Whale Wars (2006): Inside thge battle to impose an international whaling ban.
Japan has long been accused of vote-buying and bribery at the International Whaling Commission. Already, through exploiting the loophole of ‘scientific research’, it has dramatically increased the number and species of whales it kills. Now, it wants to overturn the decades long ban on commercial whaling. Our offering this week uncovers just how it intends to do so. Made for ABC 4 Corners, it also reveals how the farcical rules of the IWC are open to manipulation and abuse.
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At approximately 7:36 PM on the 23 of February, the Japanese whaling fleet launched an unprovoked six-hour night attack on the Sea Shepherd conservation ship, The Bob Barker. The harpoon ships, Yushin Maru and Yushin Maru No. 3, crossed the bow of The Bob Barker a total of thirty-three times at close range during the assault, dragging 250-metre and 150-metre steel cable, respectively, across the bow of The Bob Barker in an attempt to disable the conservation ship’s propellers and rudders.
The Bob Barker was sailing six nautical miles behind the factory vessel, Nisshin Maru at 73° 08′ S 175° 33′ E when the attack commenced. The assault was an attempt to deter The Bob Barker from blocking the slipway of the Nisshin Maru, where it was preventing the whalers’ ability to load whales poached from the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.
The Nisshin Maru was located early on Sunday morning for the third time this season by The Steve Irwin’s helicopter. However, the whaling vessels delayed an attack on The Bob Barker until Sunday night, launching their onslaught on the conservation vessel under the cover of darkness.
Captain Peter Hammarstedt of The Bob Barker reports: “I radioed the harpoon ships to let them know that our operations are completely lawful and that any aggressive action on their part would be reported to the Australian government and New Zealand Search and Rescue, and that Australian Environment Minister Greg Hunt had been contacted. I have nine Australians and one New Zealander on board as part of my brave crew who have endured this ruthless assault. We maintain unwavering dedication in the face of an increasingly vicious onslaught from the poachers, the last line of defence standing between these criminals and the protected whales they are targeting to kill.”
The harpoon ships crossed the bow of The Bob Barker fifteen times from port to starboard during the attack in violation of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS).
The whaling fleet’s crew threw ice at the crew of The Bob Barker small boats, which were launched to defend the conservation ship from the onslaught. The whalers also blinded The Bob Barker Bridge with powerful searchlights, impairing vision and endangering navigation. At 0100 AEDT, the Nisshin Maru was lost from The Bob Barker’s radar.
The Bob Barker is currently within close range of the Yushin Maru and the Yushin Maru No. 3, and can confirm that the two harpoon vessels are unable to whale. Since locating the Nisshin Maru early Sunday morning, the Sea Shepherd Fleet was able to chase the factory vessel out of the Ross Sea. The Steve Irwin and The Sam Simon are trail-free and shadowing the Nisshin Maru.
It is the second time this month that The Bob Barker has been attacked by the Japanese whaling fleet without provocation. On February 2, the conservation ship was struck by the Yushin Maru No. 3 in a nine-hour attack on the Sea Shepherd ships, during which the harpoon ships crossed the bows of the Sea Shepherd ships a total of 86 times.
In December last year, the Australian government committed to sending an aircraft to monitor this year’s whaling operations. Earlier this month, New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs, Murray McCully, indicated the possibility of “relationship consequences” between New Zealand and Japan as the result of an incursion by the Shonan Maru No. 2, the Japanese whaling fleet’s security vessel, into New Zealand waters.
Managing Director of Sea Shepherd Australia, Jeff Hansen, said, “The Bob Barker is in the Southern Ocean to defend the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary from the illegal Japanese whalers. Both Australia and New Zealand are parties to the Sanctuary. Both the Australian and New Zealand governments have legally challenged the Japanese whaling operations at the International Court of Justice. So were are these governments now, when their citizens and the Sanctuary are under attack from these poachers?”
Shortly after midnight on the 2nd of February, 2014, The Bob Barker and The Steve Irwin were ambushed by three harpoon ships poaching whales from the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. Over 9 hours, the harpoon ships crossed the bows of the Sea Shepherd ships a total of 86 times, trailing steel cables behind them.
This attack was orchestrated after 8 successful days of the Sea Shepherd ships holding position on the slipway of the Nisshin Maru, rendering the Japanese whaling fleet unable to poach whales.
Our volunteer crews are fueled by passion and dedication to upholding international conservation law, and are determined to continue protecting the sanctity of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.
On Sunday, March 2, at approximately 5:15 PM AEDT, the Sea Shepherd conservation ship The Bob Barker was ambushed by two harpoon vessels of the Japanese whaling fleet in an unprovoked attack at 72°56′ S, 178°10′ E, inside the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.
During the incident, the harpoon vessels crossed the bow of The Bob Barker a total of eleven times, towing steel cable in an effort to disable the propeller and rudder of the conservation ship. It was the third such attack on The Bob Barker this year.
