SEA SHEPHERD CONSERVATION SOCIETY
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is a non-profit marine conservation organization based in Friday Harbor, Washington in the United States that utilizes direct action tactics. The society was founded in 1977 by Paul Watson, an early member of Greenpeace, after a dispute with that organization over their lack of intervention.
It operated vessels it called Neptune's Navy, but after the seizure of the RV Farley Mowat by the Canadian government, currently operates the MV Steve Irwin and the smaller Ady Gil. The group has received support for its tactics against fishing, whaling, and seal hunting, while critics have condemned the violent nature of the actions.Operations have included scuttling and disabling whaling vessels at harbour, intervening in Canadian seal hunts, ramming other vessels, throwing glass bottles of foul smelling butyric acid on the decks of vessels at sea, boarding of a whaling vessel while at sea, and seizure and destruction of drift nets at sea. In 2008, Animal Planet began filming the weekly series Whale Wars based on the group's encounters with the Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean.
According to its mission statement, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society "uses innovative direct-action tactics to investigate, document, and take action when necessary to expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas".Direct actions have included scuttling and disabling commercial whaling vessels at harbour, ramming other vessels, throwing glass bottles of butyric acid on the decks of vessels at sea, boarding of whaling vessels while at sea, and seizure and destruction of drift nets at sea. As of 2009, Paul Watson has said that the organization has sunk ten whaling ships while also destroying millions of dollars worth of equipment. He considers the actions to be against "criminal operations" and has called the group an "anti-poaching organization".
Critics point out that Sea Shepherd's actions constitute violations of international law.Sea Shepherd has responded by stating that its actions constitute enforcement of international maritime law under the United Nations World Charter for Nature A 2008 academic paper by researchers at Monash University concluded that group "may be best categorized as a vigilante group, because they say they are seeking to enforce a legal status quo because of states' and the international community's inabilities or unwillingness to do so."
Attacking and sinking other ships has led to reports of injuries on behalf of attacked sailors and the Sea Shepherd crew; including concussions and complications from chemical attacks.
In testimony on "The Threat of Eco-Terrorism" given to the US Congress in 2002, Sea Shepherd is the first group mentioned for having "attacked commercial fishing operations".An earlier Canadian intelligence report on "Single Issue Terrorism" stated that "Watson and his supporters have been involved in a number of militant actions against whale hunting, driftnet fishing, seal hunting and other related issues" and mentions "activities against logging operations in Canada".The group has been accused of eco-terrorism by the Japanese government.Due to the 2008 operations against Canadian seal hunters, Danny Williams, premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, called Watson a terrorist and said that the Sea Shepherds were not welcome in the province.Before founding Sea Shepherd, Watson was an early member of Greenpeace. He left in 1977 after being expelled from the board of directors due to his confrontational methods.Greenpeace has criticized Sea Shepherd for the group's tactics,particularly regarding its interaction with whaling ships while at sea. The rival environmental group maintains Sea Shepherd is a violent organization whose tactics may endanger the lives of fishermen and whalers.Greenpeace has called Watson a violent extremist and will no longer comment on his activities.Greenpeace is also critical of the group on its website and state: "By making it easy to paint anti-whaling forces as dangerous, piratical terrorists, Sea Shepherd could undermine the forces within Japan which could actually bring whaling to an end".Both groups protest the Japanese whale hunts in the Southern Ocean but Greenpeace has a policy to not assist Sea Shepherd in finding the whalers.
The first direct action undertaken by Sea Shepherd was against Canadian seal hunting in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In March 1979, 32 crew aboard the Sea Shepherd protested the hunt and eight members were arrested after going on the ice to spray the pups with coloured dye. The dye was organic and the intention was to render the pelts worthless to traders.
Sea Shepherd protested a Canadian seal hunt in the Gulf of St. Lawrence off the north coast of Newfoundland in March 1983. The arrival of the group led to a one day suspension of the hunt. On March 25, the Sea Shepherd II was ordered back by Canadian authorities after the vessel came within one half-mile of seal hunters. Watson promised to scuttle the ship if they attempted to board it. The Sea Shepherd II was fortified with barbed wire and a water cannon.On March 27, the vessel was stuck in ice and Watson and three others walked across the ice to Cheticamp where they were later arrested. 15 officers boarded the ship from a Canadian Coast Guard vessel with the use of tear gas and smoke bombs. The crew was arrested without any resistance or injuries. They were charged with conspiracy to commit mischief and conspiracy to commit extortion.
