Tag Archives: Sea Shepherd
Who wants the disappearance of fishermen? The answers are here.
In recent months, worrying signs have multiplied indicating a desire, sometimes obvious, to make fishermen disappear or, very often, to marginalise them to make way for more lucrative activities in the Blue Economy.,, We are witnessing at sea, with the stranglehold of environmental NGOs on MPAs, the same phenomenon denounced by the historian Guillaume Blanc, in his book “Green Colonialism“: the grabbing of land in Africa, This is the case with the evolution of the marine world towards a “Blue colonialism” which is shamelessly displayed, multiplying MPAs prohibited to fishing, a subsistence and eminently sustainable practice of many oceanic peoples, and which, in Europe and elsewhere , only rarely involves small-scale fishermen in decisions about the oceans, of which they are nevertheless secular managers. >click to read< 07:52
Sea Shepherd’s declaration of media war against BC seal hunt
In the middle of what is presently called “The 6th Extinction”, the DFO, our Ministry of Fisheries and a few westcoast First Nations individuals and Chinese Government officials are entertaining a massive west coast seal slaughter.,,, Commentary by Captain Paul Watson The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has physically opposed the slaughter of seals and sea lions around the world since 1977 – from Newfoundland and Labrador to Namibia, Norway, Russia, Finland and Scotland. We cannot ignore any seal killing program,,, >click to read< 10:07
Sea Shepherd says it was shot at by poachers in Mexico – >click to read<
Kristjan Loftsson’s company is the last one in the world still hunting fin whales. His credo: “If it’s sustainable, you hunt.”
Mr. Loftsson, 75, is the world’s last commercial hunter of fin whales. He has been denounced by environmental groups and his boats have been sunk by radical activists, but his business is legal here because Iceland doesn’t recognize the international moratorium on commercial whaling. Mr. Loftsson likes to say that whale blood runs in his veins. For Mr. Loftsson and his supporters, whaling is no different than agriculture or fisheries. “If it’s sustainable, you hunt,” he said. >click to read<10:48
Fishermen in Mexico shoot down environmental group’s drone
The environmental group Sea Shepherd says fishermen fired 25 shots at one of its night-vision drones in Mexico’s Gulf of California, bringing it down. Various drones have been employed to patrol the Gulf, also known as the Sea of Cortez, to combat illegal fishing and save the critically endangered vaquita marina, the world’s smallest porpoise. Sea Shepherd has been the target of demonstrations by fishermen in the past, but said the Christmas Eve shooting represented “a new level of violence.” click here to read the story 15:39
Defeated – Sea Shepherd to suspend pursuit of Japanese whalers
Sea Shepherd, the environmental group famous for tracking, exposing and occasionally ramming Japanese whalers, says it can no longer compete with them on the high seas. In a statement Monday, the group’s founder Paul Watson said “Japan is now employing military surveillance to watch Sea Shepherd ship movements in real time by satellite,” making it nearly impossible for them to intercept them. “We cannot compete with their military grade technology.” But Watson said the combination of surveillance techniques, the passage of new anti-terrorism laws “specifically designed to condemn Sea Shepherd tactics,” and a threat by Japan to send military vessels to defend whalers was too much. click here to read the story 09:17
Sea Shepherd Vessel Rammed By Fishing Boat in Panama
A Sea Shepherd vessel suffered minor damage on Wednesday when it was rammed by a fishing boat while patrolling in the Coiba marine reserve, off the Pacific coast of Panama. While monitoring and documenting fishing boats engaged in long-line fishing inside the reserve, the anti-poaching group’s cutter, the M/V John Paul DeJoria, was surrounded by five fishing boats at around 3pm. According to the crew, the fishermen threatened the non-profit marine protection group by throwing items at John Paul DeJoria, while gesturing and shouting aggressively. Then, the 110-foot Island class patrol boat was rammed by one of the five boats and suffered minor damage. video, read the story here 12:55
Angry Fishermen protest Gillnet ban, shrimp boycott in upper Sea of Cortés
Fishermen in the upper Sea of Cortés, caught in the middle of efforts to protect a species of porpoise that is on the verge of extinction, faced off against environmentalists this week, protesting their presence in the area and their support for a boycott of Mexican shrimp. Protests in Golfo de Santa Clara, Sonora, and San Felipe, Baja California, were triggered by a call two weeks ago by United States conservation organizations for the shrimp boycott, followed by a proposal last week from Mexican officials to shut down gillnet fishing in the region. What is now “a pressure cooker,” said area fishermen, threatens to become a bomb because the gillnet ban would represent the final blow for local communities. continue reading the story here 17:21
Mexican fishermen burn boat, demand environmentalists out
