The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship Steve Irwin collides with the stern of the Japanese whaling vessel the Yushin Maru No. 2 on Jan. 5. The collision was one of two in the past two days involving the Steve Irwin and a Japanese whaling vessel. Nobody was injured in either collision. Photo courtesy of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

By Shawn Gaynor

Feb. 6 (GNT) — Japanese whaling vessels and a conservation group ship have collided for the second time in two days as diplomatic efforts to end Japanese whaling in Antarctic waters leave all sides unhappy.

At 6:00 p.m. local time Feb. 6, the Steve Irwin, a Dutch registered ship operated by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, and the Yushin Maru No. 3, a Japanese harpoon boat, collided in the rough waters of the Rose Sea.

The Yushin Maru No. 3 and another Japanese harpoon boat, the Yushin Maru No.1, were attempting to pass by the Steve Irwin to transfer their cargo of whales to the Japanese factory ship the Nisshin Maru when the collision took place.

The Steve Irwin had been blocking access to the Nisshin Maru and attempting to prevent the transfer of whales between harpoon boats and the factory ship in an effort to frustrate Japanese whaling operations.

The Japanese Institute of Cetacean Research, which oversees Japanese whaling, characterized the collision as an attack by the Sea Shepherds. But the Sea Shepherds claimed it was the Japanese ships that instigated the collision, and said they were unable to avoid the Yushin Maru No. 3.

The Steve Irwin’s Captain, Paul Watson, said that disorientation caused by the LRAD acoustic weapons that the whalers were using on the conservationists contributed to the collision.

“I was dazed by the sonic blasts being used on us at close range,” said Captain Watson. “I have to admit it was difficult to concentrate with that device being focused on us.”

The Sea Shepherds first claimed the Japanese use of the military-grade sound weapon several days ago, and Japanese officials have admitted to the use of a sound device.

“I’ve never felt anything quite like it,” said Emily Hunter from Toronto, Canada. “It penetrates the body and you can feel your muscles vibrating. It made me dizzy and left me somewhat dazed.”

The Japanese fleet reported the stern of the Yushin Maru No. 3 was lightly damaged in the collision, while the Sea Shepherds reported the Steve Irwin suffered no noticeable damage. There were no injuries on either ship.

The collision was the second in as many days. On Jan. 5, the Steve Irwin collided with the Japanese harpoon vessel Yushin Maru No. 2.

“We were in the process of blocking the transfer from the Yushin Maru No.2 when the Yushin Maru No. 1 moved directly in front of the bow to block us,” said Captain Watson. “I could not turn to starboard without hitting the Yushin Maru No. 1. I tried to back down but the movement of the Yushin Maru No. 2 made the collision unavoidable.”

Hunting whales was banned in 1986 by the International Whaling Commission after evidence that the world’s largest mammals were being driven towards extinction.

Japan continues to hunt whales every year under the guise of scientific research, but the nearly 1,000 whales that Japan hopes to harvest this year are destined to be sold as meat to Japanese consumers.

Conservationists insist the Japanese hunt is illegal both due to the commercial result of the “scientific whaling program” and because the annual hunt takes place in an internationally designated whale sanctuary.

IWC Chairman William Hogarth proposed a compromise agreement on Feb. 2 that would either phase out Japan’s annual Southern Ocean whale hunt over the next five years in exchange for opening whaling in Japanese waters, or would allow the “scientific whaling” program in the Southern Ocean to continue under IWC, not Japanese, annual limitations.

Conservation groups have stood together in saying the deal is too lenient on Japanese whalers.

Perhaps the most polite response from conservationist came from Dr. Susan Lieberman, director of WWF International’s Species Program who stated, “World Wildlife Fund is glad to see the IWC taking steps toward ending the deadlock on commercial whaling, and to ending commercial whaling under the guise of science once and for all, but these compromise packages give too much to the whalers and not enough to whale conservation.”

“What is needed is a plan to put an immediate halt to all scientific whaling, which simply has no place in the 21st Century,” added Lieberman.

Most conservation groups commenting on the issue have been afraid that the plan would open the door to renewed commercial whaling by allowing the Japanese to whale commercially in their own waters.

The Japanese have also been cold on the plan. On Feb. 3 Japan’s Fisheries Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, ruled out any compromise that terminated what he called Japan’s scientific whaling in the Antarctic and North Pacific.

“We cannot accept a proposal that would end our research whaling program,” he said.

In the meantime, the Sea Shepherds and the Japanese whaling fleet play out their tense chase across the Rose Sea.

“I wish we did not have to be down here in this dangerous situation,” said Watson. “Because international law is not being enforced, we have no choice but to do what we can with the resources available to us to defend these endangered whales.”

GreenNewsToday.org

By Shawn Gaynor

Jan. 30 (GNT) — The Icelandic Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture announced this week that it would be raising catch quotas for whaling over the next five years.

This endangered Finn whale, harpooned in 2006, signaled Iceland's return to whaling. Iceland announced this week a dramatic increase in whaling quotas. Photo courtesy of Greenpeace International.

The Icelandic whaling fleet will now take 150 Finn whales and 100 mink whales per year, in what Icelandic officials are calling “a continuation of sustainable whaling.”

