Pressure on Japan

(Artist Credit:  unknown)

The pressure is getting more intense on Japan regarding their "scientific whale hunts" and dolphin drives.  Their defenses for killing these mammals are sounding more and more strident and empty hallowed.  Japan is feeling it but are they reeling from it yet?   Sea Shepherd continues to be the only organization out there that continues to put the pressure on Japan and also continues to cost the whalers millions of dollars annually.   Meanwhile, the rest of the world is catching on more and more to the weak defenses Japan keeps putting up for why they continue to kill whales in the name of science and to kill dolphins in Taiji.

If you haven't seen The Cove yet, please do.  It is now available in DVD and can be bought at places like Amazon and rented at Blockbuster, Netflix, etal.  

The pressure on Japan needs to continue and to get stronger.  Various reports out there about the high levels of mercury aren't going to go away.  The Cove has opened up a lot of peoples' eyes on this senseless and cruel slaughter and while the dolphin killers let up on it for awhile because of all the publicity, unfortunately they are right back out there and it's business as usual.   See:   Grotesque Business as Usual

If you care about this issue, please go to the following sites and learn more about what is going on out there and what you can do to help.

Take Part: The Cove

Save Japan Dolphins

Make no mistake, Japan is fully aware of the mercury levels that come from their citizens eating the whale and dolphin meat from their "catches."  See:   Taiji Mercury Levels Extremely High    And from the Save Japan Dolphins blog:  Ten Times Higher Mercury Levels

Back to the whalers, Sea Shepherd states they are planning to pursue attempted murder charges for the ramming of the Ady Gil.  The captain of the Ad Gil shares his crew's experience in this article:   Brush with Death

To go back to the liars that are Japan in regards to their defense on killing whales and dolphins, here are a couple of articles, one from Sea Shepherd and one from the science community, that debunk Japan's defense that continues to develop more holes than swiss cheese:  Bogus Science of the Japanese Whaling Fleet  and  Secret Science Cast Doubt on Japanese Whale Numbers

Interesting article:  The Impact of Animal Rights, Rescues and Shelters on Animal Law

If you live in or near Florida, USA, you might be interested in knowing about this:  Sonic Death: Blasting the Oceans in Pursuit of Oil   I find this absolutely frightening.  If you want to get involved and/or take action on this issue, see the Save our Shores! Florida website. 

We have choices.  We can continue to stand by, be silent, be apathetic, and be careless when it comes to our non-human friends and this very planet we all inhabit, or we can speak up and take action.  You can write letters to your representatives in your government, sign petitions, take part in local rallies, donate to the causes you are passionate about, help spread the word through a blog, your social networking site, word of mouth, etc etc etc.  There are no small actions.  Just by the power of the people deluging the Japanese Government, embassies, and their media, the pressure is rising on them.  Sooner or later, the dam WILL break.  Japan does not like bad publicity, especially on these issues.  And they know their defenses and excuses for these slaughters is no longer sounding true to more and more people.

The same goes for any country that supports these unnecessary slaughters.  And the same goes for the USA Government in their continued use of navy sonar and sonic gun blasts that obviously and painfully have a detrimental effect on our marine mammal friends.

Some examples of pressure being applied to governments to cease with activities that are harmful to the ocean species is:  U.S. Navy Sued Over Anti-Sub Training Range Where Rare Whales Calve

NOAA May Prohibit Navy Sonar Testing at Marine Mammal Hot Spots

Administration Agency Gives Supreme Court Poke in Eye on Military Tests Killing Whales

I've shared this before but it's worth repeating:  Seeing the Songs of Whales    

Whales are so popular now that they are starring in Super Bowl ads:  Why You're Going to Need a Pickup Truck to Save the Whales

Beluga Whales take an interest in Scuba Divers.  More photos here.

P.S.  If you are on Facebook, please do a search for The Cove and join the community there :-)

Till next time,

Dolphin

Season's Greetings from the Sea

Artist credit:  Unknown (If anyone knows, please contact me.)

Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday season :-)

No rest for the weary on Sea Shepherd, despite the holiday. Both the SS and the Japan Whalers continue to clash on the bottom of the earth. There continues to be no peace or goodwill between them and obviously there will not be a holiday truce, which continues to not bode well for our mammal friends.