In March 1995, the group protested the seal hunt in the Magdalen Islands. While staying in the town of Cap-aux-Meules, witnesses reported that 200 club-wielding fishermen stormed the hotel where the group was staying. The group, including Martin Sheen, were escorted to the airport under a heavy police guard. The attackers trashed the room in a two-hour rampage while Watson and Sheen caught a flight to another island.
In 2005, Sea Shepherd campaigned against that year's seal hunt in Canada, which includes a boycott of Canadian seafood products.Sea Shepherd crew went onto the ice to document the sealing and were confronted by some sealers who punched and hit the crew with spiked clubs called hak-a-piks.Ten of the protestors were arrested for being too close to sealing without a permit.Sea Shepherd recorded the incident and sent the video to police but say the sealers were not charged.
The MV Farley Mowat operated during Canadian seal hunting in March and April 2008. The group contends it was in international waters observing Canada's seal hunt while Canadian authorities allege the vessel was harassing the seal hunters.
On 29 March 2008 the MV Farley Mowat and a Canadian Coast Guard ship collided.The coast guard icebreaker had put itself between the Farley Mowat and a smaller seal hunter's boat. The group says their vessel was rammed while the Canadian Fisheries and Oceans department says the coast guard ship was grazed by the Farley Mowat.
The captain and first officer were arrested for bringing their vessel to within one-half nautical mile of seal hunters on March 30, April 11, and April 12. The location of the boat at the time of the seizure is controversial. Sea Shepherd says the boat was seized illegally in international waters,while the Fisheries minister says that the boat was seized in Canadian waters. On 2 July 2008, they entered a plea of not guilty. The lawyer set to defend the Captain and First Mate withdrew from the case.They did not want to be represented by a Sydney lawyer and were not represented during their four-day trial. On June 30, they were convicted of endangering lives by bringing the Farley Mowat to within one-half nautical mile from sealing activities without an official permit.The judge found that they had been warned to back away from the sealers but ignored the radioed commands. The MV Farley Mowat, which was forfeit and to be sold by the Canadian Government, remains unsold in Sydney, Nova Scotia.
Sea Shepherd has protested against whaling throughout the world. Their first actions were against illegal whalers. The group has also acted against whaling by countries who they feel have not followed the 1986 internationally recognized nonbinding moratorium on commercial whaling. Dr. Sidney Holt, formerly of the International Whaling Commission and a chief architect of the moratorium, has called Watson's involvement in anti-whaling an "absolute disaster" for the cause. He referenced "blowback"for those who want to see an end to whaling by "playing piracy on the ocean".
Sea Shepherd spent part of 1979 hunting for the whaling ship Sierra which was notorious for having undetermined ownership, ignoring whaling agreements, hunting indiscriminately, and using non-explosive harpoons.To increase the effect of a ramming the bow of the Sea Shepherd was filled with approximately 100 tonnes of cement. In July, the Sierra was found off the port of Oporto, Portugal. Sea Shepherd put non-essential crew ashore and manned by three crew (Paul Watson, Peter Woof, and Jerry Doran), returned to ram and cripple the Sierra. The Sea Shepherd then made for England but was intercepted by the Portuguese navy and escorted back to Oporto. The ship and crew were not arrested but the ship was held for what was called an "informal inquiry".The Sierra was able to make it back to port for extensive repairs. In Oporto, Watson learned that one of the Sea Shepherd crew, Richard Morrison, had been beaten and left severely concussed by members of the Sierra crew In December, Watson and Peter Woof returned to Portugal intending to steal the seized ship. They found the ship had been stripped of equipment and the Portuguese police advised them to leave as they could not guarantee their safety. Watson decided to scuttle the ship rather than have it be sold for scrap and potentially used to compensate the owners of the Sierra.
While in Lisbon in February 1980, the Sierra was sunk with limpet mines.The Sierra's chief engineer, Luis Mendes, told reporters that he believed "the blast was set by crew members of the Sea Shepherd".In a 2004 interview Paul Watson said, "Meanwhile, the Sierra had been repaired and was ready to return to sea. It never did so: on February 6, 1980, my crew blew the bottom out of her and permanently ended her career. We traded a ship for a ship, but it was a great trade because we also traded our ship for the lives of hundreds of whales."This statement has not been independently verified.
In April 1980, explosives were used to sink the whalers Isba I and Isba II in Vigo, Spain. Watson said that the boats were "victims of magnetic mines, one of them homemade, which had been planted by the same trio that destroyed the Sierra".Sea Shepherd does show these vessels on the tally of vessels "sunk" on the side of the Farley Mowat and the back of some Sea Shepherd shirts. The whalers Susan and Theresa are also shown on these tallies. No one was injured during the attacks.
