June 24th, 2009 Funchal, Madeira, Portugal - The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society today officially announced Operation Waltzing Matilda the 6th Sea Shepherd campaign to defend the whales of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary from Japanese poachers.
About 30 members of the media attended the press conference despite the hotel manager insisting that the meeting had to be low profile and held in the back of the lobby hidden by the bar.
This is a research project, said Captain Paul Watson. Weve decided to demonstrate our solidarity with the Japanese, Australian, and New Zealand Research projects. Our primary objective is to research non-lethal means for defending whales. Of course this may include research into Japanese ships hull plate thickness, vessel stress tests, and paint chip analysis, as well as observation of whaler behavior in response to olfactory stimulation.
To illustrate the research theme of the Sea Shepherd campaign, Sea Shepherd Netherlands Director Laurens de Groot and Sea Shepherd UK Director Steve Roest donned inflatable boats marked research and armed themselves with Styrofoam harpoons to chase IWC delegates. In their attempt to get delegate tissue samples for research purposes, they had difficulty finding elusive Japanese whalers. However, Australian Environment Minister Peter Garrett innocently stumbled into the path of the harpoons and because Australia is apparently voting to support the slaughter of Humpbacks in Greenland, he was considered a legitimate target.
Major US Shark Fin Trader Sentenced In Federal Court Mark Leon Harrison of Southport, Florida had a bad day this week, but not bad enough considering the millions of sharks finned. Harrison, according to NOAA Special Agent-in-Charge Hal Robbins, was once one of the United States’ largest commercial shark fin buyers. Today, he is a convicted criminal in financial ruin.
While the Sea Shepherd crew has not been able to stop the whaling fleet from continuing their operations, they aren’t ready to back down yet either. In part they claim victory as they have been able to at least keep the whalers from reaching their quota. Full of emotion and more determined than ever they refuse to back down.
Sea Shepherd Awarded Coveted 4-Star Charity Rating by Leading Charity Evaluator Sea Shepherd Outperforms 75% of U.S. Charities and Achieves Charity Navigator 4-Star Rating for Sound Fiscal Management Sea Shepherd, the most committed direct action marine conservation organization in the world, has been awarded 4-stars by Charity Navigator, a leading charity evaluator based in the United States.
Captain Watson Presents David Rastovich at the Waterman’s Ball Captain Paul Watson was honored to present the Environmentalist of the Year Award to freesurfer and activist David Rastovich at the 20th Annual SIMA Waterman’s Ball held at the Ritz Carlton in Laguna Niguel, CA on August 7, 2009. David Rastovich, known simply as “Rasta” in the surfing world, has been a long time supporter of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, participating in a past campaign to the Galapagos Islands to seize illegal longlines and joining forces with members of Sea Shepherd in Taiji in 2007 to bring worldwide media attention to the annual dolphin slaughter.
As the Sea Shepherds manage to continue to trail the Japanese whaling fleet, they believe they are keeping them from being able to continue to hunt the whales. However, little do they know the Japanese have using some of their harpoon ships as decoys while the others have already returned to hunt. With the Steve Irwin trailing the factory ship by a safe margin, a Harpoon Vessel is able to turn over a whale which the huge factory ship hauls up its slipway right in front of the astonished Sea Shepherds.
Modest Mouse Supports Sea Shepherd with “King Rat” Music Video Modest Mouse released the highly anticipated music video for “King Rat” directed by Heath Ledger on August 4, 2009. “King Rat” is a track off their new No One’s First, And You’re Next album.