A few days ago, Sea Shepherd made a stop off the Adelie Coast in Commonwealth Bay. The French government extended their support to the Sea Shepherd organization. Ironically, the Japan fleet that was chasing the Sea Shepherd, was not welcomed and apparently did not care. The Captain of the Shonan Maru No. 2 replied by saying, “Japan does not recognize the Australian Antarctic Territorial claim.” Such is the ego of these folks.

Captain Watson made an interesting statement here:

Captain Watson is also concerned that the situation in the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary does not bode well for the recent conference on climate change in Copenhagen, asking, “If the signatory nations of the Antarctic Treaty and the International Whaling Commission cannot stop the illegal killing of endangered whales in an established whale sanctuary in violation of the Treaty and the IWC regulations, how are they ever going to get real on the bigger issue of climate change?”

You can read more on this here.

A couple days ago, the Sea Shepherders and Japanese Whalers had quite the clash that went on for about three hours.  As usual, the complaint from the whalers side was the use of butyric acid, the use of lasers, and buoys with the intention of disabling the propellers.  The complaints from Sea Shepherds had mostly to do with the whalers use of LRAD in their attempt to disorient their helicopter pilot as well as using full blast water cannons on the helicopter while it was sitting on the Sea Shepherd.

In addition, despite the Australian government's claims to be opposed to the whaling and their threats of legal action, they allowed the Shonan Maru 2 to dock and refuel in their port.

You can read more on this here:

Whalers Clash with Protesters

Steve Irwin in Water Cannon Fight

You know what they say about politicians?  Nothing ever changes in government.  The people may change, but the BS remains the same.

Australian government continues to say one thing, but by their inaction, prove yet again that their words are just empty ones.  Is it any wonder then that Japan continues to NOT take them seriously?  Govt Threatens Legal Action

In related news regarding Australia's inaction and empty threats, Captain Paul Watson has his latest commentary available here:  Exchanging Letters with the Australian Minister of Environment

Please check out Peace in the Water.  It's a wonderful wonderful site.

Meanwhile, a Christmas Wish for each of us in honor of our whale and dolphin friends, our oceans, and our planet.

Feliz Navidad to each of you and all the ultimate best in the coming New Year :-)

Mahalo,

Dolphin

Save the Whales (Again)

(Artist credit: Brian Marshall White)

It's a pretty sad world we live in when someone can bash a seal over the head repeatedly and only be fined $2,000 and be suspended from the seal hunt for one day, and yet someone who photographs or videotapes that very event, is fined $100,000 and can be sent to jail for a year.

Where are the freakin' priorities here people?

Canadian Justice is a Wonderful Thing - NOT

Sea Shepherds season this year in intervening with the whale culling is now over and they have returned to Australia. Captain Watson is calling this season a success and you can read his outline of reasons why here: Ten Reasons that Operation Musashi Has Been a Success

When the SS returned to Hobart a couple days ago, the Australian authorities were waiting with a warrant to seize all videos, photographs, global positioning records, etc from the SS. Captain Watson states that while he and his crew were treated civilly and professionally, he points out that the Australian authorities also need to do the same to the Japanese whalers. Otherwise, this is a biased and one-sided affair.

You can read about that here: Australian Federal Police Seize Whale War Videos

Captain Watson states he will be spending the next few months making repairs to the Steve Irwin and is hoping to secure enough funding as well for a 2nd ship before the start of the next whaling season at the end of this year.

Let's hope his wish comes true. With two ships out there, they could double their success rate against whalers.

This is a good start though: Sea Shepherd Granted 2009 Funding from the Dutch Lottery

Three cheers for Russia's Putin, who is proposing a ban on driftnets being used for fishing. As it is well known by now, many marine mammals get caught in those nets and end up drowning. Will we one day see ALL countries outlawing the use of driftnets? Let's hope so.

Are there secret meetings going on between governments to lift the ban on whale hunts? According to The Independent paper (UK) it would seem so. Please read up about that here: Save the Whale (again)

Human greed appears to be a factor in the possibility of the Orca whales in the Pacific Northwest dwindling in numbers. While it is already illegal for boats and tourists to pursue Orcas and attempt to get close to them, that still doesn't stop people from doing it or trying to make a few bucks off these mammals. Why are people so stupid?

