World Ocean Defence Newswire Archive

The Norwegians murdered their first whale of the season this week-end. They slaughtered a calf. The Norwegian pirate whalers have set a quota of 1,052 whales for 2008. This despite the fact that the International Union for the Conservation of Nature estimates that Minke whale populations are only half of what was previously thought.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society today has set the conditions for the Canadian government to release the Farley Mowat. The 657 ton Farley Mowat was taken by armed force by agents acting under the direction of the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans in waters outside the Canadian twelve mile territorial limit. At no time did the Farley Mowat, a Dutch registered yacht, ever enter the twelve mile territorial limit. Therefore the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society considers this action to be an act of high seas piracy.

In addition to seizing the ship and terrorizing crewmembers on board with firearms and excessive force, the agents acting like pirates seized personal property of crewmembers who were never charged with any offense by the government of Canada. It is the opinion of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society that when armed men board a ship at sea in international waters and steal property at gunpoint that such an act can be legitimately defined as piracy.

Also on the newswire: Canada To Charge Sea Shepherd Crew For Documenting Seal Hunt | Sea Shepherd Crew Attacked By Mob Of Seal Hunters | Interview With Captain Onboard Sea Shepherd Ship On Current Seal Hunt | Canadian Coast Guard Rams Sea Shepherd Ship (twice) | Sea Shepherd Moves In On Canadian Seal Slaughter

At 0700 Hours (PST) and 1100 Hours Atlantic time the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society vessel Farley Mowat was attacked by officers from two Canadian Coast Guard icebreakers the Des Groseilliers and the Sir Wifred Grenfell. Captain Alex Cornelissen informed the boarders that the Farley Mowat is a Dutch registered ship in international waters and that Canada had no legal right to restrict the free passage of the vessel through international waters. The ship was in the Gulf of St. Lawrence well beyond the Canadian twelve mile territorial limit. It has been reported that both the 1st officer and the captain of the ship have been arrested and will be brought before a court in Sydney, Canada. According to Federal Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn, the "safety and security" of the sealers is the government's main focus and the seizing of the Sea Shepherd vessel will ensure a "safe and orderly" seal hunt. Last week, the same Mr. Hearn announced that Canada would lay charges against the captain and first officer of the anti-sealing vessel for coming too close to the seal hunt.

Captain Paul Watson was speaking by phone with Farley Mowat communications officer Shannon Mann when he heard the voices of men screaming for the crew to fall to the floor. The men carried guns according to Mann and could be heard by Captain Watson threatening the Farley Mowat’s crew. As Captain Watson was speaking with Shannon Mann, the Satellite phone went dead and nothing more has been heard from the Sea Shepherd crew. The Farley Mowat was documenting violations of the humane regulations and gathering proof that the seals were being killed in an inhumane manner. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is assuming that the video tapes will be seized by the Canadian authorities. There are 17 crewmembers onboard the Dutch registered Farley Mowat from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, Sweden, South Africa, Canada and the United States.

Also on the newswire: Canada To Charge Sea Shepherd Crew For Documenting Seal Hunt | Sea Shepherd Crew Attacked By Mob Of Seal Hunters | Interview With Captain Onboard Sea Shepherd Ship On Current Seal Hunt | Canadian Coast Guard Rams Sea Shepherd Ship (twice) | Sea Shepherd Moves In On Canadian Seal Slaughter

Canadian Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Loyola Hearn has decided to charge the Captain and 1st Officer of the Sea Shepherd ship Farley Mowat with the "crime" of approaching too close to a seal slaughter without permission from the Minister.

The Sea Shepherd argues that their vessel has "right of free passage" through the waters they have been navigating in: "The problem for Hearn is that the Farley Mowat is a Dutch registered yacht not engaged in economic activity navigating with the right of free passage as allowed by International Maritime law in waters beyond 12 miles of Canada. .. If the Canadian government forcefully boards a Dutch registered ship in international waters that will not be looked on very kindly in Europe. If they actually arrest two Europeans for the "crime" of documenting a seal being skinned alive, that will not play very well in Amsterdam, Stockholm or London or Paris."

Also on the newswire: Sea Shepherd Crew Attacked By Mob Of Seal Hunters | Interview With Captain Onboard Sea Shepherd Ship On Current Seal Hunt | Canadian Coast Guard Rams Sea Shepherd Ship (twice) | Sea Shepherd Moves In On Canadian Seal Slaughter

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s ship, the Farley Mowat, was attacked this morning by a mob of 30-40 angry fishermen. The attack took place while berthed in the French islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon. The Farley Mowat was berthed in St. Pierre to transfer video footage of the Canadian seal slaughter onto shore and await the resumption of the slaughter, which was temporarily suspended after the death of four sealers.

Tensions quickly escalated in St. Pierre as the growing mob hurled rocks, threats, and insults at crew members of the Farley Mowat. Cameraman Simeon Houtman was assaulted by an axe-wielding fisherman after stepping onshore to film the incident. "The fisherman raised the axe above his head with one arm and tried to knock Simeon back with his other. Simeon jumped back onto the ship just before the mob threw our gangplank into the water," said Peter Hammarstedt, First Officer of the Farley Mowat.

