The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has confirmed today that the organisation will be returning to the Southern Ocean in an attempt to end Japanese Whaling in Antarctica. Operation Divine Wind, Sea Shepherd’s eighth Antarctic campaign, was announced today after Japan’s Asahi News confirmed that in December the Japanese whaling fleet intends to resume whaling in the Southern Ocean whale Sanctuary.
Sea Shepherd believes that the motivation of the Japanese whaling fleet has moved from one of purely hunting whales to a desire not to surrender to the Sea Shepherd’s conservation campaigns. It is a thesis which is supported by Tokyo’s Yomiuri Shimbun – the biggest selling newspaper in Japan – which reports that Japan’s centre-left government has decided that giving in to the militant Sea Shepherd organisation would be against the national interest.
Patrick Ramage of the International Fund for Animal Welfare Global Whale Program, believes that this is whaling's last gasp: ‘the industry is out of gas and crashing. This move is more about pride than profit, more about politics and prerogatives of the Japanese Fisheries Agency than it is about public support.’
The Resumption of Whaling an ‘Insult’
In a media release Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson described Japan’s decision to resume whaling as an ‘insult’ to anti-whaling nations who provided financial aid following the tragic tsunami and earthquake events which occurred in Japan earlier this year. Watson said ‘they have accepted foreign aid to help the victims of that tragedy, and are now shifting funds to perpetuate this illegal and obscene massacre of defenseless whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.
It now seems they are simply obsessed with killing whales not for need or for profit, but because they believe they have the right to do and kill what they wish in an established international whale sanctuary, just for the sake of defending their misplaced “honor.”’
Watson believes that the return to whaling is ‘a disgrace and a smack in the face to everyone who stepped forward to help in their time of need.’ According to Sea Shepherd the activities of the Japanese whaling fleet are already a serious financial burden to the Japanese economy with over US $200 million of debt. Despite this, the Japanese Government has announced that a further US $26 million will be spent on increasing the security of the whaling fleet.
Japanese Whaling Fleet to Return to Southern Ocean Without Coastguard Protection
Australia’s ABC Radio has reported though that the Japanese coastguard has turned down a request to protect the whaling fleet. According to reporter Mark Willacy the Japanese coastguard does not believe it can protect the fleet adequately, nor does it have enough authority in international waters.
Willacy, a highly respected foreign correspondent and past winner of Australia’s premier journalism prize – The Walkley Award – went on to comment that ‘this is a program Japan doesn't need in a time of financial crisis when there are people without homes, there are communities that have been totally wiped out. That money, that whaling money could possibly be better spent on those sorts of programs.’
A Fifth Season for Whale Wars?
Over 100 Sea Shepherd volunteers will participate in Operation Divine Wind which will take place during the southern hemisphere’s summer season (December to February). Sea Shepherd’s most recent past Antarctic campaign, Operation No Compromise, saved the lives of over 800 whales according to the conservation organisation. Operation No Compromise was the fourth Sea Shepherd Antarctic Campaign to be documented by the US reality television series Whale Wars.
The public scrutiny brought about by the show has led some to speculate that the television program might help end whaling as a modern industry. Jason Carey, the executive producer of Whale Wars reported during that the filming of the most recent season Sea Shepherd’s founder Paul Watson had said 'I'm probably the only reality star that's trying to put [my]self out of the business in TV.’ Whether Operation Divine Wind will coincide with a fifth season of Whale Wars is yet to be announced.
About Sea Shepherd
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society was founded in 1977 by Paul Watson as an international non-profit conservation organisation with the stated aim of ending the destruction of habitat and the slaughter of wildlife in the world’s oceans.
Sea Shepherd is governed by a board of seven directors and has several advisory boards including a a Media and Arts Advisory Board, whose members include actor Sean Penn and Director Martin Sheen. Sea Shepherd has been criticised for its confrontational direct action methods which some believe are violent and excessive.
Cate Allan - Cate Allan is a Melbourne-based writer and editor. She has published widely on language, travel and the arts.
Join the Conversation