Odyssey For The Whales:
20,000 Miles, 68 Crew Members, And 83 Days At Sea For The Whales In The Southern Ocean Commentary by Captain Paul Watson
Founder and President of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Our arrival back in Melbourne marks the conclusion of our 2007-2008 voyages to the Southern Ocean, which began on December 5, 2007. The Steve Irwin covered a total of 20,090 nautical miles (37,205 kilometers) and made 3 return trips from Melbourne, Australia to the coast of Antarctica in 3½ months. In total, the ship was at sea for 83 days between December 5, 2007 and March 15, 2008. 20,090 miles is only 1,590 miles short of circumnavigating the globe at the Equator (21,600 miles). It was an epic voyage and an extremely effective campaign. We accomplished more than we thought we would, engaged in numerous confrontations with the Japanese whalers, and exposed the issue of illegal Japanese whaling to the entire world--especially in Japan where for the first time Japanese whaling was a frequent news topic in the media. It was a long, arduous, and complex voyage involving international organizational logistics and fundraising going back to February 2007, directly after the return of the last campaign from Antarctica. A total of 68 individuals from 12 different nations participated in the 3 voyages this season. 33% of the crew members were women. 16% of the crew members participated in all 3 voyages. The hardcore 16% include: Captain Paul Watson, 1st Officer Peter Brown, 2nd Officer Peter Hammarstedt, Quartermasters Mal Holland and Shannon Mann, Engineers Charles Hutchins, Willie Houtman, and Jessica Gartlan, Cooks Zin Rain and Amber Paarman, and Deckhand Benjamin Potts. Simon Houtman was also the only media person to go out on all 3 voyages. The crew came from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the USA, the Netherlands, Sweden, South Africa, Italy, Great Britain, Belgium, Spain, and Japan. 33 crew members—2 short of half the crew--were Australian.
Japan Acknowledges Sea Shepherd’s Defense of the Whales The Japanese fleet has returned to port in Tokyo with the remains of 551 whales illegally slaughtered in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. Of their self allotted quota of 935 whales, the whalers killed 551. Of their self allotted quota of 50 Fin whales they took zero and of their self allotted quota of 50 Humpback whales they killed absolutely none. Of a total objective of 1035 whales kills they failed to take 484 whales. “Japan took only 53% of their target,” said Captain Paul Watson. “I think it is safe to say that the Sea Shepherd crew seriously affected their profits this season. My crew and I are elated that 484 whales are now swimming free that would otherwise have been viciously slaughtered. And we are especially pleased that not a single Fin or Humpback died and that is a complete victory.” Japan blamed the failure of its whaling fleet to net little more than half its target catch this year to “relentless interference” from environmentalists and described the situation as "regrettable." "It is truly regrettable that we could not carry out the project as planned," said Agriculture Deputy Minister Toshiro Shirasu. "Sabotage by activists is a major factor behind our failure to achieve our target," a fisheries agency official said. WELL DONE THE CAPTAIN AND CREW OF THE STEVE IRWIN!
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