The quotas are a dramatic increase over last year, when Icelandic whalers were authorized to catch nine Finn and 40 Minke whales.

Conservation groups have decried the move, with some calling for a boycott of Iceland’s already devastated economy over the issue.

Sara Holden of Greenpeace International called the decision a “shameless stunt that has nothing to do with use of natural resources.”

Holden said that a loss of tourism dollars will far outweigh the boost in revenue that whaling could bring. According to Greenpeace, over 100,000 tourists per year go whale watching in Iceland.

Capt. Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, whose group claimed responsibility for the 1986 sinking of two Icelandic whaling ships in Reykjavik harbor, took a harsher stance on the new quotas.

“Iceland has spat in the face of marine conservationists around the world with their extremist announcement,” said Watson.

The two whaling ships scuttled by the Sea Shepherds were never repaired, and Icelandic whaling was shut down for two decades. Iceland resumed its whaling program in 2006.

The Sea Shepherds have responded to the new rules by calling for a boycott on Iceland’s products and tourism.

According the Sea Shepherds, Jeff Skoll, the founder of E-Bay, and Hollywood Producer Bob Yari both signaled support for the boycott, informing Iceland officials that they will no longer be using Iceland to refuel their private jets en route to Europe.

The Finn Whale is listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, whose “red list” tracks endangered species around the world.

Iceland, Norway and Japan are the only nations who still engage in whaling.

GreenNewToday.org

By Shawn Gaynor

Jan. 14 (GNT) — Seventeen members of Everglades Earth First! were arrested on charges including trespassing and resisting arrest during a Jan. 11 protest near Florida Power & Light’s Martin County power plant.

Earth First! activists protest Florida Power and Lights closure of the Barley Barber swamp. Greennewstoday.org

Following a weeklong protest demanding FP&L reopen the Barley Barber Swamp to public use and independent scientific study, six activists entered the closed swamp and chained themselves to its massive old-growth cypress trees.

Martin County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested the six, as well as an additional 11 activists who were among those protesting from an adjacent property.

Everglades EF! expressed its concern that FP&L has not lived up to its obligation of preserving the health of the area’s old-growth cypress forests, by failing to maintain healthy water levels in the area. The environmental activists have also accused FP&L officials of breaking their promise to reopen the area to the public and scientists.

“I do not want to be arrested, but I will take the risk in order to raise
awareness about the slow death that is occurring in the Barley Barber Swamp,” said Stevie Lowe, one of the activists arrested in the closed swamp. “When FP&L took ownership of this landmark, they promised to preserve the old growth. They have not. They have expanded their power-plant facility, which has drained the swamp of its water and is causing it to die.”

In response, FP&L maintains that the claims regarding inadequate hydration of Barley Barber Swamp are completely false.

“FPL entered into an agreement in 1983 with the South Florida Water Management District under which we committed to maintain appropriate water levels in the Barley Barber Swamp,” said Jackie Anderson, a FPL spokeswoman contacted by Green News Today. “We have maintained hydration and report our monitoring results monthly to SFWMD as part of our fulfillment of the agreement.”

But some scientists, including Dr. Sydney Bacchus, a hydroecologist familiar with the area, have expressed concerns that the proximity of the area to the FPL plants massive cooling ponds, combined with poor water management, are destroying the rare old-growth forest.

The Martin County power plant. Photo courtesy of FPL.

“Monitoring water levels once a month is grossly inadequate, even by hydrologic standards and it provides absolutely no information about impacts to surrounding wetlands,” said Dr. Bacchus.

A statement by Everglades EF! noted that the activists launched the protest because “the Barley Barber Swamp is one of the few remaining old growth cypress swamps in the Southeast. Several of the bald cypress trees in Barley Barber are over a thousand years old. They are the oldest in Florida and the entire Southeast region.”

Dr. Bacchus agreed with the activists about the area’s significance.

“I believe that Barley Barber Swamp historically was one of the most significant forested wetland ecosystems in the northern Everglades,” said Dr. Bacchus. “I’m only aware of one other stand of old-growth cypress similar to this one. It’s in (Southwest) Florida and is being destroyed by surrounding mines.”

An old growth cypress tree in the Barley Barber swamp. Greennewstoday.org

Even FP&L characterized the area as “unique,” and “one of the finest remaining cypress swamps in Florida,” pointing out that it was their company that had voluntarily preserved the swamp more than 30 years ago. Up until 2001, FP&L allowed public access to the area and maintained a boardwalk through the swamp among its towering cypress trees.

The area was closed in September of 2001 as a precaution, due to its proximity to the Martin Country power plant — a massive 3,750 megawatt plant providing energy to more than half a million Florida residents.

Dr. Bacchus expressed skepticism over the closure. “I saw absolutely no support for FP&L’s claims that public access to the wetlands were prohibited for security reasons. If those claims were true, that would ensure that the public lands associated with its proposed new fossil fuel facility in the adjacent county also would be closed for security reasons.”

FP&L officials said last year that they are committed to reopening the area to the public, but have yet to announce a timetable for doing so.

In the meantime, the lonely boardwalk that once carried scientists and marveling nature lovers into this rare old-growth area remains closed. And little can be done to determine, let alone insure, the health of the area while the closure remains in place.

Source: GreenNewsToday.org