12-12-09
Environment
Claudia
- 9 hours ago - blogs.myspace.com
Friday December 11, 2009, 6:13 am
The Japanese government has deployed two government security ships to protect their illegal whaling interests in the Southern Ocean.
Captain Paul Watson is not surprised at the news. Japan sent a security ship last season and the fact that they have sent two ships this year is a very positive development for the Sea Shepherd campaign. Says Captain Watson, "It means they are taking us seriously and that they see us as a serious threat to their illegal profiteering from the slaughter of whales in the Southern Whale Sanctuary. It also means that the cost of supporting this illegal activity has greatly increased and thus it means that whaling is now even more of a serious economic liability than ever before."
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society understands that the only way to shut down illegal whaling is by speaking the language that governments and corporations understand - economics.
"It's all about profit and loss and we need to keep the losses exceeding the profits and we have done just that for the last three years and this will be our fourth year. We intend to bankrupt the bastards," said Captain Watson.
"The fact is that this is a violation of the Antarctic Treaty to send armed military personal into the Antarctic Treaty Zone and it is a violation of Australian law to send armed police or military to attack Australian citizens in the Australian Antarctic Territory," Captain Watson continued. "My question to Foreign Minister Stephen Smith is this: what do you intend to do to defend the legal and civil rights of fifteen Australian citizens in the Australian Antarctic Territory?"
The Sea Shepherd vessel Ady Gil should be able to outrun any Japanese security vessel.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is amazed that whereas the Japanese government is prepared to use violence to defend their illegal whaling operations, the governments of nations supposedly committed to protecting endangered whales do absolutely nothing.
"Diplomacy has failed for a quarter of a century. Japan does whatever Japan wants to do. You don't save whales by hanging banners and appointing a so-called whaling envoy. You don't save whales by posturing once a year at the IWC meetings and you don't save whales by issuing media releases about how committed the government is to defending whales," said Captain Watson. "It is now what it was in September 2007 when Peter Garrett accused the Howard government of doing nothing. He said at the time it was all smoke and mirrors, all pretty pictures and all talk and no action. Two years later with Garrett in charge it still is what Garrett said it was under the Howard government. Do we really need to see fifteen Australian citizens assaulted and hauled off to Japan in chains before any action is taken? I believe if that does happen, nothing will still happen. The so called ‘conservation’ nations have become little Japanese lap dogs that do what they're told despite their pathetic barking."
11-25-09
Environment
Cal
- 9 hours ago - enn.com
11-25-09
Environment
Katie
- 4 hours ago - uk.reuters.com
11-12-09
Environment
Daphna
- 7 hours ago - environmentalgraffiti.com
10-29-09
Animals
Maria
- 9 hours ago - cbc.ca
Do i need to say anything? This is so sad.And whales keep dying more and more lately,by starvation,beaching,shipstrikes,sonars,pollution and nets.Grrrrrrrr
Environment
Claudia
- 48 seconds ago - news.com.au
10-24-09
Animals
Maria
- 13 hours ago - expressbuzz.com
10-22-09
Environment
Claudia
- 1 hour ago - oceansentry.org
Conservation groups based in Alaska have accused the Obama administration of repeating the mistakes of George Bush after it gave the conditional go-ahead for Shell to begin drilling offshore for oil and natural gas in the environmentally sensitive Beaufort Sea.
The Minerals Management Service, part of the federal Interior Department, yesterday gave Shell the green light to begin exploratory wells off the north coast of Alaska in an Arctic area that is home to large numbers of endangered bowhead whales and polar bears, as well as walruses, ice seals and other species.
Whale experts warn that the bowhead stocks are sensitive to noise and could be driven further off shore by the disruption of drilling. That in turn would have an impact on their chances of survival, which have already been harmed by early side-effects of global warming.
There are also fears that any drilling could lead to oil spills which would be impossible to clean up amid the Arctic's broken sea ice
Read full story here http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/oct/20/us-shell-drilling-arctic
Claudia For the Oceans (307)
This is the worst decision ever approved
10-22-09
Environment
Claudia
- 57 minutes ago - fis.com
Almost 11.5 tonnes of lobster was fished between 7 August and 8 October in the Galapagos Marine Reserve (RMG), according to a Fisheries Monitoring Process report by the Galapagos National Park (PNG) Directorate.