Dozens of fishermen have burned a boat as part of a threat to force out a ship operated by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in Mexico’s Gulf of California. Sea Shepherd has been removing illegal and abandoned nets that endanger the vaquita, the world’s smallest porpoise. Fishermen in the town of San Felipe painted the name of the Sea Shepherd on an empty, open fishing boat they burned Sunday. They threatened to remove the conservationists’ ship themselves if the government doesn’t. “Just as they are judging us fishermen, we will judge all the environmentalists,” said Sunshine Rodriguez, a leader of the local fishing cooperative in San Felipe, Baja California. “We aren’t going to just sit around.” A speaker at Sunday’s protest — which drew hundreds of onlookers and supporters at San Felipe’s main waterfront boulevard— said over a loudspeaker, “I’m giving them (the government) five days to get this boat out of our territorial waters, or we will do it ourselves. Read the story here 17:03
Sea Shepherd ships leave to battle Japanese whaling fleet with ropes and stink bombs
Two ships have left Australia bound for the freezing Southern Ocean to confront the Japanese whaling fleet in an annual high-seas battle, environmental activist group Sea Shepherd said Monday. The organisation’s flagship Steve Irwin departed for Antarctic waters along with fast new patrol vessel Ocean Warrior, built with financial support from the Dutch, British and Swedish lotteries. It has a powerful water cannon and is capable of outrunning the whalers, which an official at Japan’s Fisheries Agency said would be protected by a fleet of patrol boats. “Sea Shepherd has engaged in repeated acts of sabotage over the years. Those actions threaten the lives of Japanese crew members and we cannot tolerate it,” said the official, who declined to give his name. Japan has previously sought court action to halt the anti-whaling campaigns, saying the activists ram their ships, snare propellers with ropes and harass crew with paint and stink bombs. Read the rest here 17:17
Close ports to Sea Shepherd or risk sharing guilt for its vigilantism
Sea Shepherd is again heading into dangerous territory. Last week’s announcement that its new $12 million custom-built Ocean Warrior (watch video here) has arrived here for a Southern Ocean incursion this summer is disturbing. Ship captain Adam Meyerson is boasting the group’s new vessel is a game changer because of its increased speed, long-range fuel tanks, helicopter landing pad and 20,000 litres-per-minute water cannon. Sea Shepherd is once more aiming to engage in close combat with the Japanese research fleet. That puts this group in the category of an environmental non-state combatant. It’s in an international area engaged in the use of force, with actions close to vigilantism. It enjoys the reputation of piracy, but for quasi public rather than private ends. The International Court of Justice judgment in the whaling case two years ago was a hollow victory for environmental activists. The court didn’t rule that what the Japanese were doing was commercial whaling. Nor did it say that issuing permits to take whales by lethal means for scientific research was illegal. This left open the option of a new Japanese scientific whaling program. Read the rest here 08:56
Debate: Is Sea Shepherd a Navy? How do we define a navy?
A lively Twitter conversation between Center for International Maritime Security (CIMSEC) members Chris Rawley, Claude Berube, and Ryan Mewett regarding the nature of a Navy, specifically whether or not the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s (SSCS) fleet constitutes such a force, inspired the following debate. Rawley and Berube have taken the affirmative position while Mewett has taken the negative position. A rarely asked but fundamental question is: how do we define a navy? The answer might appear to be self-evident. Merriam-Webster defines a navy as: the part of a country’s military forces that fights at sea; a group of ships; a nation’s ships of war and logistic support; and the complete naval establishment of a nation including yards, stations, ships, and personnel. But are these criteria accurate or sufficient in the twentieth century? The authors assert that under a more appropriate definition, the maritime arm of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is a navy. How does Sea Shepherd meet those criteria? Read the story here 14:44
Sea Shepherd launches new ship that can ‘outrun’ Japanese whalers
“For the first time we will have the speed to catch and outrun the Japanese harpoon ships, knowing speed can be the deciding factor when saving the lives of whales in the Southern Ocean,” Alex Cornelissen, Sea Shepherd Global CEO, said in a statement. The new ship — dubbed “Ocean Warrior” — is 54 meters (177 feet) long, displaces 439 tons and can reach speeds of 25 knots and higher. Japanese whaling ships are estimated to reach speeds of up to 22 knots, and Sea Shepherd’s previous ships could only reach 15 knots. A deck area also enables ship operators to dispatch small boat operations and support a helicopter. The ship was built in Turkey by Dutch shipbuilder Damen from an 8.3 million euro ($9 million) fund awarded to Sea Shepherd by the Dutch, UK and Swedish lotteries. Video, Read the rest here 19:34
That Sea Shepherd Promise To Stop Harassing Whalers? Don’t bet on it!
