Sea Shepherds trying to catch whalers

[Guest guest]

Editor's note:

 

The January/February edition of ANIMAL PEOPLE was printed

only hours before the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society announced

that it has engaged the Japanese whaling fleet with a third vessel

whose existence the Sea Shepherds had managed to conceal. The Sea

Shepherd press release is appended below the ANIMAL PEOPLE article.

 

 

 

 

 

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, January/February 2010:

 

 

Sea Shepherds trying to catch whalers

 

HOBART--The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society flagship Steve

Irwin returned to Antarctic waters on December 31, 2009, after a

60-hour resupply and refueling stop in Hobart, Tasmania.

Tailed and harried by the Japanese harpoon ship Shanan Maru

#2, the Steve Irwin and the high-speed trimaran Ady Gil failed to

locate the factory ship Nisshin Maru and the whale-catchers Yushin

Maru #2 and #3 during the first six weeks of the self-declared

five-month Japanese " research whaling " season. The whalers hope to

kill nearly 1,000 whales this winter, but have fallen far short of

their quota in each of the past three winters.

The Sea Shepherds were optimistic after the Shanan Maru #2

returned to the rest of the fleet to meet a refueling vessel and was

seen by yachters who reported its position.

Pre-Christmas skirmishes between the Sea Shepherds and the

Shanan Maru #2 reportedly included exchanges of blasts from water

cannon, some near-collisions, an incident in which Sea Shepherd

crew members allegedly pelted the Shanan Maru #2 with paint gun

pellets, and several incidents in which the crew of the Shanan Maru

#2 used Long Range Accoustic Devices against the Sea Shepherd vessels

and the Steve Irwin's helicopter.

Launched as Earthrace, the bio-diesel-fueled Ady Gil

circumnavigated the world in just under 61 days in 2007, breaking

the previous record for powered vessels by 13 days, but falling 11

days short of the overall record set in 2005 by the sail-powered

catamaran Orange II. A series of breakdowns and a collision with a

fishing vessel off Guatemala that killed a member of the fishing crew

may have cost Earthrace the overall record. A 10-day investigation

determined that the fishing vessel was at fault.

Earthrace, owned and piloted by Pete Bethune, was renamed

for the 2009-2010 anti-whaling campaign in honor of Hollywood

investor Ady Gil, who funded the voyage.

" We have modified it a bit to make it more suited for the

Southern Ocean, " Bethune told Charles Waterhouse of the Hobart

Mercury, " but in no way is it an ice vessel. We have added about

half a ton of Kevlar, which toughens the hull a bit, and will make

it more resilient to little smacks of ice. "

 

-----------

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - January 5th, 2010

 

To Interview Captain Paul Watson on board the Steve Irwin

SAT Phone: (00) 8816 4145 4434

(From the U.S. dial 011, from Australia 0011)

 

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society -International Headquarters - U.S.

Contact: Amy Baird, Media Director

Office: 360-370-5650

Email: <>media

 

For related images and video:

<http://media.seashepherd.org>http://media.seashepherd.org

 

Sea Shepherd Unveils Surprise New Vessel: Bob Barker

 

Bob Barker Donates $5,000,000 to Sea Shepherd for Ocean Conservation

 

Another whaling ship arrived in the Southern Ocean today, unexpected

and right on time: the Bob Barker.

 

The 1,200-ton Norwegian built Antarctic harpoon vessel caught up with

the Japanese whaling fleet at 0300 Hours on Wednesday, January 6th,

in the area of Commonwealth Bay off the Adelie Coast at 143 Degrees

17 Minutes East and 66 Degrees 43 Minutes South.

 

Thanks to a $5,000,000 contribution from American television

personality and icon Bob Barker, the Sea Shepherd Conservation

Society was able to quietly purchase and refit the former Norwegian

whaler in Africa. The ice strengthened fast chaser boat quietly

departed from Mauritius on December 18th to join up with the Sea

Shepherd ships Steve Irwin and Ady Gil in the Southern Ocean.

 

Barker has also funded the cost of a helicopter that will accompany

the society's ships. The aircraft is named The Nancy Burnet after the

president of United Activists for Animal Rights, an organization

Barker also supports. This new helicopter will participate in future

campaigns.

 

" I'm delighted to be able to help the Sea Shepherd Conservation

Society in its mission to end the destruction of habitat and

slaughter of wildlife in the world's oceans, " said Barker. " There is

lot of talk about preserving our ecosystems and species, but this is

one organization that puts these words into action. "

 

For the first time ever, Sea Shepherd has three ships on the Japanese fleet.

 

Thanks to the generous support of Bob Barker, the Sea Shepherd

Conservation Society has been given the means to seriously impact the

profits of the whaling industry this season.

 

" We intend to bankrupt the whalers, " said Captain Paul Watson.

 

The Bob Barker is currently in pursuit of the whaling fleet.

--

Merritt Clifton

Editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE

P.O. Box 960

Clinton, WA 98236

 

Telephone: 360-579-2505

Fax: 360-579-2575

E-mail: anmlpepl

Web: www.animalpeoplenews.org

 

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