Japan suspends whale hunt after 'harassment' by activists!

reply to post by pazcat


I thought the ''scientific research'' reason was just a loophole for the Japanese to kill the whales and use them as food.

If whale-meat is not that popular then why are they even bothering to do it in the first place ?

Iceland and Norway are still whaling, but seemingly there isn't as much of a protest as there is against the Japanese whaling.

reply to post by Sherlock Holmes


They eat them aswell, dont think its all scientific as reported.

Good news paz!

reply to post by pazcat


i love japan but whaling brakes my heart

reply to post by Sherlock Holmes


This is from wiki

As of 2009, Japan's 1.2 million ton seafood stockpile included nearly 5000 tons of whale meat.[152] Japan has started to serve whale meat in school lunches as part of a government initiative to reduce the amounts.[153] However, there has been criticism of serving whale meat to school children due to allegations of toxic methyl mercury levels.[154] The World Wildlife Fund has also estimated that the Japanese government has had to invest $12 million into the 2008–09 Antarctic whale hunt alone just to break even, and that subsidies in total have amounted to approximately $150 million since 1988

I mean a 5000 tonne backlog, and the government are investing millions of taxpayer money just to make something the people in reality don't want viable.
Make no bones about it, the reason for this suspension is more to do with economics than anything else.


Japan have actually called off the hunt for this and have ordered their ships home.

Japan has brought an early end to its whale hunting season in the Antarctic.

American anti-whale activists, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, has been chasing the Japanese fleet's mother ship.

The government says there are safety concerns due to the group's repeated harassment. Commercial whaling was banned in 1986 but Japan uses a regulation permitting hunting for scientific research.

www.bbc.co.uk...

A statement from the Sea Sheperds

www.seashepherd.org...

VSO Day
Victory in the Southern Ocean Day for the Whales

the Japanese whaling fleet has called it quits in the Southern Ocean, at least for this season. And if they return next season, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society will be ready to resume their efforts to obstruct and disable illegal Japanese whaling operations.

“The Nisshin Maru made a significant course change immediately after the Japanese government made it official that the whaling fleet has been recalled,” said Captain Alex Cornelissen from the Bob Barker. “She looks like she’s going home!”

The Sea Shepherd ship Bob Barker has been tailing the Japanese Nisshin Maru factory ship since February 9th making it impossible for the whalers to continue their illegal whaling operations.

reply to post by pazcat


The SS had a funny ally this season

Fact is, the whaling industry is heavily subsidized by the Japanese tax payer. That works as long as the economy's doing alright, but it isn't at the moment. The government really felt the burden, and so did the tax payers...add to that the bad international press, and it's pretty clear why they are considering and end to whaling down south. Of course it wouldn't have been possible without SS, they were to nail drilling the nails in Japan's whaling industry's coffin.

Originally posted by adifferentbreed
While I am against the whaling being done, I wonder when the pirates will be charged for their actions? Whaling is disgusting and unneeded, however what the Sea Shepard group is doing could be decryed as piracy......there are better ways to handle it.

I've only watched the show a couple times and both times I thought the same thing - these guys are way off the charts! They are basically engaged in piracy.

I do not endorse whaling mind you; I can see the true intent of the Sea Sheppard crew is to impede what they feel is immoral - fair enough.

However, that said; the Japanese are within their rights to conduct their "research".

We all know it’s not research - they know it’s not research but the way to change it is through non-violent action in international courts. Now having been a Soldier for 24 years I realize that some things are worth fighting for and if the Sea Sheppard guys think this is it then more power to them.

I say this with one caveat; that they deserve whatever they get in return.

I have to commend the Japanese Ship Captain's for their restraint. I would have put an explosive harpoon into one of their zodiacs long ago and claimed they just got in the way - sorry.

That is after all what they are doing. I would be targeting the zodiacs until they ran out of them. Also, when they started firing the stink bombs or whatever I'd have killed a couple with snipers and claimed I thought they were firebombs trying to burn my ship.

I think under maritime law the Captain can employ private security to protect his ship. Further, if they boarded like I have seen them do on the show they'd be going for a long swim in the cold, cold ocean (on accident of course).

The Captain is responsible for a multimillion dollar vessel and the lives of the crew aboard - on the open seas Captain's of ships have a lot of leeway to protect themselves. I don't think I'd be showing the restraint the Japanese are.

The Sea Sheppard guys and gals have been really lucky so far.

Stop the evil japs! They should just stick to cow and pig-slaughtering, like us.

reply to post by pazcat


If it's a waste of Japanese tax-payers money, then that seems of no relevance to anybody else other than the Japanese.

If they want to use whale-meat in school dinners, then I fail to see how that is any concern of anybody else.

They only grey area I can see is if they are catching them in international waters.

It appears to me that most people are against whaling because they like whales, which is fair enough, but surely people can separate their personal likes from a logical appraisal of the situation ?

Throughout the world humans consume meat in large portions, so it seems rather nonsensical and culturally imperialistic to try and bully other cultures into not eating certain kinds of animals, because they are not traditionally eaten in most of the Western world.

It would be like Indians coming over and blockading cattle farms, or - dare I say it - like Muslims or Jews attempting to stop people in the West from pig-farming... I wonder what the reaction on ATS would be like on that one.

But that is the point. They are only serving it to schools to get rid of the 5000 tonnes they have in storage, not because the kids like it, need it or want it or it's even good for them. The market is quite small for whale meat in Japan hence the fact so much of it has built up over time.
And yes, the fact they are killing whales in not only international waters but an established whale sancturary is quite a large part of the issue too.
Now by saying that Japan does not recognise the claims of a whale sancturary and by holding western governments hostage via trade bargaining I would say it is them who are doing the bullying.

