A Minor Victory

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Japan whaling fleet accused of using tsunami disaster funds

Other news from the Sea Shepherd Society

In the Name of Science - A Review of Scientific Whaling (PDF)

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HOORAY!

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Whale Wars Returns

Tonight season 4 of Whales Wars begins on The Animal Planet Station at 9:00 PM. Join the Sea Shepherds and the newsest addition to their fleet of 3 ships as they try once and for all to end the Japanese whale slaughter in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

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Great News for the Whales

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Captain Paul Watson and the Sea Shepard fleet have caused the Japanese whalers to abandon their Scientific Research Hunt in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary:

On Friday, Japan said it was bringing home its four whaling ships, weeks before the usual end of the annual cull in mid-March, citing the need to protect their crew from Sea Shepherd's sustained harassment.

Japan -- which hunts the ocean giants under a loophole to a global ban that permits lethal "scientific research" -- has killed 172 whales this season, only about a fifth of its target, the fisheries agency said.
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Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara said Tokyo had summoned the Australian, New Zealand and Dutch ambassadors and made "a strong request to take effective measures to avoid the recurrence of Sea Shepherd's obstructionist activities".

But...

Australia -- which last year launched legal action against Japan's whaling programme at the International Court of Justice -- and New Zealand earlier on Friday said they hoped Japan had given up whaling for good.

Deplorable...

Japan has long defended whaling as part of the island nation's culture and makes no secret of the fact that the meat ends up in restaurants.

Tomoaki Nakao, the mayor of Shimonoseki, the port from where the whaling ships leave each year, said: "I want Japan to maintain a firm stand and continue appealing to the world about the legitimacy" of scientific whaling.

Just what is legitimate about killing whales in a sanctuary for food and calling it scientific study?

More

Latin America urges Japan to stop whaling!

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

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maybe we should try to help them

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See also the Sea Shepherd Gulf Rescue page....
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Whale Wars

On January 5th the Japanese security ship Shonan Maru No. 2 intentionally rammed the Ady Gil, a high tech, carbon fiber, trimaran belonging to the Sea Shepherd Society. The Ady Gil was accompanying the Bob Barker, the Sea Shepherd's new ship.

The Sea Shepherds, on their annual campaign to stop the Japanese from whaling in the *** whale preserve in persuit of the Japanese whaling vessel the Nisshin Maru. The Japanese are taking whales under the guise of research - a loophole in the treaty.

The Japanese whalers claim that the Ady Gil caused the collision and offered this video as evidence.


But in the following video from the Bob Barker it can be clearly seen that the Shonan Maru made two course corrections to aim at the Ady Gil just prior to the collision.


MORE:

The Sea Shepherd Society

Aby Gil the boats designer has pledge to rebuild the boat which bears his namesake.


On 1/8/2010 at 17:20 (GMT) the last known position of the Ady Gil was reported to the Australian Rescue Coordination Center, as it was sinking and would pose a navigational hazard for several more hours. Fortunately, all fuel and lubricants had been removed form the Ady Gil hours earlier.

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WHALE WARS

WHALE WARS RETURNS

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Captain Paul Watson and the crew of the Steve Irwin take on the Japanese whaling fleet.

Larry King interview with Paul Watson and several crew members

"Whales Are Dying" Music Video from The Red Paintings on Vimeo.

Orchestral art-rock band, The Red Paintings, collaborated with
Sea Shepherd to record this song the night before the Steve Irwin
left Australia for the latest campaign in Antarctic waters.
Lyrics were written by lead singer, Trash McSweeney in conjunction
with the Sea Shepherd's founder and president, Captain Paul Watson.

Whale wars is returning to the Animal Planet cable network this Friday June 5th at 9pm E/P.
Check your local listing for show times.

If the show is published to YouTube, as it was last season, I will post the videos here. Check back early the following week after each show to see if I have found them.

As last season, if I do find the shows, I don't expect them to last forever.

MUSIC VIDEOS

SONG OF THE WHALE - TANGERINE DREAM
Videos of whales set to the music of Tangerine Dream

WHALE RIDER - ANDREAS VOLLENWEIDER
Scenes from the movie Whale Rider tell the story of the coming of age of a young Maori girl.
Music by Andreas Vollenweider.
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Lest We Forget - Last Whale Standing

[WARNING SOME SCENES DISTURBING]

From YouTube:

We created our video "Last Whale Standing" to help spread the word about annual killings of hundreds of innocent whales.