A United States court ruling preventing the environmental activist group Sea Shepherd from harassing Japanese whaling boats will not stop the annual protection campaign in the Southern Ocean, according to the organization’s sea lawyers. Sea Shepherd Australia’s boss, Jeff Hansen, told reporters they are “committed to upholding the Australian federal court ruling banning the slaughter of whales in the Australian whale sanctuary. We are not concerned about the US court settlement as it does not have any effect on Australian law.” “What it means is Sea Shepherd USA cannot give money toward the Southern Ocean campaign, cannot be involved in the Southern Ocean campaign, and that’s fine.” said Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson who claims the settlement does not affect the group’s other entities. “Whether Sea Shepherd Australia or Sea Shepherd Global . . . intend to return to the Southern Ocean that’s their business and I can’t control them,” he said of the settlement filed on Tuesday. Read the story here 09:52
Sea Shepherd warns Japan on whaling – Is this the year Sea Shepherds get someone killed?
Sea Shepherd warned Japan on Sunday against resuming “research” whaling in the Antarctic and called on the Australian government to intervene. After a decade of harassment by Sea Shepherd, Japan was forced to abandon its 2014-15 Southern Ocean hunt after the International Court of Justice said the annual expedition was a commercial activity masquerading as research. But on Saturday Japanese media reported that it would start again next year, despite a call by global regulators for more evidence that the expeditions have a scientific purpose. Read the article here 21:18
Fishermen are safe again in the Faroe Islands, while the Sea Shepherd Supports the Faroe Islands
Landcrew ( over 100 volunteers) has paid over 600.000,00 danish kroners to get to Faroe Islands by plane – so faroese tourism is blooming once again – thanks to the Sea Shepherd. Records also show – that Sea Shepherd landcrew has used a lot of car rentals and houses and they have been in the Faroe haven’t been cheap, and we thank you for that, Sea Shepherd. And then Sea Shepherd also needs to pay up to Faroese government for all the big fines – they have been given for unlawfully interfering with the whaling. They didn’t save one single whale! Read the rest here 20:13
Denmark Finds Sea Shepherd Guilty of breaking the Faroe Islands Pilot Whaling Act
On Friday, Netherlands-based marine conservation charity, Sea Shepherd Global, and five Sea Shepherd volunteer crewmembers were found guilty in a Danish court of breaking the Faroe Islands Pilot Whaling Act. All parties also face a subsequent conviction of public disturbance. The volunteers were facing charges relating to the “crime” of interfering in the slaughter of over 250 pilot whales on the killing beaches of Bøur and Tórshavn in the Faroe Islands on July 23. Read the rest here 12:36
Both sides in Scotland’s escalating seal-shooting wars could face charges after a series of dramatic confrontations
For the second year running, 
is running a summer-long campaign to defend seals in northeast Scotland. It has mobilised three boats and around 80 volunteers from 12 countries who have been monitoring and filming the shooters, sometimes putting themselves in front of seals. They say they have filmed three seals being legally shot in Gamrie Bay, and believe a fourth was also shot there. In Murkle Bay, they say they filmed two seals being legally shot, and believe a further two were shot off camera. Read the rest here 12:42
Can the Sea Shepherds Cult Survive the Lawsuits?
