Conservation and the Environment / Archived topic
Started by Drew ·
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The first incident between the Sea Shepherd's Steve Irwin and the Japanese whaling ship Kaiko Maru, where crew from the Irwin threw butryic acid and methylcellulose (slime basically) bottles at the Kaiko Maru. Normally this is not great news as I abhor this madness but since Eric is on the Irwin, I do hope the colliding ships don't make too big a mess out there and get someone seriously hurt.
And Eric is obviously busy snapping away by the credits. The balls of these guys to write 'Research' on their ships.
Hope no one gets hurt and the Japanese fleet just go home.........
Particularly as Research is written in English, not Japanese.
I thought I'd add the Sea Shepherd link too - as Eric gets credit there. I'd imagine that he won't in the main media, where the photos benefit SS and the whales.
Alex
Why does it say in the BBC link that they threw "10 bottles of rotten butter" at them? Is that just a translation error, or does Sea Shepard actually call the acid by that name?
Anyhow I hope everyone gets home in one piece and no whales are killed.
Cheers
James
And Eric is obviously busy snapping away by the credits. The balls of these guys to write 'Research' on their ships.Hope no one gets hurt and the Japanese fleet just go home.........
Well Jeff, the IWC is voluntary so the Japanese are playing within the rules, as we all do. If they leave the IWC, the numbers will surely be pre'86 high. Which would not be a good thing. So long as they keep the guise of the ICR, then they are acting legally if not ethically.
Which is why the Greenpeace investigation is so much more interesting to me... a court case on Japanese soil exposing the farce of the ICR. Now it's very Japanese to not dig too much into what isn't public knowledge so for something like this to happen is a boon to anti-whaling parties within and outside Japan. The best thing is that it reduces nationalistic tendencies, which all other methods tend to bring up. Look at what Americans had to put up with over Iraq the last 5 years.
It does SS a great deal of PR for fundraising though. 
Well Jeff, the IWC is voluntary so the Japanese are playing within the rules, as we all do. If they leave the IWC, the numbers will surely be pre'86 high. Which would not be a good thing. So long as they keep the guise of the ICR, then they are acting legally if not ethically.Which is why the Greenpeace investigation is so much more interesting to me... a court case on Japanese soil exposing the farce of the ICR. Now it's very Japanese to not dig too much into what isn't public knowledge so for something like this to happen is a boon to anti-whaling parties within and outside Japan. The best thing is that it reduces nationalistic tendencies, which all other methods tend to bring up. Look at what Americans had to put up with over Iraq the last 5 years.
It does SS a great deal of PR for fundraising though.
Lot's of Catch-22 situations in this as many other things, with two sides or more to every story; ultimately all organizations including the UN are 'voluntary' and who we support often depends on which side of the fence we find ourselves.
Ultimately we know that only a 'diplomatic' solution will end the killing of whales, though one has to give credit to Eric and the SS guys for putting themselves out there and forcing the issue to center stage. If nothing else it helps the Greenpeace guys get more done through more 'diplomatic' means.
As I said I just hope no one gets hurt, and the Japanese whalers pack up and go home.
James- I have been wondering about the "rotten butter". I remeber from high school chemistry that you did indeed get "Butyric acid" when you left butter to go rancid sitting on your desk for a few days ...and I do remeber a particular lesson on the difference between "experiment and prank" from a certian chemistry teacher. But I do not remeber if you can equate rancid butter with buturic acid or if the acid is a component of the rancid butter. It does stink tho! According to Seashephers the acidity of whatever it is that they are tossing is very low - but if you read the cdc website it lists Buryric acid as a medium strong acid that is corrosive to the eyes, skin and repiratory tract. See http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ipcsneng/neng1334.html
In any case, controversial as their methods are, I am glad that the SS are out there keeping the media spotlight on the whaling issue. If it wasn't for them we would hear hardly anything about this issue.
Why does it say in the BBC link that they threw "10 bottles of rotten butter" at them? Is that just a translation error, or does Sea Shepard actually call the acid by that name?Anyhow I hope everyone gets home in one piece and no whales are killed.
Cheers
James
James, Butyric Acid was equated to rotten butter by Watson in the official interview, "like orange juice is citric acid". 