In July 1981, The Sea Shepherd II sailed for the Bering Sea with the intention of harassing the Russian whaler Sevetny. The IWC had authorized the a Russian take of 179 migrating whales off the Siberian coast.On August 10, the group photographed what they considered an illegal whaling operation at an onshore packing plant.The Sea Shepherd II was pursued towards American waters by Russian helicopter gunships and a frigate. The Russians signaled for the Sea Shepherd vessel to stop, dropped flares on the deck, and attempted to foul its prop.The Sea Shepherd II remained in the area for several days despite the Russian warning of "decisive action" and potential espionage charges.
In the summer of 1982, Watson offered a reporter an exclusive story on the group's plan to ram a Russian vessel. The reporter informed authorities and the ramming did not take place. On September 13, 1982, Watson dropped paint filled light bulbs from an airplane onto a Russian vessel to protest the country's whaling.The ship was positioned off the coast of Washington state's Cape Flattery and believed to have been monitoring a nearby submarine base.Watson and Sea Shepherd were charged with violations of Canada's Aeronautics Act. The charges were dismissed by a provincial court judge because they did not specify where the act had occurred.
In late December 1992, O.R.C.A Force (Sea Shepherd) sabotaged the whaler Nybraena in response to Norway's decision to resume commercial whaling of minke whales in 1993. Police found the vessel's engine room nearly full of water at her moorings in the Lofoten Islands but were able to keep it afloat.The crew was at a Christmas party during the attempted sinking which Watson described as a "Christmas gift to the Atlantic and to the children of the world, so that they can have whales in the future".Watson and Lisa Distefanowere charged with gross destruction of property.Five years later Norway sentenced Watson and DiStefano, in absentia, to four months prison. Watson was held in Holland on a Norwegian issued Interpol extradition notice but after 80 days in detention the notice was denied.
In July 1994, Sea Shepherd operated the ship Whales Forever off the coast of Norway to protest the renewed commercial whaling of minke whales. The ship was intercepted by the Norwegian Coast Guard patrol ship Andenes since it had not requested permission to enter Norwegian waters. Sea Shepherd claimed the vessel was rammed in international waters while the Coast Guard claimed that Whales Forever had rammed their vessel in Vestfjord. Both ships were slightly damaged but injuries were not reported. The Andenes fired two nonexplosive warning shots and it was reported that they used explosive charges under the hull of Whales Forever. The Sea Shepherd's ship was then chased towards the Shetland Islands. The next day, the Foreign Ministry issued a communique announcing the triumphant victory against the "terrorist" Paul Watson.
In 1994, the Sea Shepherd unsuccessfully attempted to scuttle another Norwegian whaling vessel called the Senet at its wharf in Gressvic.
In 1986, Sea Shepherd went to document and obstruct whaling in the Faroe Islands. Known as the Grindadrap, the Faroese drive pilot whales ashore and kill them with knives. The police say the vessel defied orders to leave territorial waters and that they were fired upon with pistols while attempting to board. The Faroese police responded with tear gas canisters. A spokesman for the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society said they were driven away when the police fired machine guns and tear gas. The spokesperson also denied having weapons on board.
In 2000, Sea Sheperd had been trying to put pressure on the Faroe Islands in order to stop the hunting of pilot whales.
In November 1986, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society claimed responsibility for actions against a whaling station in Hvalfjörður, Iceland. Computers were destroyed with sledgehammers and records were doused with acid. The Hvalur 6 and Hvalur 7, two of the nation's four whaling ships, were sunk by opening their seacocks while they were moored in Reykjavík harbour.[100][101][102] Watson was told to leave Iceland after having turned himself in to the police for the incident. Kristjan Loftsson of Iceland's largest whaling company told The New Yorker that Watson is persona non grata in the country
In 1998, The group and other activists protested the Makah tribe's reestablished traditional hunt of Gray whales off the coast of the Olympic Peninsula. The Makah have received international sanction and federal support for a plan to take 20 whales over the course of five years. The hunts had not occurred in 70 years due to the diminishment of the whale population by commercial whaling. In an attempt to scare the whales from the area, the group originally intended to use underwater speakers blasting the sounds of killer whales as well as a small submarine painted to look like a killer whale.
On November 2, police arrested four protesters who entered the reservation during the demonstration. All four were later released. Angry Makah seized an inflatable boat belonging to the group and threw rocks at the Sea Shepherd's 95-foot former Coast Guard vessel Sirenian.