Also on the newswire: Interview With Captain Onboard Sea Shepherd Ship On Current Seal Hunt | Canadian Coast Guard Rams Sea Shepherd Ship (twice) | Sea Shepherd Moves In On Canadian Seal Slaughter

This is an interview with Captain Cornelissen of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society about the Canadian government sponsored slaughter of 275,000 baby harp seals happening now. Captain Cornelissen speaks about the efforts of the crew onboard the Farley Mowat to document the killing of seals and the interference they have encountered from the Canadian Coast Guard. Interview by George Cadman of Free Radio Santa Cruz. Length: 27 minutes 45 seconds. On the newswire: Canadian Coast Guard Rams Sea Shepherd Ship (twice) | Sea Shepherd Moves In On Canadian Seal Slaughter

The Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker CCGS Des Groseilliers twice rammed the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship Farley Mowat today. The Sea Shepherd is present at the baby seal hunt to document the killings. Witnessing a seal being clubbed is a crime in Canada.

The Coast Guard had ordered the Farley Mowat to not approach the area where seals are being slaughtered. When the Farley Mowat did not comply, the Coast Guard rammed the vessel near the port aft stern area. After the Farley Mowat stopped in the ice, the Coast Guard rammed the ship a second time in the same area of the ship causing damage to the plates in that area.

The Coast Guard has demonstrated extreme recklessness with this move. The crew of the Farley Mowat were engaged in documenting the slaughter of seals. They were not interfering with the hunt. The annual slaughter of baby harp seals has started off the east coast of Canada in Newfoundland last week. The slaughter of over 325.000 baby seals has been widely condemned around the world, but the Canadian government is ademend in its continued support for it.

The annual slaughter of baby harp seals has started off the east coast of Canada in Newfoundland. The slaughter of over 325.000 baby seals has been widely condemned around the world, but the Canadian government is ademend in its continued support for the barbaric mass killings. The EU is said to pass legislation this year to ban the sale and/or export of seal products within its borders.

Last week, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship 'Farley Mowat' set off from Bermuda to make its way to the killing fields. The last time the Sea Shepherd went out to confront the seal hunt was in 2005 when eleven Sea Shepherd crew were arrested. The aim of this year's 'Seal Defence Campaign' is to try and document the atrocities. In Canada it is a crime witness a seal being killed. Never mind going out there purposefully to document whats going on " It is a crime to take a photograph of a dying seal. It is a crime to video tape or film a sealer doing his grisly work. Unless you have a permit and the government is not granting permits. And the regulations that ban anyone approaching the slaughter are actually called the 'Seal Protection Regulations'."

The Australian government has informed the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society that they are not prepared to provide any assistance if the Japanese whalers seize any crew from the whale conservation vessel Steve Irwin. Japan has said that any crewmembers seized by their crews will be returned to Japan for prosecution for interfering with their whaling operations.

Captain Paul Watson onboard the Sea Shepherd vessel Steve Irwin received an email from the Australian government. See the letter and Captain Watson’s response below..

Our campaign against Planktos Inc. is over. The controversial plan to dump hundreds of tons of iron ore dust into the ocean in a bizarre scheme to seed plankton blooms has been abandoned by the Planktos corporation of California.

The Hunt for the Japanese Whale Poachers Resumes...

The objective in returning to the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary is to stop whaling activities for another three to four weeks and to keep the Japanese whalers on the run, wasting fuel and further exposing their illegal poaching activities to the rest of the world.

As predicted by both Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd with their ships heading to port low on fuel, the Japanese whaling fleet have returned to their bloody trade of slaughtering whales, killing at least 5 as at February 2 according to early reports from the Australian Government patrol ship Oceanic Viking. Sea Shepherd are vowing to refuel and return to the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary to stop whaling again this season, but needs to urgently fund-raise the cost of the marine diesel and other supplies required.

Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has criticised Greenpeace for using the Whaling issue to raise funds without an ongoing commitment to continue harassing the whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean for the rest of the whaling season - about 2 months. The Greenpeace Esperanza has abandoned the whaling fleet and is presently en route to Hobart to refuel with no intention to return to the Southern Ocean this season.

Yesturday, activists from NYC banded together with activists from Washington D.C. to protest the kidnapping and hostage taking of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society members Giles Lane (UK) and Benjamin Potts (Australia). At the end of yesterday's protest activists received the call: The Sea Shepherd heroes had just been released.

"With "allies" like the Australian government and Greenpeace, it is becoming increasing difficult to keep the Japanese fleet from killing whales," said Captain Paul Watson. "Australian Customs deliberately led us away from the fleet and Greenpeace is guarding the coordinates like the crown jewels to prevent us re-locating the fleet."

The two men were transferred to the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin at 0930 Hours Melbourne time (2030 Hours GMT). Both men were happy to be reunited with their shipmates and eager to return to chasing the Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Oceans. Both men reported that although they were roughed up when they first boarded the whaling ship, that they were treated well during their time onboard.

Activists braved the cold of New York City today to protest yesterday's kidnapping of Giles Lane and Benjamin Potts by an illegal Japanese whaling ship. They were released earlier today to the Ocean Viking (Australia's ship).

The activists -- Australian Benjamin Potts, 28, and Briton Giles Lane, 35 -- were detained Tuesday after boarding the harpoon ship to protest Japan's whaling programme. They were handed over to Austrialia's 'Ocean Viking' earlier today.