Green Options

Thousands of gray seals could be spared particularly brutal deaths this year because sealers have been unable to find a buyer for the pelts.

This news comes as the European Union considers a ban on all seal products, an action which some think drove typical pelt buyers to rethink their purchase this year. Multiple sources say the hunt will likely not happen, but Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans still officially say the hunt is on.

Sea Shepherd announced today that they have decided to give up their Operation Musashi campaign against the Japanese whaling fleet for this season, citing the whalers’ increasingly violent and dangerous tactics in the Antarctic.

“I have said always said that we would do everything we can short of hurting people to end illegal whaling in the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary,” said Captain Paul Watson. “Although we are willing to take the risks required, even to our own lives, I am not prepared to do to the Japanese whalers what they do to the whales and the escalating violence by the whalers will result in some serious injuries and possibly fatalities if this confrontation continues to escalate.”

The Sea Shepherd crew reports that the Japanese whaling fleet managed to kill one whale today, even in the midst of a hot pursuit from the anti-whaling ship, the Steve Irwin.

Captain Paul Watson deployed his two small boats to the Nisshin Maru, the whaling fleet’s factory ship, where crew members threw “rotten butter bombs” onto the deck in an attempt to spoil the fresh whale meat. The whalers responded by throwing whale blubber back at the activists.

On the heals of the dissolution of Iceland’s ruling government, incoming government officials appear to be on the verge of revoking a five-year extension to whaling of fin and minke whales passed just last week by the former ruling government.

Sea Shepherd, the controversial direct-action anti-whaling group featured on Animal Planet’s Whale Wars, is currently facing retaliation from the Japanese whaling ships in the form of what Sea Shepherd calls a “military grade weapon system that sends out mid to high frequency sound waves designed to disorient and possibly incapacitate personnel.”

If their description is accurate, the Japanese are acting out of accordance with international law by deploying military weapons in the Antarctic Treaty Zone. But breaking international law wouldn’t be anything new for the whalers, who by some interpretations should not even be in the Antarctic at all.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is calling for a complete economic boycott of Icelandic products after the country’s announcement extending their illegal commercial whaling campaign into the next five years.

Last year, Iceland killed nine endangered Fin whales. A few months back they began exporting the meat from the endangered whales to Japan, which is a clear violation of international law. This year, they want to kill 150.

Under a secret deal brokered between the six nations of the International Whaling Commission, Japan could be able to increase its whaling quota in the Northern Pacific Ocean in exchange for an agreement to slowly cut all its operations in the antarctic.

However, Greenpeace and other environmental groups are furious over the deal because it could result in more deaths under the supposedly scientific program. Greenpeace also plans to pressure the IWC to make its procedings more transparent to the public in the future before any deals are reached.

Japan had requested a port closure from Australia that would ban Sea Shepherd from their ports, claiming that the anti-whaling group should be treated like pirates due to their aggressive tactics.

“The Steve Irwin will be permitted to dock at an Australian port,” said Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard. “There is insufficient reason to prevent the Steve Irwin from doing that.”

Japan has recently accused Sea Shepherd of ramming one of their ships, and later interfering with the search for a lost crew member. They had previously refused Sea Shepherd’s help in that search.

After a man fell from a Japanese whaling ship into the freezing antarctic waters, the whalers have called off all operations while in search for the man’s body.

Sea Shepherd, usually the arch nemesis of the whalers, offered to help find the body with their two small boats and helicopter, but the Japanese refused saying they would not require any help from an “eco-terrorist organization.”

Conservationists have brought in two Maremmas sheepdogs to watch over a small colony of fairy penguins on Australia’s Middle Island. The effort has been so successful that Middle Island is recommending sheepdogs be used to protect other endangered species across the globe.

“We are now starting to see some great results,” said Middle Island Maremma Project manager Ian Fitzgibbons. “We have had our best penguin count since we began in 2006 with over 80 birds counted in one night and I think we have about 26 chicks on the island too.”

2008 was a busy year for whale news, and it seems like 2009 will not be any different.

Australian and East Timorese researchers say that while conducting research, they “found” an amazing whale “hotspot” off of East Timor’s coast.

As quoted by Reuters, the principal scientist working on the study said the following: “In just one day, more than 1,000 individuals and possibly as many as 2,000 whales in eight separate pods — each one containing up to 400 mammals — were spotted over a 50-kilometre (31-mile) stretch of coast.”

Wow! Personally I think that this is a very exciting and cool discovery. The researchers also claim that the area is rich in other forms of ocean animals, like sharks and sea turtles. It highlights the need for greater protection of biodiverse ocean areas like these from unregulated fishing– a challenge given East Timor’s desire to develop their fishing industry.

As mentioned earlier, 2008 was a gigantic year for whale news. Here’s a roundup of some of the stories that were written about whales on EcoWorldly and on other sites in the Green Options network.