The Sea Shepherd Society operated two ships in a standoff that had lasted 57 days before coming to an agreement to withdraw on November 26.
In its anti-whaling efforts, Sea Shepherd attempts to deter Japanese ships that hunt minke and fin whales in the Southern Ocean In 2005, Japan decided to double their quota from the previous year to 935 minke whales and ten endangered fin whales. In 2007, they planned a take of 50 fin whales and 50 endangered humpback whales. Sea Shepherd's activities reduced catches in 2007 and 2008 to 60–75% of expected figures. Five Japanese crewmembers were injured these years, and police have launched an international search for four Sea Shepherd crewmembers.
The Japanese fleet consists of a factory ship, two spotter vessels, and three harpoon boats. The whalers say that lethal research is needed to accurately measure the whale population, health, and response to global warming and is essential for the sustainable management of the world's cetacean stocks Australia and New Zealand have started a non-lethal whale research program to show that the Japanese lethal research program is no longer necessary. Sea Shepherd and other environmental groups dispute the Japanese statement of research "as a disguise for commercial whaling, which is banned." Meat from the hunt is available at Tokyo's famed Tsukiji fish market and Japanese restaurants
In October 2003, Sea Shepherd documented the method used to kill dolphins in the Japanese historic whaling town of Taiji. They say that Japanese fishermen use unnecessarily brutal methods to hunt dolphins.[109]
In November, two members, including Watson's wife, were arrested for trying to free whales penned in a bay. It was also unclear exactly what species was involved. Watson stated they were dolphins, but Japanese officials said they were probably pilot whales.
In 2004, The Cetacean Society International said that the Sea Shepherd's release of captured dolphins "played into the hands of the authorities" and prevented other groups from documenting the activities at Taiji. In 2009, Ian Campbell, a Sea Shepherd board member, called for a boycott of Japan's 2016 Olympic bid because of the reported 23,000 dolphins killed each year at Taiji
Between December 2005 and January 2006, a crew of 43 aboard the Farley Mowat attempted to stop the Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean. During the campaign, the Farley Mowat 'sideswiped' a Japanese supply ship called the Oriental Bluebird. No damage or injuries were reported.New Zealand Conservation Minister Chris Carter criticized Sea Shepherd as irresponsible for using tactics such as running into the other vessel with a "can opener" device. The device is a seven-foot steel blade on the starboard bow and designed to damage the hull of an enemy ship.
Ian Campbell, Australia's environment minister, said Watson's threats to attack the Japanese fleet reflected poorly on legitimate anti-whaling groups and risked "setting back the cause of whale conservation many years". After Watson called the New Zealand government "contemptible" for allowing Japan to continue killing whales, Campbell called Watson a "lunatic" and "rogue pirate on the seas." Watson dispatched a press release that he would stop his attacks if the governments of New Zealand and Australia would initiate legal action to stop the whaling.
On January 16, the organisation declared that their fuel supplies had run out and that they were heading to shore. They claimed credit for chasing the whalers from whaling grounds and hindering operations for over 15 days. The vessel covered more than 4000 km over six-week period.
In February 2007, the Robert Hunter and Farley Mowat participated in "Operation Leviathan" against Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean. The group stated it had spotted the Japanese vessel Kaiko Maru as it pursued a pod of minke whales and moved its vessels to intercept the hunt. The Institute for Cetacean Research in Tokyo said the Robert Hunter rammed the Kaiko Maruthe and that afterwards, both Sea Shepherd ships came to either side of the Kaiko Maru, stopping her from continuing. The Japanese stated that they then threw smoke pots on to the deck and released ropes and nets. The Japanese had already put out several distress calls due to a propeller they say was damaged during the attacks. Watson told the press that the Farley Mowat chased the whaler into the ice and that the Kaiko Maru then sideswiped the Robert Hunter to push the ship into the ice. The Robert Hunter sustained a one metre gash in the starboard bow region according to Watson. He also said that shortly after that the Kaiko Maru reversed and collided deliberately into the port stern section of the Robert Hunter causing a metre gash in the hull.
The 2007-08 Antarctic campaign was named Operation Migaloo, after the only known albino humpback in the world. This campaign was the focus of the first season of Animal Planet's reality TV series Whale Wars, which premiered on November 7, 2008.
On January 15, 2008, after attempting to entangle the whaling vessel's propeller and throwing containers of butyric acid onto the decks, two Sea Shepherd members, Benjamin Potts and Giles Lane, from the Sea Shepherd vessel MV Steve Irwin boarded the Japanese whaling vessel Yushin Maru No. 2 from a rigid-hulled inflatable boat. The pair were delivering a letter advising the Japanese that they were "whaling illegally" with the hope of creating an international incident.The Japanese responded by saying that the men would be held until Sea Shepherd stopped what they called "dangerous and illegal activities".
