JAPAN FAILS TO TAKE CONTROL OF THE IWC // Sea Shepherd Shames Greenpeace into Returning to the Southern Ocean

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JAPAN FAILS TO TAKE CONTROL OF THE IWC // Sea Shepherd Shames Greenpeace into Returning to the Southern Ocean // Update on the Farley Mowat -----Forwarded Message----- Paul Watson Jun 16, 2006 4:18 PM Paul Watson JAPAN FAILS TO TAKE CONTROL OF THE IWC // Sea Shepherd Shames Greenpeace into Returning to the Southern Ocean // Update on the Farley Mowat JAPAN FAILS TO TAKE CONTROL OF THE IWC Whale Conservationists are smiling today as the International Whaling Commission meeting opened in The Japanese have failed again this year in their aggressive effort to buy votes to control the agenda of the International Whaling Commission. They did not succeed in getting all their puppet nations to show up or vote for their pro-whaling initiatives. The whales have won over the whalers

for another year. At the first vote of the IWC meeting in St. Kitts & Nevis the Japanese motioned for a discussion on conservation of small cetaceans to be struck from the agenda. The Japanese motion was defeated 32 to 30 Japan then motioned for a secret ballot to decide issues hoping that nations would vote in favor of whaling if they were anonymous. That motion failed 33 to 30. It does not appear that Japan, Norway and Iceland can muscle the required majority votes to control the 70 member International Whaling Commission. A couple of member nations did not show. Israel joined the IWC as a pro-whale conservation vote and some members leaning towards Japan have been swayed by their own citizens who lean in favor of the whales over the bribes of the whalers. “This is great news for the whales,” said Captain Paul Watson. “Japan will not make any gains this year at the IWC and for another year at least the whales are safe on paper under the law. However the renegade illegal activities of Japan and Norway will continue and once again we must voyage to the remote and hostile waters of the Southern Oceans to search out and stop the illegal slaughter. Japan’s failure to control the IWC keeps the legal credibility for our intervention solidly in our court. Once again we will be hunting criminal whalers in Antarctic waters.” Japan has responded to the failure to muster the votes in a very childlike manner. Jouji Morishita, the director of International negotiations

on whaling for the Japanese Fisheries Agency said Japan may decide to pull out of the IWC unless the ban on commercial whaling is overturned. Sea Shepherd Shames Greenpeace into Returning to the Southern Ocean In February, Greenpeace declared they

would not be returning to the Southern Oceans to oppose illegal Japanese whaling. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society publicly chastised Greenpeace for retreating from the campaign. On February 20, 2005 Sea Shepherd posted the online story entitled: Greenpeace to Abandon Whales in Antarctica – Sea Shepherd Will Battle Whalers Alone in Antarctica in 2006/2007 Link: http://www.seashepherd.org/news/media_060220_1.html Greenpeace did not response. Sea Shepherd wrote many e-mails to Greenpeace demanding that they use the funds they were raising to oppose whaling to send their ships back to Antarctica. Today Greenpeace changed their mind, “We’re going back to the Southern Ocean to oppose the hunt. What are anti-whaling nations going to do to stop the hunt?" said Greenpeace spokesperson Shayne Rattenbury. “This is good news for the whales,” said Captain Paul Watson. “The more ships and the more opposition down in those waters against illegal whaling, the better it is for the whales. I just hope that Greenpeace will more

aggressive this time around. The world has seen enough video clips of whales being slaughtered. These outlaw whalers must be blockaded and stopped from committing their crimes.” The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society approached Greenpeace in June 2005 with a request to work in partnership to jointly oppose Japanese whaling in the Southern Oceans. Greenpeace refused to communicate with Sea Shepherd and took the position that Sea Shepherd crews were overly aggressive towards whaling. “I was hoping we could play good policeman and bad policeman with the whalers,” said Captain Watson. “Greenpeace told us they were not interested in cooperation and did not support our tactics of directly interfering with the killing of whales, preferring to “bear witness” to the killing to report it to the world.” Despite the fact that Greenpeace refuses to communicate or cooperate with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society the fact remains that anyone

opposed to whaling is an ally, like it or not to Sea Shepherd. “Once again, I am reaching out to Greenpeace, an organization that I co-founded with the request to work together with Sea Shepherd.” Said Captain Watson. “I suspect I will once again be ignored but I guess there is no harm in asking although it troubles me that this group that I helped to create has no time for cooperation with us.” The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society will be sending two ships and a helicopter and numerous small boats to the Southern Ocean to once again intervene against illegal Japanese whaling. The whaling season will begin in December 2006 with the Japanese targeting over 1,000 whales in the waters off the coast of Antarctica Update on the Farley Mowat's Escape from Cape Town The Farley Mowat has successfully departed South Africa and was over 200 miles from Cape Town as of 2400 Hours on June 16. The seas are calm and the ship is making good time. There has been no reports or comments from the South African authorities. One reporter asked Captain Paul Watson what and how he knew of the trans-shipment of whale meat from Cape Town. "You know when they force your ship into detainment in the sleaziest section of the harbor and keep you there for five months, there is a great deal of sleazy information to be had along with other discomforts. Not only is there trade in whale-meat there is also a thriving illegal trade in smuggled shark fins going on in Cape Town harbor," said Captain Watson. "I find it strange that the authorities find it a priority to harass a conservation ship yet can't seem to see the trade in wildlife contraband going on under their very noses. There is a great deal of fishy business going on in Cape Town harbour, I can tell you that. South Africa really needs to undertake a investigation into the shenanigans going on. This kind of corruption has no place in a respected nation like South Africa." 30 ----------------------------- Captain Paul WatsonFounder and President of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (1977-Co-Founder - The Greenpeace Foundation (1972)Co-Founder - Greenpeace International (1979)Director of the Sierra Club USA (2003-2006)Director - The Farley Mowat InstituteDirector - www.harpseals.orgDirector - Ocean Outfall Group of CaliforniaAdvisory Board Member - Telluride Mountain Film Festival Advisory Board Member - The Animals Voice Magazine Whom when I asked from what place he came,And how he hight, himselfe he did ycleepe,The Shepheard of the Ocean by Name,And said he came far from the main-sea deepe.- Edmund SpenserA.C.E. 1590 www.Seashepherd.orgTel: 360-370-5650Fax: 360-370-5651 Address: P.O. Box 2616Friday Harbor, Wa 98250 USA

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