Skip to content or view screen version

Ocean Defence

News From Our Oceans

Full article

Campaign launched to close down German dolphinarium

28-07-2010 09:43

Forced to live a life as an attraction

"Not only do we have to fight criminal operations and cruelty to animals on the high seas but also take responsibility and direct action to help those who are imprisoned in concrete pools, doomed to entertain us."

Palawas, Nando, Kite and Rocko. Those are the given names to four bottlenose dolphins who are currently performing at the dolphinarium in Münster, Germany. Built in 1974 as part of the local zoo, the dolphinarium remains one of the last three of its kind in Germany. From the original nine facilities keeping dolphins in captivity, only Nürnberg, Duisburg and Münster are still blocking and ignoring concerns of animal welfare groups, conservationists, politicians and the public.

Links: The Black Fish | Save Japan Dolphins

Full article

SchNEWS 730: The Hole Truth

11-07-2010 13:17

As SchNews reports from the new Rossport frontline

There is still plenty of ire left in Ireland as campaigners ready themselves for another summer of action against Shell and their plans to despoil the coast of County Mayo with a new gas pipeline (see SchNEWS 719). The project is already a decade late and three times over budget; pretty impressive for a small community fighting one of the biggest multinationals in the world.

Rossport on the newswire:
Rossport Solidarity | Shelltosea Summer Gathering | Bristol Solidarity Night | Norfolk Shell gas terminal blockaded! | Shell due to start work

Full article

Sea Shepherd Frees 800 Endangered Bluefin Tuna

01-07-2010 17:19

Sea Shepherd diver cuts tuna pen

Sea Shepherd recently returned from a campaign in the Mediterranean in search of bluefin tuna poachers. During the month long campaign the conservation group patrolled south of Malta and in Libyan waters. On the 17th June they encountered two tuna vessels towing cages full of fish, destined for the tuna farms in Malta. Looking at the time of interception and the distance the vessels were from the fishing grounds, the catch was taken after the closure of the season and thus illegal. Sea Shepherd captain Paul Watson decided to intervene.

One of the vessels rammed the M/V Steve Irwin as activist divers prepared to enter the floating cage to inspect the fish. "With two fishing vessels containing angry Italian crews, there were risks involved with getting into the water to assess the bluefin catch. But if the catch was illegal, Sea Shepherd divers knew they must cut the nets and free the bluefin tuna. Sometimes it is necessary to do what needs to be done despite the risks. The risk of losing the bluefin tuna as a species is far more important than the risks to our own lives and freedom. And so we decided to free the tuna."

Articles: Eye witness: Sea Shepherd frees 800 endangered bluefin tuna | Failure to protect bluefin tuna has huge consequences | Direct action? On a boat? Sea Shepherd's got it... | Paul Watson announces aggressive campaign to clear Mediterranean of illegal fisheries

Links: Sea Shepherd Blue Rage website | The Bluefin Bonanza - free booklet (PDF 3MB)

Full article

SchNEWS 726: Slick Publicity

09-06-2010 22:02

In response to America's largest ever environmental disaster, Tony Hayward, CEO of BP, said, “I'd like my life back.” He seemed to have forgotten about the 11 workers who died on BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig when it exploded 40 miles off the Louisiana coast, in the Gulf of Mexico, on 20th April 2010.

Links: ragingpelican.wordpress.com

Full article

SchNEWS: For Pete's Sake

15-04-2010 19:05

Peter Bethune onboard the MV Steve Irwin

Banged up Sea Shepherd campaigner Pete Bethune is facing a long prison sentence after boarding a Japanese whaling ship during protests in the Southern Ocean in February. Operation Waltzing Matilda was the most successful Sea Shepherd campaign yet against illegal Japanese whaling (see SchNEWS 713), but it wasn't without a cost for Sea Shepherd after their £2 million boat the Ady Gil was rammed and sunk by a whaler on January 6th.

On the Newswire: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

In SchNEWS: 713 | 705

Links: www.seashepherd.org

Full article

Battle for Bluefin Looms as Ban Fails

20-03-2010 10:00

Bluefin Tuna at Tsujiki fish market, Tokyo. Photo: flickr.com/stewart

The United Nations wildlife conference in Qatar this week, where delegates from 175 countries gathered to make decisions on the protection of recently endangered species has pulled grey clouds over the world of conservation. The CITES meeting failed to add the threatened Atlantic bluefin tuna to the Appendix I listing of the CITES legislation, which would have resulted in a ban on the international trade of the fish. In the last 50 years over 80% of the bluefin tuna population has disappeared as a result of industrial overfishing. If this incredible creature, which is also referred to as the tiger of the oceans, is not protected by some kind of international measure soon, it will soon be no more.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has announced it will take aggressive action against tuna poachers in Southern Europe this summer. Their ship, the Steve Irwin, which recently returned from the anti-whaling campaign in Antarctica, is currently under way to Europe, where actions will start in May. Last year Greenpeace took action against tuna fishermen in Malta. The fishermen responded aggressively when activists attempted to board their ships. Conservation group Oceana which has been monitoring illegal fishing practices in the Mediterranean for the last few years might also return this summer.