The crew of the Yushin Maru No. 2 detained the men for two days, before turning them over to the Australian customs vessel MV Oceanic Viking on the orders of Japanese authorities; subsequently, the Steve Irwin rendezvoused with the Oceanic Viking and the two crewmembers were returned to Sea Shepherd. On April 9, first mate Peter Brown was described in a newspaper article as saying that the incident only became a hostage situation because the Sea Shepherd vessel left the scene, so the Japanese would be forced to hold the two crewmen longer. He was also quoted as saying, "It's all giant street theater."
On March 3, Sea Shepherd members threw bottles of butyric acid and packages of slippery methyl cellulose powder onto the Japanese vessel Nisshin Maru. Australian foreign minister Stephen Smith condemned Sea Shepherd's actions for potentially causing injury The Japanese Government called in the Australian and Netherlands ambassadors to protest the actions and urge those countries to prevent any violence. Watson said: "They are so full of crap. We filmed and photographed the entire thing. Not a single thing landed anywhere near their crew ... It is their way of trying to get sympathy."
The International Whaling Commission issued a statement on March 8, 2008 that "called upon the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society to refrain from dangerous actions that jeopardise safety at sea, and on vessels and crews concerned to exercise restraint."The statement also reiterated earlier IWC resolutions from May and July 2007 that read in part, "The commission and its contracting governments do not condone and in fact condemn any actions that are a risk to human life and property in relation to the activities of vessels at sea."The Australian Government also called for all parties to "excerise restraint" and "responsible behaviour" in the Southern Ocean.
On March 17, 2008 Paul Watson said that he was shot by the Japanese crew or coast guard personnel during the campaign. The incident is heavily documented during the show in the final episode, and the first six episodes are covered as a buildup to what is portrayed as the major incident during the campaign. The footage in "Whale Wars" shows Watson standing on the deck of the Steve Irwin while Sea Shepherd crew throws glass bottles filled with butyric acid at the Nisshin Maru whaling vessel.The Japanese respond by throwing flashbang devices. Watson is then shown reaching inside his jacket and bullet-proof vest and remarking "I've been hit." Back inside the bridge of the Steve Irwin, a metal fragment is found inside the vest.The Institute of Cetacean Research has dismissed Sea Shepherd's statements as lies. The Institute and Coast Guard said that they utilized seven flashbang devices designed to flash and make noise in the air without causing harm.Neither of the two conflicting accounts have been independently verified. The Australian Foreign Affairs Department had condemned "actions by crew members of any vessel that cause injury". Two media releases were made on the same day from the office. One said that the Australian Embassy in Tokyo had been informed by the Japanese that the whalers had "fired warning shots"while the updated version used the phrase "'warning balls' – also known as 'flashbangs' – had been fired".
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department obtained arrest warrants for three Sea Shepherd crew (Daniel Bebawi, Jon Batchelor and Ralph Koo), for allegedly attempting to foul the propeller of the Keiko Maru and throwing smoke bombs. Japanese authorities also requested to have the men placed on the Interpol 'red notice' list.
The 2008-2009 Antarctic campaign was named Operation Musashi after the 17th-century Japanese strategist Miyamoto Musashi.On December 4, 2008, actress Daryl Hannah joined Sea Shepherd's crew aboard the Steve Irwin to take part in this season's operation.
On February 6, 2009, Watson reported that the Steve Irwin had collided with the Yushin Maru 2 as the Steve Irwin tried to block its attempt to prevent the transfer of a dead whale up the slipway of the factory ship Nisshin Maru. As Watson explained the incident, "We were in the process of blocking the transfer from the Yushin Maru 2 when the Yushin Maru 1 moved directly in front of the bow to block us. I could not turn to starboard without hitting the Yushin Maru 1. I tried to back down but the movement of the Yushin Maru 2 made the collision unavoidable."[138] The Japanese whalers blamed Sea Shepherd for the crash, characterizing the incident as a "deliberate ramming."[139][140] The collision occurred while filming an episode of Whale Wars.
Also in February, the president of the company overseeing the whale hunt used a media release to call upon the government of Australia to prevent what he considered violations of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. He expressed concerns over what he called "deliberately ramming vessels and trying to disable their propellers". When the Steve Irwin returned to Hobart, Australian Federal Police seized film footage and the ships logs.
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