Some 9,165. 61 kilograms of red or pronghorn spiny lobster (Panulirus penicillatus) and 2,322.11 kg of green spiny lobster (Panulirus gracilis) were captured In the first two months of the fishing season, which concludes next 13 January.
The fishery will be opened for 160 days, or until the maximum catch quota established – 30 metric tonnes of red or pronghorn spiny lobster – is reached.
No quota was fixed for the fishing of green spiny lobster.
The following data was registered In the three ports authorised for lobster tail landings:
Ayora Port, Santa Cruz: 4,115.41 kg;
Villamil Port, Isabela: 3,691.39 kg;
Baquerizo Moreno Port, San Cristobal: 3,680.92 kg.
In addition, 98.12 kg of lobster tail were seized, for different reasons: they did not fulfill the set minimum size for capture, which is 15 cm; they were pregnant or presented signs of having had their pleopods (abdominal legs) brushed or cut, Periodico de Negocios del Ecuador reports.
The minimum catch size was fixed at 26 cm in length overall, from head to tail, and tail size at 15 cm
Fishers who target lobsters should be registered in the PNG and be in possession of the original copy of their valid license, which accredits them as artisanal fishers of the Marine Reserve.
Meanwhile, the inspections carried out by the PNG Directorate to confirm that the pronghorn spiny lobster fishery within the RMG fulfills the regulations established is not limited solely to monitorings of the product in landing wharves, nor to inspections made at fishing sites, but also involves raids with the Environmental Police in seafood restaurants and other retail sites.
During the last raid undertaken, 16 commercial establishments at Ayora Port were inspected.
In four of these establishments, lobsters that did not fulfill the minimum size for capture were indeed found, as were pregnant lobsters and those that had had their pleopods cut or brushed.
Related article:
- Lobster capture authorised for 160 days in Galapagos
http://www.fis.com/fis/worldnews/worldnews.asp?l=e&country=0&special=&monthyear=8-2009&day=10&id=33390&ndb=1&df=1
10-19-09
Environment
Daphna
- 14 hours ago - ecolocalizer.com
10-10-09
http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/news-091006-1.html
The Sea Shepherd Dilemma Down Under
By Captain Paul Watson
Way back in October 2007, I had urged thousands of Australians to vote for Kevin Rudd and Peter Garrett’s Labor Party. Why? Because they promised to get tough on illegal Japanese whaling. They promised to take Japan to court. They promised to send a ship down to the Southern Ocean to monitor the illegal activities. They had severely criticized the former Howard government for not doing enough.
Since then Rudd and Garrett have demonstrated that they have done far less for the whales than former Environment Minister Ian Campbell had done.
Under Campbell, Australia was the toughest voice at the annual meetings of the International Whaling Commission. Under Garrett, the whales have become a very minor concern. Under Campbell, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society was given encouragement and support. Under Garrett, we have been disparaged, and now we are being harassed as the Rudd government seeks to sabotage Sea Shepherd efforts to defend the whales.
Peter Garrett does not want our ship the Steve Irwin to return to the Southern Ocean in December. Why? Because the government of Japan has requested that the Australian government intervene to prevent us from returning to the Southern Oceans.
Legally, they can’t stop the Steve Irwin from departing for the Antarctic coast but it appears they believe they have found a way to sabotage our mission.
And thus I, and my 1st officer, Peter Hammarstedt of Sweden, have had our visas to enter Australia cancelled and our new applications denied. My Bosun, Dan Bebawi of the U.K. was ordered off his plane at London Heathrow and was told that his visa was no longer valid. After a week and an expensive re-issue of his ticket, he was given a limited visa.
The story is not so simple for Peter Hammarstedt and I.
The Immigration department is now demanding that Peter and I provide police reports from Norway, Canada, and the United States in order to proceed further on the visa application. Once these reports are received, we will be informed of additional requirements.
In other words, they will make us jump through bureaucratic hoops for months if need be to prevent us from re-joining our ship in Australia.