Til next time,

Dolphin

Whale Wars - Some Thoughts

(Artist credit: Jeff Wilkie)

It sucks to be sick. I had another much more grueling round of bronchitis to suffer through and it took over three weeks to get over that. :: sigh :: It's hard to get anything done when you have to cough like a crazy woman every few minutes. Plus it exhausts you.

In addition, my partner went in for a heart catheter procedure a little less than two weeks ago. So that was surreal and provided some tense moments for awhile. Fortunately, all is okay on that front.

At least I was able to get out for a nice dinner for my birthday on the 15th, so that was nice!

With the Whale Wars season now concluded on the Animal Planet, I wanted to share some thoughts / observations I had.

It is unfortunate, in my opinion, that so much was focused on the group politics/drama ...

Some observations I've made about the Sea Shepherd ..

(1) While it is known that the volunteers who come on board do not necessarily have experience with being out to sea and what to do, etc ... seems to me that there should be some training provided or to have it be a prerequisite to being on the team, to have either the training or some experience beforehand. So many incidents that happened could have had very different, disastrous, and potentially fatal results.

(2) While I admire Paul Watson's passion for what he does and given he's spent pretty much his entire life dedicated to this issue., I have to wonder sometimes if he's not grandstanding for the media or creating situations that are manipulating the media to give the Sea Shepherd more attention.

(3) The top of the crew seem to have a hard core attitude that runs along the lines of "You're either with us, or against us." That may be a little too extreme of me to say, but it does kinda push towards that general direction and I find that turns me off a little bit. Without having provided any training or having screened people before boarding (to my knowledge anyway) it seems the management on the crew expect people to know right off the bat what to do, how to act, etc ...there's little to no room for mistakes out there and yet they continue to bring newbies and rookies out there and expect the world from them.

(4) An example of possible media manipulation on the part of Captain Watson (and this is just my opinion and observation and I am the first to admit I could be way off base) is when he was allegedly shot and a bullet was found in his vest. What did he do immediately after announcing that this happened? He went back inside the ship and starting talking to various media outlets about what happened and wrote about it online. I dunno. I smell a rat here ...

Maybe I'm being too hard on them ... I support the Sea Shepherd organization and have a great deal of respect for what they do because so far, they are the ONLY organization that continues to be out there consistently, year in and year out, dedicating themselves to saving the whales and bringing to the public light, how very serious this issue is and how apathetic and inhumane the Japanese whale hunters are on this matter.

So those are my thoughts at this time, based on having watched the entire Whale Wars season.

I welcome other observations and opinions on this. Please feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Now that I'm not coughing anymore and finally have my energy back, I'll be here with regular updates. Please accept my apologies for the long absence. Every day I would tell myself I need to go to my computer and write something, but I just didn't have the energy to focus on it. I appreciate those of you who have sent me messages inquiring about how I'm doing and when I would be back, etc ... your kind thoughts and get well wishes are very much appreciated!

Mahalo,

Dolphin

Sea Shepherd Making a "Splash"

(Artist/Image credit: Howie Cooke)

I've been battling either the flu or a very bad chest cold :-( I am recovering though and doing much better than the past couple of days. I don't get sick often and usually when I do, I've been likely to get over it within a day or two ... but this time around it's really kicked my butt.

Seems yesterday (or was it the day before yesterday, Australia time?) the Sea Shepherd departed Brisbane for the Antarctica. Many of the crew from last season are back along with a number of new members as well.

Among the new members is actress Daryl Hannah. She's long been involved in environmentalism and is well known for roles in movies such as Splash and Roxanne.

You can read more in the latest update at Sea Shepherd.

In my opinion, Japan is hypocrisy personified. They have stated they will arrest anti-whaling activists if they interfere with their hunts this year.

For all their talk about killing whales for "research," Japan has resumed importing whale meat. Uh huh.

Interesting commentary here: Bad Deals for Whales

This part disturbs me a great deal:

The Japanese are working out an unsavoury deal with the outgoing George W Bush administration of the United States that might not only give them what they want, but also shed them of any need for Caribbean support.