Video consists of three different parts so please watch till the end. In first part we showed you different kinds of whales which humans killed for thousands of years. In second part we showed you how they kill whales today in our modern world. And third part dedicated to people who try to stop slaughter of innocent whales.

We also want to emphasize that whales are killed not only by Japanese whalers, but also commercially in Norway and Iceland, as well in USA, Russia, Greenland, Canada, Bequia, Faroe Islands, Indonesia and illegally in many others countries such as South Korea and Philippines.

More Here

Yogzatot - Whales, Whalers and Anti-Whaling Movement Website.

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Website.

Whale Wars

SAVE THE WHALES

Home at Last!

by BB2

I've been following the story of the wayward whales here since they made their appearance at the Port of Sacramento two weeks ago.

At times it seemed they would not make it as their health was dwindling. Many attempts to get them to head back to the ocean were met with frustration even as they became a huge spectator attraction.

They hung out at the port, some 90 miles from the ocean, eventually heading back downstream on their own. Finally reaching salt water two days ago they rapidly showed signs of improving health.

Last night they were spotted about 5 miles from the ocean and it was hoped they would proceed on into the ocean. This morning there was no sign of the whales. Boats and helicopters were dispatched to try and find them in San Francisco bay.

I am pleased and excited to announce that at 11:26 this morning they were sited about 1 mile outside of the Golden Gate swimming free in the ocean!

Update: 5/30/07 4:30 pm Well It looks like my message may have been a little premature. It turns out that the whales spotted outside the Golden Gate this morning were Gray Whales instead - BUT the two humpbacks have not been spotted all day and it is believed they headed out to sea over night and have joined a pod of humpbacks which currently are feeding offshore.
I will keep following the news and update this article as needed.

Update: 5/31/07 7:30 am There were no sightings of the whales yesterday so it is presumed they have in fact joined the pod of humpbacks currently feeding near the Farallon Islands about 27 miles off shore. Research teams currently studying whales in the open Pacific will be keeping a watch for them using photos of their tail flukes taken during their stay in West Sacramento.

Update: 6/01/07 6:30 pm Since last Wednesday evening there has been no sign of the whales and it has become widely accepted that they have indeed left the area.

It has also become a story dropped like a hot potato - nothing to be found at any of the local news outlets unless one digs into the archives.

The rescue mission is expected to end up costing about $1 million. But hey, I think it was worth it. Too bad we can't get such help for other issues that require as much if not more attention. Polar Bears, Grizzly Bears and Delta Smelt are a few that come to mind.

If and when I get information confirming the whales position I will post another update.

Update: 6/09/07 It has been nearly 2 weeks now with no sightings so it is now obvious that they have left the area.

But then Will Durst has the last say!
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Urgent Assistance Required

by BB2

URGENT ASSISTANCE REQUIRED

BEAM THEM UP SCOTTY

Whale Watching in West Sacramento

by BB2

Yesterday afternoon this pair of humpback whales, mother and calf, arrived in the turning basin at the Port of Sacramento, eighty-nine miles inland from the Golden Gate Bridge. They were first sighted mother's day in the Sacramento River at Rio Vista, some 30 miles south of Sacramento. They have now found their way into the deep water shipping channel and are drawing a huge crowd along the shore.


Unfortunately both have been injured, apparently by a boat propeller. These injuries are not deemed life threatening although the calf has the worst injuries.


KCRA Channel 3 in Sacramento reports:

The director of veterinary science at the center says the injury to the mother is about 2 feet long and 6 inches deep, and it has sharp edges typical of a propeller wound.

The calf's wound appears to be deeper but was difficult to assess because it is on the whale's underside, below the water line.

Researchers say they have less than three weeks to rescue the whales. They are not sure how long the whales can last in fresh water without food.

Tomorrow morning the Marine Mammal Center will begin to transmit whale songs in the river in an attempt to lure them back to the ocean.

Back in 1985 another humpback ventured as far as Rio Vista and became quite a celebrity. Given the name Humphrey, he found his way back to the ocean with some help and returned to San Fransisco bay five years later.

Sea lions are often seen in the river, but for the whales to come this far is very rare.

Update: 5/17/07 This morning at 6:30 AM the crew from the Marine Mammal Center set out to begin the attempt to lure the whales back to the ocean where the salt water will help them heal faster. May they have good luck in their endeavor.

