Sea Shepherd labeled as Pirates by US Federal Court

General Discussion
1

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/27/whale-wars-captain-labeled-pirate-federal-judge-anti-whaling_n_2774520.html?1361993126&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009

 

Not super surf-related, but just read this article and I was kinda dissapointed. If anyone has seen the incredible Rastovich movie “Minds in the Water” they do a lot of work with Sea Shepherd and even go out to the cove in Japan where dolphins are slaughtered wholesale. The movie is incredibly touching (as is "The Cove) and really shines light on how we need to respect and care for these creatures. Seals and Dolphins are our surf buddies, and whales are some of the most magnificent creatures in the ocean. It’s a shame people still hunt them regardless of their endagered statuses or international bans. 

 

The part that made me the sickest was this:

Dogs and Kangaroos are not endangered species, nor is there an international ban on hunting of them... It's a shame they try and throw out this justification like it means something. It's like they don't even understand why everyone is in an uproar about this. I'm sure if some tribesman from some jungle cannibal tribe went to Japan and started murdering people and eating them, they would throw his ass in jail regardless of whether or not it was his "culture"

 

If anyone has not yet seen "Minds in the Water" I highly suggest it

2

They are dirtbags and should be sent to the bottom by the ships they harrass. 

3

100% against whaling, but I won’t miss theses guys when they are gone.

They actually are scum, trying to justify their behavior by hopping on a popular bandwagon.

The guy whose boat they kamikazi’ed, Andy Gil, is suing them also.

Hopefully they will soon end broke and in jail, instead of at the bottom of the sea.

At least when they get out of jail, they might get to go surfing again…

 

4

Well, at the risk of being called a dirtbag pirate: this stuff makes my blood boil. I think Sea Sheperd should be given free torpedo’s and send every comercial whaling vessel to Neptune. For that matter: I think all elephants, rhino’s and tigers should be equipped with tracking devices so C130 Spectres can permanently circle the herds and nature reserves and atomize any poacher that tries to come near those animals. And groundteams should take out ivory and rhino traders permanently by lighting them up and calling in a Helfire-strike from a drone. How’s that for a UN resolution? There’s been too much talk and no action.

Totally non-realistic ofcourse but nice to blow off some steam on the subject. Thanks.

5

They are criminals endangering themselves and others on an unforgiving sea.

Their past acts of violence and distruction are only justified in their own radical mind set----it’s hard for me to feel empathy for those doing what they themselves dispise…or maybe it’s the attention they intend to grab.

But as my old drill instructor told us on our first day at boot camp,…" you only want to get my attention one way,…and that’s when you f*#k up,…

you don’t want to get my attention!"

6

My brother was the Chief Engineer on Sea Shepard for a year or so.  At first he was pretty excited about the job and the work they do.  But his attitude changed fairly rapidly as he got more into the job and dealing with Paul Watson and others in the organization.  Eventually he simply couldn’t stand the hypocracy and quit.  They were still begging him to come back for years after.  Apparently, there are some misconceptions about the whole operation, many of which are perpetrated by the organization itself.  Crew are completely volunteer.  No pay what so ever.  Only captain, Mate and Chief are paid positions.  As my brother took a huge pay cut to work for them, he came to realize that a good deal of money and donations to the organization were funneled off by the top.  Crew were fed and bunked in pretty minimal fashion.  If you wanted to eat better you had to get it yourself.  And try not to feel bad about not sharing with everyone else.

The boat itself was a floating piece of junk.  A retired ice breaker, it is kept afloat with duct tape and chewing gum because the top people are siphoning off funds and nothing is left for maintenance.  He eventually got fed up with constantly begging for money to keep the ship operating, while the “media whores” and their entourage  were jetting all over like rock stars.  Now when ever I watch an episode of their show I laugh, knowing it to be 75% bullshit to perpetuate the image.

Although he did enjoy playing with the water cannon.

7

I will say that I don’t agree with their tactics, but the sad fact is they are the only ones out there actively trying to put a stop to this. I find it shocking that international peacekeeping forces are unable to do anything about it because of this “research loophole” that allows harvesting of whales for scientific purposes. I’m pretty sure when a country exploits a loophole like that and kills tens of thousands of something, claiming “research” as the reason, and then produces no scientific results and has an internationally visible market for the meat - that should be considered “actionable proof”.

 

I do think it’s funny that they’ve been classified as “pirates” however, considering typically a “pirate” would be a person or group who commit robberies of other boats at sea. 

8

My wife’s family has a long history in commercial fishing (Pt Loma Portagee).  Two of her brothers-in-law are out at sea as we speak.  Needless to say, they take a dim view of the festivities as shown in those shows.  