The Bob Barker launched two small boats to defend their ship and attempt to cut the steel cables during the assault, sustaining damage of the antennas of the small boat in the process. The crew of the attacking harpoon ship also threw a bamboo spear at the crew of the small boat, but no Sea Shepherd crew was injured.
The two previous night time ambushes were aimed to deter Sea Shepherd from guarding the slipway of the Nisshin Maru, the factory vessel of the Japanese whaling fleet. However, in this most recent attack, the Nisshin Maru was 40 nautical miles away from conservation ship, and not even visible on radar.
Earlier on Sunday, the Sea Shepherd Fleet located the whalers for the fourth time this year. The factory vessel was found with a dead, protected Minke Whale onboard, and blood running from the side of the ship. Slabs of whale meat were also filmed on the deck, along with the severed head of a recently butchered whale.
Australian Environment Minister, Greg Hunt, and New Zealand Search and Rescue were both notified of the attack while it was underway.
Five days ago, Captain Peter Hammarstedt of The Bob Barker wrote an open letter to Minister Hunt, expressing his disappointment at the lack of action from the Australian government in relation to the recent attacks on his ship and crew, which includes nine Australian citizens.
Captain Hammarstedt said, “My plea to Greg Hunt has gone unanswered and now I can say without a doubt that the Australian government has failed in its duty to take any action against the poachers of the Japanese whaling fleet. They knew this attack was imminent, and yet they did nothing. Hunt’s broken promises to monitor the whaling operations are evident in the broken bodies of the whales killed today. The Australian government has abandoned not only the whales of the Southern Ocean, but also the brave Australian citizens who have stood up to protect them. Sea Shepherd will remain vigilant in our defence of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, enforcing international conservation law when governments refuse to take action.”
Shortly after midnight on the 2nd of February, 2014, The Bob Barker and The Steve Irwin were ambushed by three harpoon ships poaching whales from the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. Over 9 hours, the harpoon ships crossed the bows of the Sea Shepherd ships a total of 86 times, trailing steel cables behind them.
This attack was orchestrated after 8 successful days of the Sea Shepherd ships holding position on the slipway of the Nisshin Maru, rendering the Japanese whaling fleet unable to poach whales.
Our volunteer crews are fueled by passion and dedication to upholding international conservation law, and are determined to continue protecting the sanctity of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.
Inchiesta sotto copertura dell’agenzia ambientale britannica Ecostorm: reporter e cameramen hanno documentato come vengono massacrati i cetacei, specie protetta, per poi usarne la carne come esca per i pescecane
di MARGHERITA D’AMICO
La cattura di un delfino
I PESCATORI peruviani li chiamano sea-pig, maiali marini, e ne uccidono illegalmente a migliaia ogni anno allo scopo di farne esche per gli squali: un’indagine sotto copertura del giornalista inglese Jim Wickens per l’agenzia investigativa ambientale britannica Ecostorm, promossa dal Pulitzer Centre for Crisis Reporting in America, ha documentato una mattanza feroce e sistematica. In un’unica soluzione infatti, sullo stesso tratto di costa oceanica, si stermina una specie protetta, il delfino, al solo scopo di massacrarne un’altra, lo squalo, anch’essa minacciata e a rischio di estinzione.
Imbarcati per alcuni giorni su un peschereccio, a seguito di lunga negoziazione con uno skipper che accetta di ospitare le riprese in cambio di carburante e la categorica promessa di mantenere segreta l’identità dei cacciatori di frodo, reporter e cameramen assistono impotenti all’avvicinarsi dei delfini. Un branco gioca festoso sulla scia della nave che lambisce il Pacifico, al largo della costa del Perù. L’allegria dei cetacei dura fino al primo arpione, che ne colpisce subito uno avvolgendo gli altri in una chiazza scura, fra le grida di giubilo dell’equipaggio. Tirato a bordo, l’animale viene fatto a pezzi mentre ancora si dibatte. Chenchos, maiali grassi! Grida la ciurma indicando i branchi di delfini in arrivo, pronti a essere trasformati in bocconi a costo zero e senza che i passeggeri possano obiettare. Grassa e sanguinolenta, la loro carne è ideale per attrarre gli squali, soprattutto il blue shark, come spiega il comandante. Lui, d’abitudine, cattura tre delfini a viaggio e fa un totale di dodici viaggi l’anno. Ma le shark boat peruviane sono almeno cinquecento; si stimano così per difetto diecimila delfini uccisi ogni stagione: uno dei più consistenti stermini al mondo di queste specie, pescate anche in Giappone. Mentre in una nottata una barca può issare fra i dodici e i quindici squali.