Update: 5/18/07 Yesterday's attempts to lure the whales back towards the ocean were met with frustration as outlined in this Times Online report.
This morning they are once again going out to try using whale songs to get them on their way. An alternate plan, to use a flotilla of boats to herd them along, is being held in reserve in hopes that eventually they will follow the sounds.

Update: 5/19/07 This morning the whales are still here and they have now been officially named "Delta" and "Dawn". Hmm ya, well...
Anyway, attempts yesterday to lure them were once again met with frustration. At one point the whales entered back into the deep water channel only to turn around and come back to the port.
They are going to give the whales a break over the weekend in hopes they may move out on their own. Then another attempt to lure them will begin Monday.
The next step beyond that will be to have a flotilla of boats with people banging on pipes extended into the water to force them downstream. (Kind of like my neighbors with their 105 decibel car radio at 11:30 at night!)

Update: 5/20/07 Despite pleas to the public to stay away and give the whales some peace, over 10,000 people showed up yesterday to view the whales. Similar crowds are expected today.
Now they have vendors hawking bottled water and soda etc. It is turning into quite a spectacle.
Tomorrow they will try again with whale sounds. They may even try using Killer Whale sounds to try and drive them back to the sea. Killer Whales being a predator of Humpbacks.
They also are asking that boating be stopped in the delta until the whales are moved out.

Update: 5/21/07 Yesterday afternoon around 2:00 PM two tugboats headed out of the port to assist a ship. To everyone's surprise the whales began to follow the tugs. At times moving about 6 miles an hour they made their way back towards San Francisco Bay and the ocean beyond.
They were last spotted last night around 10:30 some 20 miles south of Sacramento still heading towards the bay. The Coast guard had been observing them with night vision equipment but stopped for fear of running into them.
As of 7:00 this morning they have yet to be sighted so their current location is unknown.

Update: Noon 5/21/07 The whales are now out of the deep water shipping canal and in the Sacramento river about 1/2 mile north of the Rio Vista bridge. They swam under the bridge several times this morning but have paused in their journey back to the ocean. The rest of the journey will be more difficult as there are many tributaries in the delta where they could become further lost. Boats are being positioned at these tributaries to try and prevent them from taking a wrong turn.
Also they are going to try and tag the mother whale with a satellite tracking device to follow their journey.

Update: 5/22/07 This morning the whales are still at Rio Vista. Last evening they started swimming north again, back towards the port of Sacramento. The flotilla of boats tried to stop them with people banging on pipes, but the whales dove under the boats. Fortunately they are preferring to swim in circles just upstream of the Rio Vista bridge. One success was had when they were able to corral the whales long enough for a ship to pass. Due to 40 mph winds and choppy waters the attempt to tag the mother whale was called off, although they were able to obtain a small tissue sample to check the whales health and determine which pod they are from.

Update: 5/22/07 6:45 PM In this report from KRCA we recieve some unwelcome news:
Experts say there are indications that the health of the whales may be deteriorating. It appears that the whales' exposure to fresh water is affecting the tissue below the blubber layer.
Dr. Frances Gulland of The Marine Mammal Center said veterinarians are continuing to monitor the health of the whales, as well as changes to their wounds and skin condition."The wounds appear to have worsened over time and their skin has changed from smooth and shiny to irregular and pitted," said Gulland.
This is not what we wanted to hear. The whales are still in the Sacramento river about two miles north of the Rio Vista bridge.

Update: 5/23/07 No new news this morning. The whales are still north of Rio Vista and their wounds are beginning to take a toll. They seem to prefer to swim into a current so the hope is that this morning, during the incoming tide, they can get them to move down river. If they can get them to move another 15 miles to Antioch they will be in salt water which will help their wounds heal. The situation is getting desperate and time is of the essence.

Update: 5/24/07 There has been no progress in getting the whales to move today. Recorded sounds of humpbacks feeding, Orcas attacking and pipes banging failed to get a response. A recording of "unnatural" sounds did cause them to move away some, but the biologists decided to give them a break for the rest of the day so as not to distress them any more. Also they don't want the whales to become accustom to the sounds.