 

One thing that always cracks me up is how bad they are at everything they do and the various risks they subject these untrained crewmembers to.  They get lost, the lose communication between each other, they wander through dangerous conditions the ship isn’t up to handling, they handle deck equipment poorly and they have almost no crew discipline.  The unintended comedy factor is the main reason we sometimes watch.    It’s like a trainwreck  - sometimes I feel like my family members are just waiting to see someone to die in an accident.  

 

One of the relatives says he doubts they’ve ever saved a single whale.  

9

One of the best South Parks ever lol!

Can I get a refund for my Rasta Keels if I sand off that stupid logo?

10

Complete absolute kooks - the worst part of the whole gig is that their actions actively DISCREDIT legitimate marine conservation/protection efforts. Good intent, but the execution is piss-poor.

 

I too harbor doubts that they have ever actually “saved” a whale…but they certainly have burned many dinosaurs motoring around the southern seas. Don’t get me started on the P.R. debacle involving the rammed vessel in Honduras/Guatemala (that they were cited for).

 

Dave Rastovich is a very talented surfer but his sea shepherd releated activities strike me as primarily a marketing ploy, catering to yuppie quasi-soul-bros…you know the type. Big $$$ in that demographic. Another prime example of how pro-surfers sometimes should just…surf. And not talk.

11

Who are we to tell another culture what to eat or what to harvest from the sea?  Not to mention the piracy activities of this band of misfits.

Don’t have an opinion on hunting whales, seals and dolphins…never tasted them.  I’m told they taste just like chicken.

12

 

Well when the entire international community has put a ban up against something, and listed a particular animal as endangered and therefore protected, it’s a bit different than “us” telling another culture what to do… It’s more akin to how some sects of Indian culture practice “honor murders” and will actually do things as sickening as beheading their own daughters for not participating in an arranged marraige. It’s considered illegal in the country as a whole, but some still practice it as part of their “culture” and are regularly arrested for their atrocities. Just because someone plays the “cuture” card doesn’t mean that it gives you carte blance to do whateer you want. I’m sure a lot of African tribes will tell you about how it’s part of “their culture” to rape and murder newborn infants because they think it protects them against AIDS, but that doesn’t mean we should just do nothing about it. 

I could also gurantee you that if we starting slaughtering panda bears claiming it was “our culture” we would catch just as much shit from the Asian world as they do from the western world for their whaling practices

13

And for those who doubt any whales are actually “saved” by these guys…

 

"January is considered peak whaling month for Japanese whalers, but this year it came and went for the first time without a single whale being slaughtered.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/sea-shepherd-claims-early-victory-against-whalers.html#ixzz2MMcmYyI9"

 

So far this year they completely shut down the busiest month of the season for whalers. Also, you’ll find there are a lot of graphs that show whale kills overall have actually increased as of late, but that can be associated to the fact that the Japanese become more brazen every year that they get away with this. The fact of the matter remains, though, that even if they failed at every attempt they made to save whales in a year, but managed to get between a whaling boat and a single pod of whales long enough for them to get away - it would be a victory. Much like human rights movements; even the smallest ding on the surface, compounded over time, will eventually make a dent in a problem. 

 

Like I said, I may not agree with their methods, but the real sad truth is that nobody else is stepping up with any other kind of solution. By the time anyone else figures out a more “diplomatic” way to come between the Japanese and whales/dolphins, it may be too late

14
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whaling#Modern_whaling
it does not look like it is internationally banned, many countries including parts of the US still partake in it. many whales are endangered, many are not threatened at all. To justify the actions of the sea shepard members is to agree that it is acceptable to take the law into your own hands. With that mind set, many acts of violence in recent years would be considered acceptable. these are terrorists... just because you agree with their cause does not make the act of terrorism okay.
adam
15

[quote="$1"]

..never tasted them.  I'm told they taste just like chicken.

[/quote]

I have to say, raising chickens sure seems like a lot less work.

I 

It's interesting to note, according to a 2008 survey by the Nippon Research Center, 95 percent of Japanese either consume whale meat very rarely or never at all. Annual per capita consumption now amounts to no more than four slices of sashimi a year.

From the Japan Daily Press:

 "Japan’s yearly whale hunt in the Antarctic costs around $60 million, and with 75% of last year’s catch going unsold, that is quite a bit of money lost."

http://japandailypress.com/japan-to-push-wider-sales-of-whale-meat-to-make-up-financial-losses-0818089

"The Institute of Cetacean Research, which organizes Japan’s whaling expeditions, stated the statistic that out of the 1,200 tons of the minke, Bryde’s, and sei meat, three-quarters could not find interested buyers."

http://japandailypress.com/75-of-japans-whale-meat-goes-unsold-144199  

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2012/06/14/national/75-of-whale-meat-unsold-at-auction/

"Polling conducted on IFAW’s behalf by E-Square, a Japanese public research company, shows that whale meat consumption has fallen to about 1 percent of its peak in the 1960s. Current stockpiles of unsold produce have increased to nearly 5,000 metric tons, about four times greater than they were 15 years ago.

