Sea Shepherd rebuked by IWC as Rumours emerge of Compromise on Whaling

The meeting was chaired by US IWC delegate William Hogarth, who was instrumental in Commercial Whaling given Unofficial nod by US-Japan deal in a report on San Fransisco Bay Area Indymedia Centre in December 2007. The IWC in their press release "called upon the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society to refrain from dangerous actions that jeopardise safety at sea, and on vessels and crews concerned to exercise restraint." There was no equivalent call on the Japanese Coast Guard and Japanese Government who have been Caught Out Lying on Firearm Use against Sea Shepherd.
 http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/12/29/18469230.php
 https://publish.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/03/393174.html

According to a report in the Independent the plans for the re-introduction of commercial whaling, reportedly prepared in Tokyo last month, were presented by the governments of Argentina and the Netherlands. The British Government, usually considered anti-whaling, has indicated, according to the news report, that it would back a compromise to allow a limited resumption of commercial whaling. Richard Cowan, British official negotiator said at the Tokyo meeting: "If you see that you cannot win, then playing for a draw is the honourable and courageous thing to do."
 http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/secret-plan-to-let-japan-resume-whaling-793486.html

Japan is also supported by Iceland and Norway in the resumption of commercial whaling as well as many smaller countries. Over several years there have been allegations that Japan was bribing and financially sponsoring smaller countries, some landlocked, to join the IWC to stack the organisation in Japan's favour. The latest account of this bribery comes from Honiara where in a joint press conference with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Solomons Prime Minister Derek Sikua said "Usually Japan pays for our attendance. This time we have refused their assistance, so we haven't gone because we can't afford it,"

According to Paul Watson from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Organisation "For years, Japan has denied bribing nations to vote its way at the annual meetings of the International Whaling Commission (IWC)." According to Watson "Japan has been paying the membership fees and travel expenses and providing aid packages to Mongolia, Chad, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Grenada, and numerous other nations."
 http://www.seashepherd.org/editorials/editorial_080308_1.html

The compromise proposal comes as Australia puts forward its plans to transform the International Whaling Commission away from regulation of commercial whaling to wider whale and cetecean conservation issues. The Australian Government delegation won support among anti-whaling nations over its submission, Whale Conservation and Management: A Future for the IWC.
 http://www.iwcoffice.org/_documents/commission/future/IWC-M08-INFO11.pdf

While the meeting was taking place Sea Shepherd engaged the Japanese whaling factory ship Nisshin Maru by throwing (highly smelly) rotten butter onto the decks. Japanese Coast Guard responded by throwing Flash grenades onto the Steve Irwin injuring two crew. A rifle bullet hit Paul Watson in the chest, who was saved from serious injury by his kevlar vest and a metal anti-poaching badge he was wearing. Sea Shepherd have now released photos of the Nisshin Maru which clearly depicts armed Japanese Coast Guard officers in plain view, with would could be a gun discharge coming from a marksman inside the ship just above the ICR banner, the origin of the bullet that hit Paul Watson.
 http://www.seashepherd.org/editorials/editorial_080308_3.html

In response to the rebuke by the IWC intercessional meeting Paul Warsin responded "Our actions in saving the lives of whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary by preventing the Japanese from taking half their illegal quota were specifically addressed. Once again, the IWC has condemned Sea Shepherd for taking non-violent action against violent illegal whaling activities. Of course, the IWC has condemned us almost every year since 1986, when Sea Shepherd was officially banned from attending IWC meetings after shutting down illegal Icelandic whaling operations."

According to Watson "An IWC condemnation means absolutely nothing, of course. The IWC also condemned Japanese whaling in Antarctica last year, and the Japanese simply ignored it. In other words, the Japanese whalers are killing endangered species in a whale sanctuary in violation of a global ban on commercial whaling, and the IWC takes no action to stop them, yet it expects us to stop tossing stink bombs on the decks of whaling ships because it says so? It is difficult to respect an organization that spends great sums of money and energy on drafting laws to protect whales that it doesnt have the power or will to enforce," he said on a statement on the Sea Shepherd website.
 http://www.seashepherd.org/editorials/editorial_080308_2.html

Australian Federal Police will investigate the incident, although police investigations are likely to be inconclusive. According to Paul Watson "In February 2007, the Japanese whaling vessel Keiko Maru rammed the Sea Shepherd ship Robert Hunter and then accused Sea Shepherd of having rammed it instead. The Australian Federal Police conducted a forensic examination of our ship. The results, although not officially released, back up our version of the incident. If not, we would have been charged. We were not. Of course neither were the Japanese."
 http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/02/12/18361685.php

Sources

* IWC - Intersessional meeting on the future of the IWC, London, 2008
 http://www.iwcoffice.org/meetings/intersession.htm
* Indybay IMC - Dec 2007 - Commercial Whaling given Unofficial nod by US-Japan deal
 http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/12/29/18469230.php
* The Independent - Mar 9, 2008 - Secret plan to let Japan resume whaling
* The Age - Mar 9, 2008 - Australia gathers proof on Japan's whaling bribes
* Sea Shepherd - Mar 8, 2008 - Whales, Japanese Lies, and Videotapes
* Sea Shepherd - Mar 8, 2008 - Gun Shot Discharge?
* Sea Shepherd - Mar 8, 2008 - Sea Shepherd Honoured by the International Whaling Commission
 http://www.seashepherd.org