Sea Shepherd: Authority At Sea

19.03.2009 | Buiten De Orde

It's cold, a strong wind blows across the deck and as I look through my binoculars, all I can see is thick fog. A ship has been spotted on the radar and we're heading straight for it, through a dangerous area full of ice growlers and with limited visibility. I look through the binoculars again. Everything is grey. Our captain steers effortlessly around the approaching ice. I look again. "Can you guys see anything yet?" someone asks from the bridge. I continue to focus on what's in front of us. Christmas is just behind us and I am standing on the bow of our big black ship, fully equipped with a crew and equipment to reach one goal: to find and stop a fleet of whaling ships that is operating in the area illegally. The preparations have taken months. Hours, days, weeks have we been working hard to get the ship ready for sea. Thousands of people have helped to finance the operation. Hundreds of people have donated food, tools and other supplies. And now we're here. This is the moment. This is what it's all for.

I look again. We've been standing out here for a while and I'm getting a little cold. "Can you see anything?" I ask the person next to me. "No, but the radar says they're about a mile in front of us". Then suddenly, out of nowhere, something dark appears out of the mist in front of us. Could that be a ship? We've been out at sea for a few weeks and the idea that we've finally got them makes everyone excited. We're slowly getting closer. Then we recognise it as the Kaiko Maru, one of the whaling spotter ships. This ship looks for pods of whales and relays the coordinates to the harpoon ships which will come for the kill. We're getting closer and closer. As we are in Australian territorial waters, Jeff, one of our Australian crew members, orders the ship to cease its activity. "The recent Australian Federal Court Order prohibits you from operating in these waters. I order you to leave these waters immediately. If you fail to do so, we will take action". Our Japanese crew member translates the message into Japanese, but the radio stays silent.

Have they noticed us? Is their radio switched on? As we sail almost parallel with the Kaiko Maru, I can see a crew member standing on the wheelhouse. He is just standing there, looking straight ahead at the icy waters. Then suddenly he notices the huge black ship next to him, equipped with speedboats, a helicopter, decorated with pirate skulls and crewed by people determent to put everything on the line to stop the illegal slaughter of whales. Reason enough for him to be shocked and suddenly we hear an alarm bell ringing and see other crew members running around. Our captain Paul Watson gives the order to start the attack. Bottles filled with rancid butter, packets with methyl cellulose and paint bombs fly through the air. The ship is now slippery, marked with green dye en it smells badly. Even at distance we can smell it. There is no doubt in my mind that we are fighting for the right cause.

A global moratorium on commercial whaling was put in place by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in 1984. [1] It is prohibited to hunt whales commercially in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, an area of special protection around the continent of Antarctica, established by the IWC in 1994. [2] CITES is an international agreement that gives clear guidelines on the trade in endangered animal and plant species. According to this agreement no endangered species are allowed to be taken from the wild to then be traded. This and other legislation makes the Japanese whale hunt in Antarctica illegal. And there is good reason for this. The fin whales that are targeted by the Japanese hunt have been on the Red List of the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) as an endangered species since 1996. With a maximum length of 27 meters, these whales are the second largest whale species and thus the second largest animal ever to have lived on earth.

So all very good these laws, but if no one is willing to enforce them, they are worth as much as the piece of paper they are written on. The Japanese government simply ignores the regulations and the Australian and New Zealand authorities don't seem to have the political will to enforce them. Especially Australia has good reason to oppose the hunt; part of it takes place in their territorial waters. However, it seems trade relations between Japan and Australia won't be risked at any expense.

As the bottles of rancid butter fly me around the ears, the Kaiko Maru pulls hard to starboard and the ships briefly collide. I hold on tight, the ship is pushed over to starboard but apart from some damage to the helicopter deck, everything seems to be intact.

I had never thought I would be working as a law enforcer. I still believe that most laws exist to legitimize the commercial exploitation of the earth and to keep social segregation in our society intact. But the fact that the legislation that does exists to protect these beautiful creatures is blatantly ignored and repeatedly broken is reason enough to take the law into our own hands.

Sea Shepherd crew member Laurens De Groot hurls a bottle of butyric acid (rotten butter) at Japanese harpoon whaling ship, the Yushin Maru No. 1, as the Sea Shepherd helicopter flies overhead. The Yushin used water cannons to keep Sea Shepherd boats at bay. (photo credit: Adam Lau/Sea Shepherd)

Don't they ram ships?

I have to admit that I had heard of Sea Shepherd before but didn't really know what it was all about. " Sea Shepherd? Don't they ram ships?". I'd read an article somewhere and saw some videos on the internet of ships doing dangerous manoeuvring at sea, but other that that I had no idea. After a friend of mine returned from a very successful campaign with Sea Shepherd in 2008, I started to look into the effects of human activity in the world's oceans and what Sea Shepherd was doing about it. How did it all start? In 1978 the activist Paul Watson managed to raise enough money to purchase a ship. He found an old trawler in England and named her 'Sea Shepherd'. He started preparations for an action that would put the later to be founded 'Sea Shepherd Conservation Society' on the map as an organisation prepared to take aggressive yet non violent direct action to stop the illegal practices that threaten marine wildlife and ecosystems.

