Whales - from Captain Paul Watson

[Guest guest]

------ Forwarded Message

Thank-you for writing letters and sending e-mails but you can put

down yourtelephones and relax your typing fingers - we won this one.

 

Captain Paul Watson

 

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

 

VICTORY FOR THE WHALES IN BERLIN

 

June 16, 2003

 

The International Whaling Commission Has Spoken.

 

The Berlin Initiative proposed by Australia, Austria, Brazil, Finland,

France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands,

NewZealand, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, U.K., and the U.S.

has passed.

 

 

It was carried with 25 countries voting in favor, 20 against, and 1

abstention.

 

What does this mean?

 

It means that the International Whaling Commission (IWC) has taken the

strongest stand in years to protect the world's whales.

 

It means that the IWC did not buckle under to Japanese pressure to

overturn the commercial whaling moratorium and it means that Japan

was unable to bribe enough countries to carry the vote.

 

The 55th Annual Meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC)

in Berlin will be long remembered as a milestone in whale

conservation.

 

" The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has long upheld the

regulations of the IWC. " Said Captain Paul Watson from the bridge of

the anti-whaling intervention ship Farley Mowat berthed in

Seattle. " These regulations have been our guidepost for enforcement

measures. Every whaling ship that we have ever targeted and destroyed

has been in blatant violation of IWC regulations. The IWC has been

judge and jury and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has been a

force for enforcement of the rulings. This decision makes our job

easier and will certainly justify continued intervention against

international illegal whaling. This is a great day for the whales and

a delightfully lousy day for the pirate whalers of Japan and

Norway. "

 

For years the IWC has not been as effective as it should have been.

Whale populations have diminished and many populations have been

wiped out. The fight to conserve and protect the whales has been

long, hard and bitter, but conservation is winning and exploitation

is the deserved loser in today's decision.

 

The Berlin Initiative calls for the creation of a conservation

committee to meet and organize future protection work on all species

of whales and dolphins. The Initiative will address all threats to

whales and dolphins, including hunting, entanglement in fishing gear,

pollution, and collisions with shipping vessels.

 

Sea Shepherd's work is far from over.

 

" We anticipate an increase in illegal whaling and we expect the

Japanese, and the Norwegians to go renegade. If they do, we will

aggressively intervene to uphold international conservation law

against their illegal activities. " Said Captain Watson.

 

When asked if this meant sinking whaling ships, Watson replied, " We

don't sink whaling ships, and we never have sunk whaling ships. We

have sunk and we will continue to sink pirate whaling ships. Sea

Shepherd does not break laws, we have a great respect for the rule of

law. What we do is assist in the enforcement of international marine

conservation law. Kill a whale, prepare to go to the bottom. The only

practical use of an outlaw whaling ship is for underwater habitat for

fish. "

 

Since 1979, Sea Shepherd crew and agents have sent ten illegal

whaling ships to the bottom.

 

1979 - The pirate whaler Sierra - rammed and sunk in Portugal.

1980 - The outlaw whalers Isba I and Isba II sunk in Vigo, Spain.

1980 - The pirate whalers Susan and Theresa sunk in South Africa.

1981 - The illegal whaling ships Hvalur 6 and Hvalur 7 sunk in

Iceland.

1992 - The outlaw whaler Nybraena sunk in Norway.

1994 - The pirate whaler Senet sunk in Norway.

1998 - The pirate whaler Morild sunk in Norway.

 

In nine of these cases, no charges were ever laid against Sea Shepherd

activists and thus no accusations of criminal activity by Sea

Shepherd can be claimed. In the case of the Nybraena, charges were

laid but Norwegian officials did not allow Captain Watson and his

crew a proper defense.

 

Captain Watson was arrested in Germany in 1997 under a Norwegian

warrant and released the same day when the Bremen prosecutor ruled

that the Norwegians did not have a case. Captain Watson was then

arrested in the Netherlands under the same Interpol warrant and held

for 80 days to await an extradition trial. The Dutch courts ruled

that Captain Watson could not be extradited to Norway. Norway then

dropped the case and Captain Watson was issued papers from the

Norwegian Department of Justice withdrawing any further arrest

warrants against him. Ten whaling ships sunk and not one conviction

and the reason for this is that all ten whaling ships were outlaws.

 

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society acts in accordance with the

U.N. World Charter for Nature. This charter provides for the

enforcement of international conservation law by nation states, non-

governmental organizations and individuals. The Sea Shepherd

Conservation Society is an anti-piracy organization and sinking

pirate ships is sanctioned under

international maritime law.

 

 

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