Ady Gil has become dead-set on rooting out the dishonesty he sees in Watson’s radical conservation organization. He and his own conservation group, Ady Gil World Conservation, are bringing lawsuits against Sea Shepherd and its founder for damages, defamation and fraud – the first of which, concerning the loss of the ship, will likely be decided this summer. The first suit alone could cost SSCS as much as $50m. “These are people who will do anything possible to draw sympathy,” says Gil, who describes Sea Shepherd in an interview as “infested with corruption”. Read the rest here 18:43
Sea Shepherd attorneys to attend Makah whaling meeting next Wednesday in Port Angeles
A legal team from the Sea Shepherd Screwball Society will be among the activists at a public meeting Wednesday, April 29 who’ll oppose the Makah tribe’s campaign to resume whaling. The Owens head Peninsula Citizens for the Protection of Whales. They argue that the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 is “the whales’ treaty with the government.” It bans the killing of whales. For their part, the Makah argue that they reserved the right to hunt whales and seals when they signed the . Read the rest here 15:11
Statement by Captain Paul Watson: West Coast North American Commercial Herring Fishing Should be Shut Down Permanently
The herring industry must be permanently closed. The decline of the herring is giving rise to an increase of seal and sea lion populations, a decline in pelicans and other sea-birds and is starving whales and dolphins including Orcas. And of course the many species of fish that also depend upon the herring including wild salmon aready threatened by pollution and the ecological destruction of the domestic salmon farms. These other species need the herring more than humans. For every can of sardines on the shelf in a super-market and every order of Kazunoko (数の子/鯑) (herring roe) an animal in the sea, starves and dies. Read the rest here 15:40
Sea Shepherd rescues crew of sinking pirate fishing ship Thunder
The Australian crew of the Sea Shepherd have come to the rescue of an illegal fishing vessel sinking off the coast of West Africa. The Melbourne-based crew of the Bob Barker responded to a distress signal from the pirate fishing vessel the Thunder, the very ship they had been chasing for the past 110 days. At 11am local time today there were three life rafts in the water carrying all 40 of the pirate vessel’s crew members, Captain Hammarstedt said. Read the rest here 10:47
Sea Shepherd Attempts to Legitimize! Commences Recovery of Illegal Gillnet
Yesterday, December 25, at approximately 1326 AEDT, the Sea Shepherd conservation ship, Sam Simon, located a discarded gillnet at 62° 16’ South, 081° 14’ East, inside the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) area of management. Using the coordinates and photographic evidence provided by fellow Sea Shepherd ship, the Bob Barker, Sam Simon Captain Sid Chakravarty was able to identify the gillnet – a method of fishing outlawed by CCAMLR since 2004 – as the property of the Interpol-listed vessel, Thunder. Read the rest here 07:57
Sea Shepherd confronts illegal Antarctic Patagonian toothfish poaching vessel – placed under citizens arrest!
Bob Barker skipper Peter Hammarstedt said he had notified the Thunder captain and his crew “that they have been placed under citizen’s arrest”. “They must cease their illegal fishing activities immediately and report to the Australian authorities,” he added. “Should they ignore this order, I have notified the Thunder that Sea Shepherd has no choice but to directly intervene in order to obstruct their continued illegal activities.” Read the rest here 08:26
Eco-Hypocrisy as Sea Shepherd Vessel Dumps 500 Litres of Diesel Into Sea
The environmental group Sea Shepherd negligently dumped up to 500 litres of diesel into the Trinity Inlet in Cairns, Australia, because the crew didn’t have the correct manual for the boat they were operating, it has emerged. Read the rest here 08:13
Sea Shepherd extremists arrested, vessels seized after interfering with grindadráp
The hunts, also called grindadráp (or grinds) are community-based events which are protected by the local police and the Danish Navy. Even Grindaformenn, or the men in charge of organizing the hunt are allowed to remove interlopers. On Saturday, activists’ attempts at stopping the hunt had failed. Read the rest here 22:23
The Sea Shepherd Pirate Supporters File RICO Complaint – Ady Gil Sinking Staged, Ruse to Gain Donations – Raised Millions
Donors claim in court that anti-whaling activist Paul Watson and his Sea Shepherd Conservation Society took donations from them under false pretenses, by intentionally sinking the ship they gave to the cause and then blaming Japanese whalers, to solicit more donations. <Read more here> 14:05
Narcissistic Television Anti-whalers claim ‘aggressive’ ramming by Japanese
SYDNEY : Militant anti-whaling campaigners Sea Shepherd said one of their ships was rammed Sunday during “aggressive” and “unprovoked” confrontations with the Japanese in the Southern Ocean. Read [email protected] 10:23
Criminal or conservationist? Paul Watson marks year at sea after fleeing arrest
“I’m not really a fugitive. It’s just that if I enter a border point then that will immediately send a message to Japan to have me arrested and then extradited,” he says. “The oceans are the last free place on the planet.”
Anti-whaling Sea Shepherd group turns their attention to Oregon’s sea lions
GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) — A conservation group known for interfering with whaling ships wants to stop Oregon’s killing of sea lions that eat endangered salmon in the Columbia River. The group Sea Shepherd was in Astoria on Sunday photographing and video-taping Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife technicians as they captured and branded 38 sea lions at the East Mooring Basin. continue reading