E’ questa infatti la seconda e non meno cruenta parte della caccia, che avviene col favore delle tenebre, una volta accumulati sufficienti corpi di cetacei. Gli squali, richiesti da ristoranti in tutto il mondo, non godono di un trattamento migliore di quello riservato ai delfini. Sul finire della notte, dal ventre squarciato di una femmina che si dimena esce una quantità di piccoli, tutti già formati e guizzanti. Solo in quell’occasione i due reporter chiedono ai pescatori di restituirli al mare. Li guardano scomparire nei flutti come minuscole gocce d’argento, probabilmente inadatti a sopravvivere, ma, perlomeno, lungo la fragile onda della speranza.
In August of 2013, Sea Shepherd Australia Director Jeff Hansen visited the town of Broome, in Western Australia, to visit the community that fought alongside Sea Shepherd during Operation Kimberley Miinimbi, which ensured the protection of the worlds largest Humpback whale nursery off the coast of James Price Point.
During his trip, Jeff visited James Price Point, spent time with many of the groups and locals that fought hard for the protection of their land, spent a morning out at sea with a newborn Humpback whale and its mother and encountered a washed-up juvenile Humpback whale.
Sea Shepherd Australia was also able to host the local community one evening, and presented videos documenting the work that Sea Shepherd carries out not only in Australian waters, but in the Galapagos, the Gulf of Mexico, and Antarctica.
Il capo dello staff di Putin Sergei Ivanov accusa gli attivisti di aver violato più leggi internazionali. Il rompighiaccio Arctic Sunrise si trovava nell’offshore della Siberia per protestare contro l’estrazione del greggio sulla piattaforma di Gazprom. Arrestate 30 persone, compreso il cittadino italiano Cristiano D’Alessandro
“E’ un’organizzazione conosciuta, ma penso abbiano agito in una maniera troppo radicale”, così Sergei Ivanov, capo dello staff del presidente russo Vladimir Putin, in vista a Stoccolma, liquida la vicenda della nave di Greenpeace Arctic Sunrise. Il rompighiaccio si trovava al largo delle coste nord occidentali della Siberia per protestare contro la trivellazione nell’Artico da parte del colosso russo Gazprom. I 30 attivisti di Greenpeace, tra cui un italiano, Cristian D’Alessandro di Napoli, sono stati arrestati il 19 settembre dalla Guardia Costiera russa. Attualmente la nave sta venendo portata verso il porto più vicino, nella città di Murmansk. “Molti in Russia lo considerano come pirateria”, ha commentato il caso capo dello staff di Putin, sostenendo che gli attivisti di Greenpeace abbiano violato più leggi internazionali.
La Artic Sunrise è stata occupata dalle forze speciali russe calate sul ponte da un elicottero, il 19 settembre. Dopo una prima ispezione a bordo, afferma un portavoce del Fsb (Servizio federale per la sicurezza sostituitosi al Kgb),”è stato deciso di portare la nave a Murmansk per ulteriori procedimenti”. Il 18 settembre scorso nel Mar di Pechora, nelle acque dell’Artico, erano stati arrestati altri due attivisti ambientalisti, sbarcati dalla Artic Sunrise, che avevano tentato di scalare la piattaforma petrolifera russa Prirazlomnaya, di proprietà della compagnia petrolifera russa Gazprom che entro la fine di quest’anno dovrebbe iniziare l’attività di pompaggio del greggio. Un inizio di produzione più volte rinviato per motivi che la società petrolifera ha definito “tecnici” ma che diverse fonti dicono debbano attribuirsi alle azioni di disturbo del movimento ambientalista.
Secondo quanto riferisce Greenpeace, 15 uomini armati sono saliti a bordo dell’imbarcazione, radunando in maniera violenta 30 attivisti. Il capitano della nave, spiega Faiza Oulahsen, tra gli attivisti che si trovavano a bordo, è stato trattenuto separatamente sul ponte. Agli attivisti arrestati è stata negata sia l’assistenza legale che quella dei propri consolati. Le autorità russe potrebbero accusarli di pirateria, accusa per la quale, secondo la legge russa, si rischiano fino a 15 anni di carcere. In precedenza si era invece ipotizzata un’accusa di terrorismo. L’Arctic Sunrise viene ora rimorchiata per raggiungere, probabilmente entro lunedì, il porto di Murmansk. A Mosca si deciderà in merito alle accuse rivolte ai 30 membri dell’equipaggio, compreso Cristan D’Alessandro. Intanto Ermete Realacci, presidente della commissione Ambiente della Camera, ha presentato una interrogazione al ministro degli Esteri Emma Bonino, chiedendo di: ”Mettere in campo con la massima urgenza tutti gli strumenti di protezione diplomatica nei confronti del cittadino italiano e di tutto l’equipaggio trattenuto a bordo della nave dalle forze di polizia russe per garantirne l’incolumità e il rilascio immediato”.
Sea Shepherd Australia’s TV ad running across the Southern Cross network during September and October 2013. The Community Service Announcement features Sea Shepherd supporter and actress, Isabel Lucas talking about the slaughter of whales in the Southern Ocean and asks for people to join our campaign to defend these magnificent creatures
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