If I was a whale or a dolphin, or any other marine mammal species, I would feel like there's a war being waged against my very survival. Between noise pollution and increased acidification, I'd wonder if my days on this planet were severely numbered. I'd also wonder if the majority of humanity really cared. Because if they did, there'd be a helluva lot more people standing up and fighting for my right to survive and my right to continue to live in this planets' oceans and to be a part of its' future.

Will this help?

The UN conference is considering a resolution that would require countries to mitigate noise pollution by mandating quieter engines and banning seismic surveys in areas where marine mammals are known to gather.

One can only hope. Because I, for one, would rather see a future of whales, dolphins, seals, sharks, turtles, manatees, etc. frolicking in our oceans than to see military ships, harpoons, and missiles, etc. waging battles against one another with our planet and humanity ultimately being the losers.


If you recall, earlier this year in mid February, I wrote a bit about Dolphins & Whales in 3D. It appears that this film has grossed over 10 million. Over 1.6 million tickets have been sold thus far and the film is continuing to make the rounds at theatres around the world. Read more here.

Be sure to check out their site at: Dolphins & Whales in 3D

Have a good weekend everyone!

Mahalo,

Dolphin

Japan Heads to Whale Sanctuary

(Artist credit: Christian Lassen)

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday :-) Mine was pretty quiet for the most part, other than some insanity involving horses my partner was taking care of over the weekend. They are racing thoroughbreds and decided to have some fun with us.

One came barreling up behind me while I was walking one horse to the barn and if I had been just one inch to the left, I would have gotten run over. Sheesh. Insane beasts lol

We celebrated our Thanksgiving on Saturday since my partner had her own family plans on Thursday, and Friday she had to work for a bit so it would have been too late to really start dinner. It was fun to cook it together although she did the cooking part. I have a tendency towards either burning things or blowing them up.

The only thing I'm good at in the kitchen is making coffee and bagels, and using a barbeque grill (unless that explodes too.)

Onto some news about our beloved marine mammals out there ....

This breaks my heart. 150 whales died off the Tasmanian coast. One of the theories is that it was due to echolocation.

We can prepare our military and continue to kill each other, but never mind that we're killing off our various and diversified species around the world. Priorities on this planet sure can suck.

You can read more about these pilot whales here: Whales Die Off Tasmanian Coast

I've been watching the Whale Wars on Animal Planet and find it utterly fascinating. It's almost like you're a fly on the wall on that ship and can witness up close, just how things are happening out there in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

I'm up to the episode where two of the crew boarded the Yushin Maru last season and were finally brought back to SS. I've got another episode on my DVR to catch up on.

I think there are only seven episodes airing so not many left. I do know the Animal Planet is filming the Sea Shepherd again this season.

So far, my opinion of Sea Shepherd has not changed, based on what I've been watching on the Whale Wars. I do have to say though, that I am sometimes ... :: searching for the right word :: ... amazed by how unswayingly passionate Paul Watson is in his pursuit of the Whalers, the things he says, and the actions he takes.

It's also interesting to witness tension at times amongst the crew and differing viewpoints, opinions, and judgments on what should or should not be done.

Still, they have my respect for what they do. They are the only organization taking this strong and consistent of a stand against the whaling .. and for that, they have my admiration and respect.

The Sea Shepherd site has several new updates.

As of November 17th, the Japanese whalers had embarked for the Whale Sanctuary to begin another season of unapologetic slaughter.

Has Australia finally taken a firm stand against whaling? You decide. Read it here: Australian Senate Wants Immediate Action on Whaling

The Sea Shepherd's Steve Irwin ship will depart tomorrow, Dec. 3rd, from Brisbane for Antarctica. Since they'll be the only ship out there attempting to pursue, intercept, and hopefully intervene in the whaling, let's hope they meet with success. Should be a very interesting season to say the least.

There is worry off the New Jersey coast, that a pod of dolphins may stay too long and end up drowning if the waters freeze over and they can't come up for air. There is controversy over whether the government should let them be and let nature take it's course, or if humans should intervene and try to help herd the dolphins down to warmer waters.