On the newswire: Paul Watson announces aggressive campaign to clear Mediterranean of illegal fisheries | We Need to Stop Eating the Oceans | Top of the Food Chain

Links: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society | Oceana | Indymedia Ocean Defence page

Full article

Schnews: Ships in the Fight

18-01-2010 15:24

Since Japanese whalers sliced Sea Shepherd vessel the Ady Gil in two last week, the marine conservationists have faced a propaganda onslaught accusing them of lying, polluting and preparing to attack the whalers with bows and arrows.

The Ady Gil, with the Bob Barker, had been chasing the Japanese fleet’s mother ship, the Nisshin Maru, away from the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary in the Antarctic and had succeeded in bringing whaling operations to a standstill.

The confrontation began when activists hurled stink bombs of rancid butter onto the deck of the Nisshin Maru. The whalers responded by trying to force the Ady Gil away with high powered water canons. According to Captain Chuck Swift on the Bob Barker, harpoon ship the Shonan Maru No. 2 then started up suddenly and rammed the stationary Ady Gil, shearing off a eight foot section of the hull.

The six crew members were rescued by the Bob Barker, but the boat could not be saved. Despite the crew of the Bob Barker’s round the clock efforts it had taken on too much water and three days later had to be left to sink. Before abandoning , the crew boarded the boat and pumped out the fuel before it leaked into the sea.

Also in SchNews 705: Wild at Heart|Pyramid Schemers|Gaza Arrests Witness Callout|Funky Gibbons|Frisky Business|X-Mas Size Attack|Cat on a Squat tin Roof|And Finally...

Full article | 1 addition | 22 comments

Norwegian Whaling Ship Scuttled

28-04-2009 21:07

Whaling ships sunk - Sea Shepherd tally, November 2006

"We came to Henningsvaer. We saw the Skarbakk. We sank the bastard" - Agenda 21

On the evening of April 23rd, the Norwegian whaling ship The Skarbakk was scuttled by environmentalists in the Lofoten islands, Norway, using the name of a 1992 United Nations Conference on the Environment. The conference detailed action proposed for a sustainable 21st century, with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society promising Norway that if they did not comply with international conservation law, then they would sink their whaling ships.

This was not an empty threat, with Captain Paul Watson supervising the sinking of two ships; the Nybraena in 1992 and the Senet in 1994. The anonymous and covert goup Agenda 21 then took over with the scuttling of the Elin-Toril in 1996. In a communique last week, the activists reported they flooded the engine room of The Skarbakk by using an adjustable spanner to open the salt-water intake valve; "to delay the killing season and to protest the continued illegal export of whale meat to Japan."

Related Features: The Whale Wars - Sea Shepherd Returns From Antarctica | Japan issues arrest warrant for Nottingham activist | Arrests As International Whaling Commission Fails To Protect Whales | Nottingham Activist Returns From Whale Saving Mission In Antartica | Sea Shepherd activists injured as Japanese military open fire | Activists Held Hostage By Japanese Whalers In Southern Ocean | Whalers use Public Relations to twist the truth

Links: United Nations Agenda 21 | Sea Shepherd Conservation Society | Ocean Defence topic page

Full article | 1 comment

The Whale Wars - Sea Shepherd Returns From Antarctica

07-02-2009 15:59

Boat crew deploy butyric acid on a harpoon ship. Photo: Adam Lau/Sea Shepherd

The flagship of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, the M/Y Steve Irwin, is heading back from the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary where it has been on patrol to enforce international conservation regulations in protection of the area's great whales. Since its departure from Brisbane, Australia on December 4th, the ship and its crew have been involved in various confrontations with a Japanese Whaling Fleet, which continues to operate a commercial whale hunt in the area illegally.

On December 26th, the Steve Irwin confronted the Japanese vessel Kaiko Maru. The ships collided and Sea Shepherd crew deployed butyric acid on its decks. From 1st February the whaling operation was shut down for 8 days straight with both sides of the conflict accusing each other of dangerous manoeuvres and tactics. On February 6th, the Steve Irwin collided with a harpoon ship twice, when it tried to block the ship from offloading a dead whale onto the factory ship Nisshin Maru. As part of an international crew of volunteers, 3 activists from the UK worked onboard the Sea Shepherd vessel during the campaign which was dubbed operation Musashi.