Update: 5/25/07 Attempts yesterday to force the whales downstream were counterproductive as the whales have now moved 3 miles further upstream. Today they are going to try spraying them with fire boats, although a number of specialists believe the whales will only think it is raining. On the positive side a compounding pharmacist form Placerville, one of only three such pharmacists in northern California, has been enlisted to blend an antibiotic for the whales. This in hopes it will stem the degradation of their wounds.

Update: 5/25/07, 5:48 pm There seems to be conflicting information regarding the use of the fire hoses to move the whales. Contra Costa Times this morning tells us:

11:45 a.m. Fire boat efforts met little success

Rescuers have temporarily abandoned efforts to lure the whales down river using a city of Vallejo fire boat.

The marine experts started the hosing experiment at around 10:40 a.m. in the Cache Slough area more than seven miles north of Vallejo-Times Herald reporter Matthias Gafni, who was aboard the fire boat, called the efforts a cat-and-mouse game as the whales avoided the rescuers by repeatedly slipping out of sight.

"The whales were able to outflank us," he said, noting the hosing was called off because it was only marginally successful.

But then later they reveal:

3:35 p.m. Fire boat efforts promising

Using fire hose streams to get the whales' attention proved promising and officials said they hope to expand the number of boats involved to as many as five by Tuesday.

Five times the whales reacted to the streams by turning away. Officials said they are encouraged by the "aversion" reaction and hope the use of more streams and boats will help herding efforts as they try to drive the whales down river.

I would hate to think that even this kind of news is now getting run through the spin cycle like everything else, but then we get a statement like this:

Meanwhile, officials said they continue to work on a plan to medicate the whales for boat propeller wounds.

Whether they are spinning or not remains to be seen, but we do know that they aren't listening!

In this report from two days ago it is reported that:

Scientists initially believed that the humpbacks had been wounded by a boat's propeller. But a comparison of injuries with photographs of other wounded whales suggested the pair had been more likely been sliced by a boat's keel or skeg, a fin jutting below a boat's outboard motor, Gorman said.

Here's hoping for the best outcome for these whales.

Update 5/27/07 Yesterday the veterinarians working with the whales were able to inject both with antibiotics which they hope will keep the whales wounds from worsening. Today they took swaps of the blisters on their skin and samples of their breath. These samples will be sent back to the lab to try and assess the whales condition. Attempts at trying to get them to move are on hold until Tuesday to avoid the boat traffic in the delta during this holiday weekend.

Update: 5/27/07 8:30 pm Excellent news tonight! The whales have moved another 15 miles downstream on their own and are near the town of Pittsburgh. This puts them within a few miles of salt water which can start healing their wounds. The International Herald Tribune Reports.

Update: 5/28/07 More good news - As of early this morning the whales had moved even further downstream and were hanging out at the Benecia bridge near the entrance to the Carquinez Straight. Eight miles long, the Carquinez Straight connects Suisun Bay with San Pablo Bay, the northern lobe of San Francisco Bay.
In the last 24 hours they have moved 24 miles and are now in brackish water which should begin helping their wounds to heal.

Update: 5/29/07 This morning the whales have moved into the Carquinez Straight and are swimming just upstream of the Carquinez bridge. Once past this bridge they will enter San Pablo bay. At that point only two more bridges remain between them and the Pacific ocean - the Richmond/San Rafael bridge and the Golden Gate bridge. Their behavior yesterday was encouraging as they seem to be more active with the baby breaching a number of times. This is being viewed as an improvement in their health. With the exception of another dose of antibiotics the specialists are leaving the whales alone as long as they continue to make progress on their own towards the ocean.

Update: 5/29/07 5:30 pm The whales are now frolicking in San Pablo bay having avoided wrong turns into the Napa and Petaluma rivers. Their activities are returning closer to normal and the lesions the had developed, along with an algae coating are sloughing off. They are still on the move heading towards the Richmond/San Rafael bridge. Once into San Francisco bay proper it is hoped they take the right hand turn that will take them to the Golden Gate and Pacific beyond, rather than heading south beyond the Bay Bridge where many hazards await.

Update: 5/30/07 7:30 am This morning the search is on for the whales. They were seen last night in the area of Tiburon Point about 5 miles from the Golden Gate and Pacific Ocean. Once around the point it is a direct shot under the Golden Gate Bridge and out into the ocean. It is hoped that is the direction the whales will follow.

Update: 5/30/07 Noon The whales were reported about 1 mile west of the Golden Gate in the open ocean at 11:26 this morning! More Here!

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