In late 2011, the government tried to shift some of the stockpile by holding public auctions, yet 75 percent of the meat remained unsold, according to figures compiled by the journalist Junko Sakuma."

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/japan/130214/whaling-whalemeat-japanese-food

My feeling is, the only reason the Japanese govenment continues to subsidize whaling, is it is one way they are able to thumb their noses at the western world. 

"Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japan's newly appointed fisheries minister, will brook no criticism of the country's whaling practices. He told the AFP that criticism of whaling amounted to "prejudice against Japanese culture...."

http://www.realclearworld.com/blog/2013/02/japan_minister_vows_to_keep_eating_whale.html 

 

 

 

16

Okay, Sea Shepherd are pirates, privately funded pirates.

The Japanese are no less pirates only they have national backing.

The political cunundrum is so complex it continues to create 

obstical upon obstical in the path of the human journey toward

postive change in the natural world.

Sea Shepherd intends to set an example as it show how risky

effecting such change can be.

Trying to see the world from my small vantage point and effecting

something positive is confusing but we each have to find a way to

do some small part to affect what appears to be a downward spiral.

 

Mahalo, Rich

450×600 48 KB

17

In India cows are sacred.  Here they are sacred when topped with cheese and served between sesame seed buns.  The US signed the ban on whaling and still allows Native Cultures (Eskimo, Aleut, Tlingit, etc) to harvest whales and walrus.  We protect their native traditions unless it becomes economically necessary to do otherwise.  Like taking sacred land to drill for oil.  In the end, Japan will cease whaling when it is no longer economically profitable.

And just for arguments sake there are actually 10 countries that still allow whaling though in most cases it is restricted to cultures practicing ancient tradition.  US, Canada, Caribbean, Russia, Norway, Greenland, Iceland, Indonesia, and Faroe Islands.  Yet it is almost exclusively the Japanese ships targeted by Sea Shepard.

18

Halcyon…

The japanese whalers are not pirating. Maritime Piracy is: ‘the robbery, attacking, or hijacking of another ship.’ In this instance, the only pirate is the sea shepard, any act of violence on another ship by the whalers is in self defense. Japanese govt. is not backing a pirate operation…that could cause a war. Whaling done on endangered species is uncalled for, and will only last so long. Whaling done on a plentiful species is justifiable and must be done with caution to avoid depleting the population as is the same with any other form of hunting. Emotion gets involved in this situation and it is important to make sure all facts are correct.

As for the japanese commercial whalers…

I’m still trying to wrap my head around the comment of 75% of product not being sold. This is not feasible from an economic standpoint. Those businesses who choose to harvest 3 times more product than they can sell are wasting money on labor, fuel, etc. and the costs would become much higher than revenue and they could no longer continue business without reducing the amount of whales collected. Whaling firms who harvest closer to the amount they have a market for would out compete those who don’t.  If someone could explain to me how these businesses are still sucessful, I would love to hear it… 

thanks,

adam

PS: I like whales too

19

The Wiki article on it says the industry is heavily subsidized by the Japanese government.  It also comments that Japan is a food importer and because of that they stockpile food.  

 

But not selling at auction is what it is, so I imagine it will eventually die off on it’s own due to lack of demand.  

20
[quote="$1"]

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whaling#Modern_whaling
it does not look like it is internationally banned, many countries including parts of the US still partake in it. many whales are endangered, many are not threatened at all. To justify the actions of the sea shepard members is to agree that it is acceptable to take the law into your own hands. With that mind set, many acts of violence in recent years would be considered acceptable. these are terrorists... just because you agree with their cause does not make the act of terrorism okay.
adam
 

[/quote]

http://www.animallaw.info/articles/ovuswhalelaws.htm

“In 1946, the International Whaling Convention (IWC) was established to oversee the management of the whaling industry worldwide. It was established in response to the rapid decline in the population of whales from whaling. In 1986, the IWC instituted an indefinite ban on commercial whale. This ban is still in effect, with certain exceptions. Countries such as Japan and Norway have not honored the ban.”

 

It is very much illegal everywhere in the world - the worst part is Japan does not even do this in their own waters, so they are simply ignoring international law entirely by exiting their territorial waters and commiting these atrocities in areas governed by international law which forbids the practice. Nowhere in the US continues to whale, unless they are doing it illegally. These whalers are poachers, plain and simple. 

 

And by the way, an “act of terrorism” is only based on which end you’re viewing it from. Many people in Afghanistan think that we are the terrorists in our war against Al Queda. The simple fact remains that until somebody else comes up with an effective, non-violent way of solving this problem, Sea Shepherd is all we have