I do not have a single felony conviction on my record from any nation in the world. There is not a single warrant out for my arrest. Japan has not pressed charges. Our flag nation of the Netherlands has not charged us with anything. I have entered and reentered Australia dozens of times without incident, but now only a few weeks after Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith was given an ultimatum by Japan to stop Sea Shepherd, Peter Hammarstedt and I have found that our return to our own ship has been blocked without any reason given.
This year our campaign has been named Operation Waltzing Matilda in recognition of the fact that the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has received overwhelming support from the people of Australia.
Australia has been our base for operations against Japan’s illegal whaling operations since 2005 and Australians have demonstrated that Australia is the most passionate nation on Earth when it comes to defending the great whales from the illegal and viciously cruel whaling activities of the Japanese whaling fleet.
Unfortunately, this support from the people for the whales is not reflected in the actions of the government of Australia.
The Rudd government has turned its back on all the “get tough on whaling promises” they made before the election and has now become more submissively loyal to the demands of the Japanese government than to the concerns of the Australian people that elected them.
The Steve Irwin left Brisbane this month on a tour of Australia to raise support for Operation Waltzing Matilda. Under the command of Dutch captain Alex Cornelissen, the ship is presently berthed at Circular Quay in Sydney across from the Sydney Opera House.
The Steve Irwin is scheduled to visit Melbourne and Hobart before reaching Fremantle, the port where the ship will depart in December for the coast if Antarctica.
Unfortunately, I cannot be onboard my own ship during this tour until a visa is granted, something that was simply routinely granted prior to last month. I am now being informed by the Australian Visa office that this “harassment” is routine. They need to establish that I am of “good character” prior to issuing a visa.
Of course, the Australian Federal Police could and most likely already have obtained all the records on me that they require. Despite this, I need to spend hundreds of dollars and weeks of time tracking down the police reports on my “character.”
Strangely enough, I have found that it is easier to get a police report if you have an actual criminal record than if you have no record at all. Since I have never been convicted of any crime in the United States, I have been told that I need an F.B.I. report saying that I have never been convicted of any crime in the United States. This requires being fingerprinted and filling out a l
10-5-09
Environment
Claudia
- 53 minutes ago - californiaskywatch.com
10-5-09
Environment
Claudia
- 52 minutes ago - brisbanetimes.com.au
Until now, authorities had let Captain Watson, who holds a US passport, come and go from his Australian-based ship on a tourist visa.
The department has told him he must satisfy exhaustive new good-character requirements to get a business visa.
An email exchange shows the Australian Embassy in Washington wants Captain Watson's bill of legal health from Norway, where his group claims it sank whaling ships.
Captain Watson told an embassy official last week that he suspected serious political motivations were behind the demands for his police, court and criminal records.
''I am not wanted on any warrants,'' he said. ''I have never received a felony conviction.''
Coincidentally, stalled International Whaling Commission peace talks resume today, in which Australia is trying to persuade Japan to end its Southern Ocean whaling.
Japan has repeatedly asked the Rudd Government to move against Sea Shepherd over clashes with its whaling fleet in the Antarctic.
Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada renewed the call for action when he met his Australian counterpart Stephen Smith recently.
This year, the Australian Federal Police raided the Sea Shepherd's ship, Steve Irwin, in Hobart, seizing records and videos at Japan's request.
An AFP investigation is continuing, and Australia told the International Whaling Commission meeting in July it could lead to court action.
As Sea Shepherd opens its campaign for the Antarctic summer, the Steve Irwin is due to arrive at Circular Quay, Sydney, today from Brisbane, where damage received in collisions with Japanese whaling ships was repaired.
Captain Watson expected to take part in a tour of capital cities with the ship, before leaving from Perth for the Antarctic, but said he would not get a visa in time to join the tour, if he got one at all.
He said the ship's first officer, Peter Hammarsted, of Sweden, also had to go through criminal checks, and its bosun, Briton Dan Bebawi, was initially refused entry.
''Even Japan has not charged me with a crime, so I do not see how there can be any other reason for this except for politics,'' Captain Watson said.
10-4-09
Animals
Tom
- 1 hour ago - tinyurl.com
9-12-09
Animals
Angela
- 13 hours ago - foxnews.com
This post was modified from its original form on 12 Sep, 1:35
9-12-09
Animals
Angela
- 13 hours ago - enn.com
Environment
Cher
- 9 hours ago - wdcs.org
