Japan's whaling fleet sets out for Antarctic

[struggle4progress]

Source: Reuters

By Chisa Fujioka

TOKYO - The main ship in Japan's whaling fleet set out for the Antarctic on Monday for its first hunt in the region since limping home with just over half its planned catch in April following clashes with militant anti-whaling activists, environmentalist group Greenpeace said.

The Nisshin Maru set out from Innoshima in western Japan, Greenpeace said, part of a plan to take about 850 minke whales and 50 fin whales. Last year six ships took part in the hunt.

The vessel's movements will be followed by a ship belonging to Sea Shepherd, an anti-whaling group that skirmished repeatedly with the fleet at sea last year in an attempt to halt the hunt.

Earlier on Monday, Australia urged Japan to abandon its yearly hunt, launching its own scientific whaling study in the Southern Ocean to prove it was not necessary to kill the ocean mammals to study them ...

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE4AG19F20081117

[Kolesar]

1. Australia's government is saying the right things:

"Modern-day research uses genetic and molecular techniques as well as satellite tags, acoustic methods and aerial surveys rather than grenade-tipped harpoons," Australian Environment Minister Peter Garrett told reporters in Canberra.

"Australia does not believe that we need to kill whales to understand them," Garrett said.
-**--**--
Note that the world whale population is only a few percent of what it was in the 19th century. Those killings before the petroleum age did the damage.

[Coventina]

2. Peter Garrett is awesome! I'm so glad he got into politics.

:loveya:

I'm so glad he's there to call bullsh*t on the Japanese "scientists."

[Number9Dream]

9. USGS - Marine mammal data shows collapsing populations

Some sad data from the US Geological Survey:

http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2003/10/SW200310-300.pdf

snip> "The new whaling fleets, from Japan and the Soviet Union, equipped with maritime technology developed during World War II, intensively sought fin whales, sei whales, and sperm whales, species that had not been taken in large numbers until after the war. By the mid-1970s, all of the great whales of the North Pacific were severely depleted."

This will be the result in the southern Antarctic waters also.

[Barrett808]

3. And Darryl Hannah is shipping out with Sea Shepherd

I'm expecting another exciting season of Whale Wars:

http://animal.discovery.com/tv/whale-wars

[flvegan]

4. Sea Shepherd departs next week, I believe.

Donate here to support direct action to save the lives of whales:

http://www.seashepherd.org/support-us/

[LostinVA]

8. Have you been watching the show on TLC?

[flvegan]

10. Wouldn't miss it for the world.

Dogtown comes on right after it, too! Nice to have something to do on Friday nights :eyes:

[LostinVA]

11. I can't always watch Dogtown -- sometimes, it upsets me too much

[Doremus]

5. Maybe the global financial meltdown will put a stop to it.

Whaling fleets and cold storage of a product no one wants cost a lot of money.

Maybe the ship should just take bushels of yen and toss them in the ocean. Might be cheaper.

[Barrett808]

6. SSCS is reporting that the whalers left with smaller crew and little fanfare

It looks like ICR is embarrassed and increasingly desperate over Whale Wars. Let's hope this is the last time they undertake this brutal enterprise.

[LostinVA]

7. I hope Paul Watson kicks their murdering, lying asses

[investintrains]

12. God's angels protect the whales from the Japanese, from Sarah Palin and all other whale killers

God's angels protect the whales from the Japanese, from Sarah Palin and all other whale killers
www.greenpeace.org
www.seashepherd.org
www.nrdc.org

[wordpix]

13. goddamn it! Must send $ to Sea Shepherd