30gmy.html

http://www.theage.com.au/environment/whalers-turn-tables-on-activists-20140108-30gmy.html

Sorry, found nothing corroborating your links. Nor for that matter, anything published by SS themselves

@aussie-musashi, Sorry that you can't click on a simple link and read what it says.

zichi - The whaling company which owns the Nisshin Maru was also given a long term low interest loan to refit the ship which included faster engines. There's also the problem of following the Nisshin Maru at full speed for a long distance because while the Nisshin Maru refuels at sea, I think the SS ships return to ports for refuelling.

Faster engines are a good thing. They prevent the eco-terrorist SS from repeatedly threatening the lives of the whalers.

Strange that people can't find a story that is on at least two major Australian news outlets.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environment/whalers-turn-tables-on-activists-20140108-30gmy.html

http://www.theage.com.au/environment/whalers-turn-tables-on-activists-20140108-30gmy.html

Strange that JT wouldn't be covering this angle...

Never mind, the whaling vessel pursuing the Bob Barker has stopped short of entering Australia`s economic zone, at the request of the Australian government

So the brave and valiant SS has to stow their tail and flee to Australian waters to shake the whalers. ;)

The Nisshin Maru running at full speed is quickly using up the expensive type of fuel they need to be running on for the their whaling grounds.

And the SSCS running at full speed is quickly using up the same expensive type fuel they need to be running on.

The whalers have the full backing and monetary resources of Japan behind them, while the SSCS has to beg for donations to buy fuel. I seem to remember previous times when an SSCS ship would end up stuck in port for a week or longer waiting for enough donations to fill the tanks.

Well it also provided employment for dozens if not hundreds of people who otherwise may have been on public assistance. But either way, apparently the Japanese government seems to believe that it was a worthwhile way to spend the money. And I haven't had any articles about widespread Japanese taxpayer dissatisfaction with the spending pointed out. But there was an article right here at JT that said a poll found more Japanese supported continuing the whale hunt than supported ending it, although the majority stated no opinion either way.

Those guys are all seasonal workers and will have very little at the end of their working lives, no pensions Who said anything about at the end of working lives or pensions? Without your supposed seasonal work they would probably be on puiblic welfare today. People tend to be more worried about paying their bills now rather than if they will be able to do so at some undefined time in the future.

Also I don't understand the claim of them being seasonal workers. The Southern Ocean hunt, with prep and travel time takes 5-6 months. This is followed by the Northern Pacifc hunt, which being closer to Japan requires less travel time but I would guess still covers 4-5 months. So 9-11 months work a year is not what I would call seasonal, it is awful close to full time year round.

Probably right again No probably about it. If they didn't find it worthwhile they wouldn't continue it. I guess the best way to judge public support is by the amount of whale meat people actually buy. No, the best way would be to look at the results of a poll that asks them about their support. But strangely some want to ignore polls that has results they don't like. People can support something even if they don't actively participate in it.

And you have proof this is the case with the whaling fleet?

And I am also sure you proof that they are FORCED to work long hours. I mean I have trouble believing they are slaves and not voluntary workers, but obviously you know better and have the proof.

zichi - All whaling ships are about around 500 nautical miles from their whaling grounds? So who's losing? The whales are winning and the whalers losing.....

Hahaha. The eco-terrorist SS have lost track of the whalers. Except the ones who are designated to follow the eco-terrorist SS around the Antarctic. You have no idea where the whalers are.

Where would you find information about how much the whaling crews are being paid?

I don't think that they are having any success since they still sell a lot of delicious meat in the supermarket.

hkitagawaJan. 15, 2014 - 05:41PM JST

This is a high protein/high fat food for the Eskimo to keep them warm. That's one of reasons why Eskimo do not have longevity. High fat in whale meat will clog your artery.