The Australian and NZ governments and others are too afraid to lose their economical relationship with Japan than to actually do something about it. It's a shame that they have put the value of playstations and wide-screen tvs above that of the lives of whales.

An Australian court has already ruled what they are doing illegal. Yet nothing was done about it.
news.bbc.co.uk...

Originally posted by pazcat

Originally posted by inbound
the real mothership is hundreds of miles away operating risk free.

Really? Care to back that up with some kind of evidence?
What ships are they using? What is the registration of these ships?
How would it be that they have remained invisible to all the radars that monitor the antarctic? Where will all the meat turn up?
Sorry but that kind of operation has no way of slipping under the radar.
If so(and that's a huge if) by covertly operating a hunt would be a massive violation of international law and one that would definitely have real world concequences.

Obviously you, not unlike the crews of the sea shep, have little knowledge of how radar works at sea. The Biggest and baddest radar systems would only be effective out to about 75 miles, and that would be off a HUGE ship, as to lift the radar apeture very high into the air to account for curvature of the earth. Normal horizon is about 12 nautical miles so lifting the actural radar high into the air is essential for increased distance. Do you really think that the entire japanese whaling fleet, which is supposed to be so important to their economy, is composed of 4-5 vessels? Im not sure what you mean by covert- just because they dont know of any other whaling ships doesnt mean they are "covert" And where are all these "radars that monitor the antarctic" floating on icebergs? Maybe you should join the sea shepherd and contribute some of that vast knowledge of the sea that you have to their operation

So no evidence then?
Figures.

reply to post by inbound

Do you really think that the entire japanese whaling fleet, which is supposed to be so important to their economy, is composed of 4-5 vessels?

Actually, it's not really important for their economy...on the contrary, it's costing the Japanese tax payer millions in subsidies. And yeah, in the past, it only consisted of 1 mothership, and 4-6 harpoon ships.

Now, as for them bringing down a second gang like that unnoticed is highly unlikely. First of all, they'd risk paying twice, and then end up with both ships blocked (SS got 2 large vessels to block ramps) which would be an economic disaster even worse than telling just 1 mothership to turn around and go home. Those ships are EXPENSIVE! Secondly, they'd have to make it from Japan all the way down south without being spotted leaving a harbour or refueling on sea. They'd also have to sing in with every single country who's waters they cross, and that info would be public. And lastly, the SS got a helicopter that allows for a coverage beyond what radar can do.

I'm not saying it's not possible, but given that in recent years they only barely managed to break even with subsidies, it's not likely they'd take the risk (and embarrassment) of having 2 motherships chased around.

As for SS being pirates...well, if they'd broken maritime law, they'd be shut down. In all those years of operation, they haven't been convicted of anything.

The fishery ministry in Japan is VERY corrupt and gets subsidized like mad. To give another example:

They are planning to hunt bluefin tuna to extinction. Why? Well, because they don't sell all the bluefin tuna they hunt now, they are deep freezing tuna and try their best at killing off the species. That would push up prices for bluefin tuna to obscene prices, especially in a seafood loving nation like Japan. It would turn into a luxury good, and they'd have warehouses stockpiled with the stuff. Yeah, it's economics...but morally it's a disaster. The same goes for whales. When asked why they do it, once they cut the "research" crap, it's pretty clear they consider whaling "pest control". They are worried the whales are eating all the fish they want...instead of realizing that it's THEM who overfish the oceans to the brink of destruction. The oceans don't belong to Japan, and even if they like seafood, it's not their right to destroy biodiversity simply because they like seafood.

Here's a pic I snapped when Gojira was back in port (Hobart) after the first scuffles down south. I hadn't seen anything notable in it until recently - there's some visible damage near the waterline on the starboard outrigger. Didn't hear any reports of it being from actions against the whalers so it was most likely a rough parking bingle in heavy seas but hasn't slowed it down at all. It would have been one hell of a round trip damage or no damage.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/725ef01e5690.jpg[/atsimg]

Originally posted by Pilgrum
Here's a pic I snapped when Gojira was back in port (Hobart) after the first scuffles down south. I hadn't seen anything notable in it until recently - there's some visible damage near the waterline on the starboard outrigger. Didn't hear any reports of it being from actions against the whalers so it was most likely a rough parking bingle in heavy seas but hasn't slowed it down at all. It would have been one hell of a round trip damage or no damage.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/725ef01e5690.jpg[/atsimg]

Nice Pic...thanks.

Lol @ idiot Seashepards getting butthurt over the Japanese hunting the common Minke Whale to eat.

reply to post by Segador


No, for science. Not to eat(although it's a tasty by product of all that science).

Get your facts right first.

Not to mention the past quotas of Fin and Humpback's, both listed as vulnerable or endagered.

Originally posted by Segador
Lol @ idiot Seashepards getting butthurt over the Japanese hunting the common Minke Whale to eat.

You might wanna check the released quota before making hogwash statements, and thx for admitting research has nothing to do with all of it

i just hope Whale wars dont get cut .. i simply love that show

reply to post by Ben81


Well I guess it will still go on as long as the fleet return next year. I would imagine this years season would be quite good, if we ever get to see it(It's about a year and a half behind where I am). A lot of people don't like the show for numerous reasons but one thing that can't be denied is that it has bought increased attention to the subject.
I suppose they could always turn their attention to one of the other campaigns they do around the world, i'd imagine it is too much of a popular series for Animal Planet to just discard.