Sea Shepherd Locates Whale Poachers: CONFIRMS WHALES HAVE BEEN KILLED INSIDE WHALE SANCTUARY
Source: Seashepherd.org
The Sea Shepherd Fleet has located all five vessels of the Japanese whale poaching fleet, including the Japanese factory ship, the Nisshin Maru, inside the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.
The Steve Irwin, The Bob Barker and The Sam Simon are now in pursuit of the whaling fleet, driving them away from their intended poaching grounds, disrupting their illegal hunt, and preparing to shut down their whale-killing operations.
Captain of The Steve Irwin, Sid Chakravarty, said, When science requires you to grotesquely bloat up the bodies of protected whales, stroll across a deck smeared with their blood, hauling their body parts with hooks and chains, and discarding their remains over the side, then that science has no place in the 21st Century. The Nisshin Maru is an out-and-out butcher ship and a floating butchery has no place in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. Sea Shepherd will remain relentless in driving these fake, desperate and subverting scientists back to Tokyo."
The Japanese whale poaching fleet operates in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary in contravention of the 1986 global moratorium on commercial whaling under the guise of scientific research. In June 2013, the government of New Zealand joined the Australian governments challenge to the legality of Japans whale hunt in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary at the International Court of Justice. A judgement on the case is yet to be delivered.
Read more: http://www.seashepherd.org.au/news-and-media/2014/01/05/sea-shepherd-locates-whale-poachers-1554
arcane1
(38,613 posts)A Simple Game
(9,214 posts)busterbrown
(8,515 posts)Much healthier..
Jesus Malverde
(10,274 posts)Whale meat became an important source of cheap protein. Industries developed around the capture, killing, processing and sales of whales.
Today it's not so much that Japanese like the whale meat. What they do treasure are good paying jobs for their citizens. Supporting this industry gives life to towns that otherwise would have little economic development.
Someone gets paid to build these ships.
Someone gets paid to maintain the ships.
The ships pay to be in a home port.
The ships bring a product to town that needs to be processed at a factory.
The meat then gives jobs to those who transport it to the cities.
The meat sustains the retail shops that sell it.
The meat is subsidized cheap protein.
Whale meat isn't something most Japanese eat regularly, I'm guessing most would prefer beef. It is however an industry and part of their history/culture. At some point the whale industry was like our cattle industries. Ingrained in our society. Japanese will also eat pretty much anything from the sea.
A large portion of the whale harvest used to go to school lunches. People don't remember it fondly.
Transitioning these jobs to new industries would be the most help for the whales.
A Simple Game
(9,214 posts)Nevernose
(13,081 posts)Most of the meat goes to waste. As you put it so clearly, the meat itself isn't profitable: it's the government subsidies and their version of right-wingers claiming tradition and nationalism to justify the whale slaughter.
cvoogt
(949 posts)sulphurdunn
(6,891 posts)AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)RobertEarl
(13,685 posts)We kinda just wink at them as they hunt down whales that only hi-tech gear can find and butcher.
There are some aboriginal peoples who hunt whales using ages old tech that has made for a sustainable harvest. What the Japanese are doing is not sustainable. And is a callous disregard for the whales.
Scairp
(2,749 posts)They accuse the Sea Shepherds of being the pirates, although piracy usually involves taking the ship and of course anything of value that is aboard. Obviously, Sea Shepherds have NEVER done that. They have put individuals aboard Japanese ships, a daring and dangerous act of bravery to bring attention to what Japan is doing, but they want nothing from the Japanese except to stop them from hunting whales. They also are operating under an injunction from a federal court in this country, which I really don't understand, against all sorts of certain things, like not getting too close. Not sure what standing the Japanese have in the U.S. against ships registered in the Netherlands and carrying an international crew. Even Paul Watson had to stand down as captain this season and was required to be only an observer. Of course there is a Red Notice out on him, if you can believe that. I really am still very pissed off from two years ago when I heard they diverted funds from earthquake and tsunami relief to help outfit a former Navy vessel as protection when they went out to hunt again the next season. I gave money from my own pitiful monthly stipend, through the Red Cross fortunately, but still they have not recovered from that disaster so it's just infuriating they would spend money on that a huge ship to hunt whale meat that no one needs in this century for any reason. It's pure hubris, full stop.
Egalitarian Thug
(12,448 posts)Whale murderers are Big Money, so they're protected.
AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)Egalitarian Thug
(12,448 posts)sakabatou
(42,146 posts)PearliePoo2
(7,768 posts)The thing is, they don't even have a taste for whale meat generally. It goes un-eaten and freezer burned.
That's what makes it all the more revolting.
That such a noble animal dies just so a meaningless tradition survives is disgusting.
bastards.
ailsagirl
(22,893 posts)just sickening
catbyte
(34,364 posts)johnfunk
(6,113 posts)That is all...
The Stranger
(11,297 posts)I think all bets are off.
saidsimplesimon
(7,888 posts)I'm betting on the "Peace Train". Sorry, youtube doesn't like peace, or Cat Stevens, or some of US.
The Stranger
(11,297 posts)It is not optimal, nor is its prohibition absolute.
Demo_Chris
(6,234 posts)flvegan
(64,407 posts)Bodhi BloodWave
(2,346 posts)flvegan
(64,407 posts)Thanks for having one.