Bad basic chemistry sell to me. Butyric acid is only like 3-4% in butter. Depending on the concentration they use, it can be more than painful to humans, not to mention deadly to marine animals (which it ends up being flushed into the sea).
http://www.intox.org/databank/documents/ch...yric/cie344.htm
Note section 11 (those against animal testing should not read it).
In any case, controversial as their methods are, I am glad that the SS are out there keeping the media spotlight on the whaling issue. If it wasn't for them we would hear hardly anything about this issue.
Well I'm not too sure about that. Sure they keep the news in mainstream media, which can be good. To them any publicity is good publicity. However, how effective is it in ending whaling in the actual country doing it? Did any of the negative publicity and strong arm tactics work against Norway and Iceland? Has it worked against the Japanese so far? If anything, it increased resistance due to the nationalism this sort of action usually brings up. I'm not against all of Sea Shepherd's projects (Galapagos is one I think they did well with) but I get the feeling this anti-whaling protesting is more for fundraising via grandstanding than actual results.
Does anyone know how many whales the Japanese have taken this year? I have searched for anything in the news, but can not find any numbers, I only hope that they have been thwarted on most attempts.........
Does anyone know how many whales the Japanese have taken this year? I have searched for anything in the news, but can not find any numbers, I only hope that they have been thwarted on most attempts.........
I'm fairly sure the Japanese fleet only just reached the antarctic waters, so the killing is only just now begining for this season.
I was told by Sea Shepherd that their plan is to sink the Japanese whaling fleet economically. The last few years they have been running at a loss, I'm sure at least partly due to the reduced number of whales they are returning with as a result of Sea Shepherd's efforts to stop them. How long can they continue to run at a loss, especially in these troubled economic times?
My understanding too is that the Japanese fleet are operating in Australian Antarctic Waters, which they refuse to recognise, as well as refuling in Antarctic waters, which even Sea Shepherd refuse to do. So it's something a little more personal for those of us here in Aus (that are following at least). Last season our goverment sent a ship down to at least monitor what was happening in our waters, however, this year they decided not to, rumor had it that there would've been an economic loss of some sort if they had.
I've also been told that the 'acid' they are throwing is no more acidic that coca cola.
I hope everyone gets back safely though (from both sides), especially Eric and Adam.
Ryan.
I was told by Sea Shepherd that their plan is to sink the Japanese whaling fleet economically. The last few years they have been running at a loss, I'm sure at least partly due to the reduced number of whales they are returning with as a result of Sea Shepherd's efforts to stop them. How long can they continue to run at a loss, especially in these troubled economic times?
My understanding too is that the Japanese fleet are operating in Australian Antarctic Waters, which they refuse to recognise, as well as refuling in Antarctic waters, which even Sea Shepherd refuse to do. So it's something a little more personal for those of us here in Aus (that are following at least). Last season our goverment sent a ship down to at least monitor what was happening in our waters, however, this year they decided not to, rumor had it that there would've been an economic loss of some sort if they had.
Actually they've been operating at a loss since the '90s. With 6 ships and a stock surplus over a few thousand tons (again depending on who you ask), they can't sell the meat they catch to consumers. This has nothing to do with economics. The whaling "industry" is being supported by the government like many industries are all over the world (imagine the spanish fleets without subsidies... siesta time!). The real issue is nationalism at the governmental level downwards. It will continue to be supported until the nationalism (or the guys who support it) dies out. It is a response to the perceived Western imperialism that has been pervasive especially post WWII.
When will the people learn that foreign interference, however "insightful" and "right", is not going to be taken easily? The Japanese are holding on to this as a point of national pride. Anti Japanese whaling protests worldwide is the same as anti-japanese period. That's how the nationalists spin the media coverage.
They gave in to the moratorium due to fishing rights threats by Reagan, only to have the terms negotiated "shift" away a few years later. This was a big blow to the diplomatic negotiation effectiveness of the Japanese government.
Naturally, the inane pride of the Japanese government to support a dying, money losing industry for political reasons can only be equaled by the anti-japanese rhetoric that springs up in the news. Why does the west react so badly to the Japanese whaling industry when the Norwegians take almost as many whales ILLEGALLY?