You can read more about it here: Should they stay or go?

I recommend this article for your reading consideration: Butchered Dolphins, Oceanic Collapse

Finally, on a serious political note. I just finished reading Brigitte Gabriel's "They Must Be Stopped." I highly recommend it.

Mahalo,

Dolphin

Whales, Sonar, and Wolves, Oh My

(Artist credit: Christian Lassen)

Is the whale ban in danger of being lifted? The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society is concerned that yes, this is very possible. They note that there are other countries outside of Japan and Norway, that appear to condone or support whaling.

While they have expressed support of the Whale Wars series being currently shown on the Animal Planet and the fact that it will bring further heightened awareness globally on this unnecessary killing, they also would like people to be aware that this is a GLOBAL problem.

You can find out more about WDCS's Global Marine Protected Areas Campaign and make your voices heard by signing the Global MPA Petition by visiting our website at Whales.org. If you’d like to do more to protect whales, you can adopt one at Whale Adoption.

Some good news regarding the Navy Sonar testing and it's impact on marine life. Please check it out at the Huffington Post.

I still don't think they're doing enough, but gotta start somewhere.

No offense to the people who fell in love with Sarah Palin and were supporting her bid to become our next Vice President, but I am personally glad we dodged a bullet with her.

Her track record as Alaska's governor, especially on the conservation front is, to put it mildly, atrocious.

Beluga Whales are now on the Endangered Species list and under protection. However, Palin was opposed to it. (Oh, that's just shocking.)

It really isn't shocking considering it's been alleged that she's shot at wolves from helicopters and supports this practice.

Speaking of wolves, what goes up must come down. Isn't it interesting that the Bush Administration supports adding beluga whales to the Endangered Species list, but is opposed to adding wolves?

Please consider signing the petition to help prevent these "11th hour attacks" on the wolf population in the Northern Rockies states. Take Action here.

Back to the Whale Wars. Here's another shocker. Japanese whalers are apparently not happy with this series and how it portrays them, so the public relations has kicked into high gear. Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research claims the Whale Wars is "deceiving" the people who watch it.

Excuse me while I take a moment to laugh hysterically.

You can read Captain Paul Watson's take on this here. Watson's Response.

I'll have more later!

Thanks for stopping by and for your continued interest and support :-)

Mahalo,

Dolphin

Whale Hunts About to Begin Again

In briefly continuing the spirit of my last post about Proposition 8 .... We've certainly come a long way in the past 48 years, haven't we?

(Artist credit: Christian Lassen)

Did you know that Greenpeace, just two weeks before the Japan whale hunt is slated to begin, has surrendered their fight out in the Southern Ocean?

Sea Shepherd's Captain Paul Watson said:

"As a Greenpeace co-founder, I am deeply offended that Greenpeace has been raising millions of dollars in the name of defending whales all year and now two weeks before the Japanese whaling fleet is scheduled to depart, they announce they will not be going," said Captain Paul Watson. "In my opinion they collected funds under false pretenses and now they have abandoned the whales. Shame on them."

You can read Sea Shepherd's version of this here: Greenpeace Surrenders


However, Greenpeace claims they are taking the fight directly to Japan this time.

Greenpeace also claims credit for one of Japan's ships, the Oriental Bluebird, being shut down by the Panamanian authorities. If you recall, the Oriental Bluebird was not only used to help the Japan fleets to refuel, they were also transporting whale meat - illegally. This particular ship was not authorized or licensed for this purpose.

Regardless, these two organizations, in my opinion, need to stop fighting each other and just keep on fighting the battle to save the whales. They may take different routes to achieve their results, but both have collectively accomplished a great deal in bringing the whale slaughter issue to greater awareness globally.

In other news, I'm saddened to report that the Supreme Court has little to no sympathy for the plight of our marine mammals and the effect that Navy sonar has on them.

"I thought the whole point of the armed forces was to hurt the environment," Associate Justice Stephen Breyer said, half-jokingly. "Of course they're going to do harm."

Kidding or not, I find this statement just appalling. It's comments like this that encourage the continuing raping and pillaging of our planet and it's sentient beings, without any regard to the consequences.

Till next time,

Dolphin