Nottinghamshire Ecology Newswire Archive

A Nottingham resident who joined the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society as part of their crew on the vessel Steve Irwin has returned home. Dan, who has volunteered with Sea Shepherd previously, rejoined in the middle of this year's anti-whaling mission against the continued Japanese whale hunting activities in the Southern Ocean. Named Operation Migaloo, after the only known albino humpback in the world, this was Sea Shepherd's fourth expedition to the remote southern waters off the coast of Antarctica and has been typically eventful.

In January, two Sea Shepherd volunteers were taken hostage by Japanese whalers. Then in March, several of the crew were injured when the Japanese military threw grenades onto the ship and opened fire on them. The Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin covered a total of 20,090 nautical miles (37,205 kilometers) during Opertaion Migaloo and made 3 return trips from Melbourne, Australia to the coast of Antarctica in 3½ months. In total, the ship was at sea for 83 days between December 5, 2007 and March 15, 2008. It is estimated that due to continued harrasment by the Sea Shepherd, the Japanese have not managed to get even half their whale quota this hunting season.