Ocean Sentry
(From brisbanetimes.com.au)- They”ve been pursued by environmental activists through the Southern Ocean for years, but in an ironic twist, the rising cost of fuel could just be the undoing of Japanese whalers, the head of the Sea Shepherd anti-whaling foundation believes.
Captain Watson, who co-founded Greenpeace, said Japanese whalers had only taken half their quota of the sea giants for the last two seasons, and the company behind the controversial practice was now in debt to the Japanese government to the tune of more than $US50 million.
“I don’t think they can go three years in a row with these kinds of losses. All we need to do is get down there keep chasing them and prevent them from killing whales. We don’t go there to protest we go there to uphold international conservation law.”
As well as the refit operation, the Sea Shephered foundation will announce a partnership with global cosmetics company Lush to protest against the practice of shark finning and challenge the Queensland government over a proposed shark fin fishery on the Great Barrier Reef.
“We’re trying to stop the shark fin trade. Every year 100,000,000 sharks are being slaughtered and many species are facing extinction. Most shark populations have been reduced by 90 per cent in the ocean,” Captain Watson said.
“There’s a proposal by the Queensland government to initiate a shark fining program here in Australia. Our point is if we can’t get a country like Australia to stop shark finning how can we convince these poorer countries.”
Shark finning – which involves cutting off the fin of a live shark and throwing it back into the water – is illegal in Queensland, however shark fishing is allowed along a vast stretch of the coast in the East Coast Inshore Fin Fish Fishery.
This also includes the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.
Shark fin is considered a gourmet delicacy in parts of Asia, and is highly popular on dinner tables in China, the Philippines and Japan. It can fetch upwards of $1400 per kilo and is sold in dried form.
Sea Shepherd’s campaign will see 550 Lush stores across the world display anti-shark finning material. Stores will also sell Shark Fin Soap to raise awareness and money for the global campaign.
The Steve Irwin will remain docked in Brisbane until December 1, when it sets sail for Antarctica.
(By Scott Casey)