It is June 1979. The 'Sea Shepherd' sets sail for open ocean with the aim of finding the pirate whaler 'Sierra'. In the beginning of the 1970s this ship is responsible for the illegal slaughter of thousands of whales. The meat is sold on the black market and the ship ignores conservation regulations put in place by the IWC. Some countries have issued arrest warrants for the ship and her crew. It is estimated that the Sierra was responsible for the near extermination of the humpback population in the Caribbean. After having been at sea for a few weeks, the Sea Shepherd finds the Sierra and a short chase follows in which the Sierra flees to the Portuguese port of Leixoes. There, outside the harbour, Paul Watson decides to ram the Sierra twice at full speed. The hull of the Sierra cracks open and she limps into port. The action gets media attention around the world and also exposes the links that Japan and Norway have with the Sierra. It is clear that time is up for the pirate whaler. Since the ramming of the Sierra in 1979, the Sea Shepherd has made more than 200 voyages. Ships have been scuttled and sunk at dockside (while making sure no crew is on them) rammings have taken place at sea, ships have been boarded and many miles of longline and driftnet confiscated. All this in the last 32 years in a war that has put the lives of whales, seals, dolphins, sharks, fish and sea birds first. It is a fight with no end in sight any time soon. It is also a fight in which Sea Shepherd has never sustained or caused a serious injury to anyone as a result of its actions.

The M/V Steve Irwin confronts the Japanese ship Kaiko Maru (photo credit: Eric Cheng/ Sea Shepherd)

Autonomous Law Enforcement

The difference between Sea Shepherd and many other environmental organisations is that it doesn't protest against illegal operations, but it intervenes against them directly by enforcing the appropriate laws and regulations. Conservation laws are important in the protection of wildlife and ecosystems. However, it is clear that many governments and authorities lack the political will to enforce the law in opposition of illegal poachers, fishing practices and hunts. In some cases officials or government representatives are responsible by allowing illegal activities to continue. But more often the truth lies in the fact that economic concerns are more important than the protection of the environment and its wildlife.

In 1982 the member states of the United Nations passed the 'World Charter For Nature', a resolution in which it is stated that: "to the extent they are able, public authorities, international organizations, individuals and groups and corporations shall implement the applicable international legal provisions for the conservation of nature and the protection of the environment and safeguard and conserve nature in areas beyond national jurisdiction". [5] This document has since become one of the most important legal bases for the work of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

A good example of the impact that this sort of direct law enforcement action can have is the UN resolution banning the use of driftnets, which came into force in 1992. [6] Driftnets pose a mayor threat to marine wildlife. These 'curtains of death' catch everything that lies in their path, causing much unwanted bycatch, and can be up to 50 kilometers long. Especially for cetaceans, which need to surface to be able to breath, the nets are a big threat with mostly fatal consequences. Many conservation organisations had campaigned for years to get the ban imposed. When it appeared that a large number of driftnetters continued to operate illegally, Sea Shepherd decided to take action.

In May of the same year, a Sea Shepherd crew member boards the Jiang Hai, a driftnetter that is docked at the port of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The ship is scuttled at dockside for violating the UN resolution. Two months later, Paul Watson sails out with two ships to look for more driftnetters and locates a fleet of Japanese vessels in the North Pacific, north of Hawaii. One of the ships is rammed, the others flee and the nets are confiscated. On return, American coastguard raid the Sea Shepherd ship by request of the Japanese authorities. However, after footage is shown of the illegal driftnet operations and due to public pressure, Japan drops the accusations and the Japanese government decides to honour the UN resolution and enforce it. [7]

Steve Irwin on patrol in the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary. The helicopter takes off while the deck crew launches the gemini. (photo credit: Eric Cheng/ Sea Shepherd)

Focused

Many organisations within the social movements place themselves within a certain political viewpoint and give their opinions on a wide range of issues. Sea Shepherd as an organisation however, keeps one clear focus: to protect and conserve marine ecosystems and wildlife through law enforcement and direct action where possible. Various crew members might associate themselves with various political backgrounds and ideas while others have a clear idea for themselves why they fight the good fight. The reason why Sea Shepherd is successful in its operations is that when it comes to it, everyone works together with one goal.

While we're standing there on the bow of the Steve Irwin, looking through the thick fog for a whaling ship in the middle of the cold waters of Antarctica, I realize how important it is to fight in defence of the fragile and defenceless. If there has ever been a time when the actions of individuals with the passion and dedication to make chance, could make the difference, that time is now. The issues and struggles that are ahead of us ask clear choices of everyone. I have made the choice to do everything within my power to protect life on this planet against the commercial exploitation and destructiveness by man. It is estimated that between 1980 and 2045 more species will disappear due to human activity than in the last 65 million years. [8] This isn't right, it can't continue like this and it has to and will be stopped. The time of signing petitions, going to meetings and debating is over, the time of direct action and intervention is here. Will you get on board?

For more information about the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society see: http://www.seashepherd.org

Footnotes:

[1] http://www.iwcoffice.org/conservation/rms.htm#moratorium
[2] http://www.iwcoffice.org/conservation/sanctuaries.htm
[3] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6728919.stm
[4] http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/2478
[5] http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/37/a37r007.htm
[6] http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/46/a46r215.htm
[7] http://tinyurl.com/drijfnet-besluit-japan
[8] http://tinyurl.com/epidemic-of-extinctions

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