Furthermore, it is just such campaigns that NGOs like Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd need to solicit donations. No doubt, they do great work in many of their projects, but to this end, it is the whales which suffer the most as the impasse continues.
Sweet. Eric's filming promos for Whale Wars Season 2 already?
Well seeing how successful WW season 1 was for Animal Planet, it's not surprising Season 2 is forthcoming. Some people suspect that the Robert Hunter was renamed the Steve Irwin for the Animal Planet association.
Well seeing how successful WW season 1 was for Animal Planet, it's not surprising Season 2 is forthcoming. Some people suspect that the Robert Hunter was renamed the Steve Irwin for the Animal Planet association.
I suspect that this is the case and what a great piece of PR it is. I am sure naming the ship Steve Irwin will get many more people interested in the SS fight against whaling in general. Whether people agree with Captain Watsons tactics or not, he is out there doing it.
Stew
Interesting article and quotes. Finally got a hold of Whale Wars last weekend and got through episode 3 (the boarding/ "kidnapping"). I'll try to refrain from any sarcastic comments other than to say I do find the Steve Irwin crew quite amusing... Can't wait for the episode that includes the alleged shooting...
"Cameras putting lives at risk in Antarctic: whalers"
http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?Men...ontentID=115116
The JWA said in a statement today that the protest expedition was extremely volatile and had the ingredients to turn “very nasty, very quickly” because of the film crew on board.
“Last season in the Antarctic, the presence of the Animal Plant film crew pushed the Sea Shepherd extremists into committing more and more dangerous actions, all for the benefit of the camera,” said JWA president Keiichi Nakajima.
“(Captain) Paul Watson even orchestrated a fake event to make it look like he was shot, all of which was aimed at denigrating Japan and boosting the ratings of the Animal Planet un-reality TV series.
“We expect more dangerous and criminal activity will be carried out by the Sea Shepherd-Animal Planet crew because they want to make an exciting television series and this fills us with very great concern for the lives of the Japanese crews and scientists,” Mr Nakajima said.
Mike
I think you'll have to wait the uncut DVD with special behind the scenes clips to find anything juicy. Apparently there was a fist fight among the crew that was cut as well.
The ICR isn't all that bright either with their defiant speech. Goes to show it's more pride than industry at stake here. Even now they are willing to throw a few hundred million away annually for nationalistic pride.
Drew, naw I'm waiting for the Director's cut on bluray... or the Japanese version - "Kujira - tastes like chicken"
If this is a national pride thing for Japan, I can see anti-whaling become a thing of national pride for Australia and New Zeland as they keep pushing us...
http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/news-081230-1.html
Aussie,
Glenn Inwood isn't the best PR guy and I don't know why the ICR still keep him. Furthermore quotes from one newspaper can easily be manipulated into inciting furor for the sake of garnering support. Ian Campbell, the ex minister, has been criticising the new Labor government since he was voted out and now is calling out for war against the Japanese. It has become a politically charged issue used by many to further their own particular gains. Such posturing isn't going to protect whales but does great for those who feed off the issue's publicity for so many other reasons. In fact, it scarily shows some semblence to the One Nation Party rhetoric of the 90s.
Inciting racial dissent to me is more reprehensible than the whaling issue. Only 1 percent of the Japanese people consume whale meat with any regularity (this number is from Greenpeace). That means 99% of the Japanese population don't. With this seemingly anti-japanese media, it's galvanized action in Japan to even promote whale meat to the general masses. Whatever the Sea Shepherd is doing to stop the Japanese from hunting on their own, they are now going to buy from Norway and Iceland, the 2 countries which are ignoring IWC regulations totally and have a commercial whaling industry that is wasting whale meat. In fact, if the SS manage to spoil the Japanese hunt by half, then the Norwegians will have taken more whales than the Japanese... all unmolested and no anti-norwegian rhetoric (anymore, since SS tried in the 90s and failed to get anything done). Why won't SS go back to Norway to disrupt the hunts? Because Paul Watson was convicted in Norwegian court in absentia and will face jail time. I think there was talk of a EU arrest warrant for him as well.
Would the anti-whaling rhetoric in general be as strong if the Japanese just bought their whale meat from Norway and Iceland? Would Ian Campbell be asking for war against the Norwegians? Things are not black and white in this politically and emotionally charged subject.
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