Paul Watson Steps Down From Sea Shepherd

Paul Watson is once again going the distance in an effort to prevent more whales from dying at the hands of the Japanese whaling fleet.

The 62-year-old founder and president of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society announced his resignation yesterday as President of the U.S. and Australia chapters; adding that he will “hold no paid position with Sea Shepherd anywhere Sea Shepherd is registered and operates as a non-profit organization in any nation.”

“I have also stepped down as campaign leader for Operation Zero Tolerance,” he added. “Former Greens Party leader and former Australian Senator, Bob Brown of Tasmania will now hold this position.”

Sea Shepherd’s Australian manager, Jeff Hansen, will also help guide the campaign.

Watson’s decision comes on the heels of a US appeals court decision to temporary block the SSCS from attacking the whalers or coming within 450 metres of their ships in the Antarctic.

“As a United States citizen, I will respect and comply with the ruling of the United States 9^th District Court and will not violate the temporary injunction granted to the Institute for Cetacean Research,” he says in a statement. “I will participate as an observer within the boundaries established by the 9^th Circuit Court of the United States.”

It’s a shrewd move – and one that was likely calculated by the group and its clever lawyers  in the event of the injunction happening. With Watson removing himself and the US chapter (Sea Shepherd Conservation Society) named specifically in the ruling, the organization’s other international chapters are free to continue business as usual. The US does not have jurisdiction over charities based elsewhere.

As for Watson’s reduced role, Bob Brown insists it will stay that way.

“He’s behind the scenes, but he’s not in charge of the operation,” Brown told Stuff.co.nz. “I’ll be every day working, as will Jeff, working with the Sea Shepherd fleet under the authority of Sea Shepherd Australia, to make sure this mission is successful.”

The Japanese whaling fleet has a quota to kill up to 935 minke whales, 50 fin whales and 50 humpbacks. They will go up against a newly-strengthened Sea Shepherd fleet of four ships and more than 100 international crew representing 23 nations.

News Link:-http://www.ecorazzi.com/2013/01/08/paul-watson-steps-down-from-sea-shepherd/

Japanese Ships to Kill 260 Whales in Name of “Science”

Commercial whaling is banned under international treaty but, since 1987, Japan has been taking advantage of a loophole under which it is possible to conduct lethal research in the name of science. For this reason, two Japanese whaling ships, the Yushin Maru and Yushin Maru No 2, left the Shimonoseki port in Yamaguchi, western Japan, to join the Nisshin Maru, their mother vessel.

A fishery ministry official says that the fleet is scheduled to catch about 260 whales, including 100 minke whales and 10 sperm whales, between now and early August.

The northern minke whale is considered “Lower Risk Near Threatened” according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN’s) Red List of Threatened Species. The sperm whale is an endangered species, after at least a million were killed by commercial whalers in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Japan has “misused and abused” the research provision, says the Humane Society International. In its initial formulation, the research provision was “meant to allow the killing of a few whales a year to answer scientific questions that could only be answered by examining dead animals.” But every year, Japan has increased its sample size sand also “sells the meat and blubber to its domestic market.” The Humane Society International also says that both Iceland and South Korea have been exploiting the scientific research loophole, to obtain whale meat to sell Japan.

International Whaling Commission to Meet

In just about six weeks, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) is to hold its annual meeting in Panama. As the BBC‘s Richard Black writes, two sure-to-cause contention issues are on the agenda: (1) the Latin American bloc has started a a bid to create a whale sanctuary in the South Atlantic Ocean; (2) Japan has set down a motion to reserve its right to request a commercial or quasi-commercial hunting quota for minke whales in its coastal waters.

However, both of these issues have been previously introduced and tabled numerous times. Reviewing the history of past IWC meetings, Black notes how “febrile and anarchic,” and “politicized”, the world of whaling can be. For instance, since IWC rules require a three-quarters majority, it is extremely hard to bring important measures forward to be discussed, as the commission’s members are equally split between those who oppose whaling and those who vote for it to occur.

The IWC delegates could “spend days locked in meetings where wrangling about the definition of a quorum is used as a proxy for much more fundamental divisions.” How many more whales will be killed in the meantime?

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/japanese-ships-to-kill-260-whales-in-name-of-science.html#ixzz1vcZiAMIR

Paul Watson out of prison Sea Shepherd – Press Conference JV

Please sign the petition below to drop charges against Captain Paul Watson. He deserves a medal for all the whales, sharks & dolphins that he & the crew of the Sea shepherd fleet have saved over the years.

 

Published on 21 May 2012 by seashepherd

Complete press conference Paul Watson Sea Shepherd in front of the prison JVA Preungesheim on May 21, 2012.

PETITION: Tell Costa Rica to drop all charges against Captain Paul Watson “Our Sea Shepherd

http://www.causes.com/causes/533852-turn-facebook-purple-for-1-week-to-raise-awareness-against-animal-abuse/actions/1654092?recruiter_id=118883540&utm_campaign=invite&utm_medium=wall&utm_source=fb

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Sea Shepherd crew | Life aboard the Bob Barker

“A video taken in 2011, I’m posting in support of  Conservation group leader Paul Watson“

With bunk beds in cramped rooms, stickers with slogans such as “Woodchipping Sucks” plastering the walls and the smell of samosas filling the air, this could easily be a backpacker’s hostel.

But life aboard the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society‘s anti-whaling ship Bob Barker is no holiday.

The Bob Barker, named after an American game show host who donated money to buy the ship, is docked in Sydney’s White Bay and will soon make the voyage into the freezing waters of the Southern Ocean for a three-month campaign.

Over summer, the crew of 35 conservationist volunteers will stalk the Japanese whaling ships and brave nature’s whims to put themselves between the hunters and their prey.

The crew will work exhausting days and nights in an ocean known for its dangerous winds and huge waves.

“I think this season down in the Southern Ocean is going to be the most intense year to date,” the ship’s manager, Andrea Gordon, said.

“Sea Shepherd has been getting stronger and more successful every year and last year we saved over 850 whales and we intend to shut them down completely this year.”

We talked to the crew – who were busy doing maintenance and stocking medical and food supplies – about a day in the life of the Bob Barker’s crew at sea.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/environment/whale-watch/it-takes-a-pirate-to-catch-a-pirate-20111102-1mviq.html#ixzz1vPNKK3PQ

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Sea Shepherd crew | Life aboard the Bob Barker, posted with vodpod