Photos: Photo Report – Onboard Sea Shepherd Operation Musashi | Videos: Ramming the Japanese whaling ship - Sea Shepherd | Sea Shepherd collides with whaling harpoon ship (Indybay)

On The Newswire: Sea Shepherd Forced To Leave Killing Grounds In Antarctica | Ramming the Japanese whaling ship, onboard the Steve Irwin | Sea Shepherd blames acoustic weapon attack for Ramming Whaling ship | Japanese Whalers Playing Dangerous Games in the Ross Sea | Sound weapons used against protestors | Whalers harassed by Sea Shepherd in Australian Antarctic waters | Whalers flee Sea Shepherd in Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary

Previous Features: Japan issues arrest warrant for Nottingham activist | Arrests As International Whaling Commission Fails To Protect Whales | Nottingham Activist Returns From Whale Saving Mission In Antartica | Sea Shepherd activists injured as Japanese military open fire | Activists Held Hostage By Japanese Whalers In Southern Ocean | Whalers use Public Relations to twist the truth

Links: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society | Institute For Cetacean Research (Japanese pro-whaling PR) | Ocean Defence Topic page

Full article | 1 addition | 2 comments

Shark Fin Company Exposed In Nottingham

29-10-2008 08:46

It has come to light that Nottingham is host to one of the few companies in the UK that sell shark fin. Not only is the finning of sharks barbaric, but their indiscriminate slaughter at an unsustainable rate is pushing many species to the brink of extinction. Since the 1970s the populations of several species have been decimated by over 95%. Horn Of Africa Traders Ltd, based at Kelvedon Gardens, Carlton, Nottingham buy and supply sharkfin originated from North Eastern Somalia. The company is said to have a factory based in Somalia and able to supply up to 1000 ton of dried shark fin a month.

The marine conservation action group Bite Back and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society have been working closely in the UK to get companies to ditch shark fin from their menus and shelves. As well as various restaurants in London's Chinatown, the health chain Holland & Barrett recently stopped selling shark cartilage capsules under pressure from the campaign.

On the newswire: Seven Year Ditch: Shark Fin Soup Off Hakkasan Menu | Sharkwater UK Release | Shark conservation film in Notts | Defending the Wild | UK Indymedia Ocean Defence Topic page

Links: Horn Of Africa Traders Ltd | Bite Back | stopsharkfinning.net | Sea Shepherd Conservation Society | Shark Trust

XML UK Ocean Defence Feature Archive

Image Akbayan rejects Chinese call for dropping West Philippine Sea arbitration
13-06-2016 12:54

Image The World Revolution to Stop Global Warming
13-06-2015 10:22

Text Oil War: Another Parrot Bites the Sand
11-11-2014 16:37

Image Eco-Warriors Noah's Ark Rescue Mission to South Pacific Islands
09-08-2014 11:15

Text Fukushima 3rd Anniversary meeting in Houses of Parliament. 10.3.2014.
13-05-2014 15:48

Text The Pacific Fata Morgana and its Imperialist Origins
12-05-2014 15:03

Image A Budding Alliance: Vietnam And The Philippines Confront China
03-04-2014 09:40

Text Peace campers board nuclear submarine at Faslane, arrested
21-03-2014 12:01

Text Remember Fukushima London demo, Saturday 15 March 2014
12-03-2014 14:31 | 3 comments

Text The Death of the Inclusion Policy in the East Asian Shelf Waters
16-01-2014 14:40

Text The Irradiated Sailors of Fukushima
15-01-2014 11:29

Text Fukushima: Who Profits from a Cover-up?
08-01-2014 02:58 | 4 comments

Text Why is Cameron more stupid than Erdogan?
11-11-2013 20:46 | 3 comments

Image Arctic 30 and Pussy Riot graffiti
09-11-2013 17:36

Text I Have A Confession to Make
20-10-2013 00:40

Image Many Reasons Dolphins Are Dying
25-09-2013 20:16

Image No More Fish In The Sea!
25-09-2013 13:43

Text Black Fishies TONIGHT in Nottingham
21-09-2013 08:24 | 1 comment

Text Tonight Black Fish! Brighton
17-09-2013 12:27

Text THE Black Fish Tour Kicks Off!!
12-09-2013 12:43

Text War for Oil takes a Weird Turn
21-05-2013 20:18 | 1 comment

Image BP fuels Greenpeace
06-03-2013 20:37 | 5 comments

Audio UG616 - The Secret, Silent Poisoning (Nuclear Victims in Peace and War)
15-02-2013 05:13

Image American Naval Ship Crashes into World Heritage Site
01-02-2013 10:44

Image Japan! - Stop Whaling (email, phone, fax of Japanese embassies)
20-11-2012 11:54 | 1 comment

Text Climate Hacking: Geoengineering the Ocean
24-10-2012 06:18

Image Sustainable accreditation considered for shark finning
11-10-2012 19:02

Image The Black Fish UK speaking tour
10-10-2012 11:01

Image The Black Fish free hundreds of endangered bluefin tuna in the Adriatic Sea
12-07-2012 09:25 | 2 comments

Text Organise NOW actions to Free Captain Paul Watson
10-07-2012 15:00 | 6 comments

Text Save Paul Watson Leader of Sea Shepherd!!!!!
21-05-2012 14:24

Image Captain Paul Watson Arrested In Frankfurt, Germany on Warrant Issued by Costa Rica
14-05-2012 14:34

Text BP oil despersant chemical severely neurotoxic
11-05-2012 09:16

Image Protesters dragged out of BP AGM after board avoids uncomfortable questions
13-04-2012 13:39 | 1 comment

Image A Night Of Whalepunk In Sheff - Sea Shepherd Benefit!
30-03-2012 11:32

Image Ocean acidity increasing at unprecedented rate not seen in last 300 million years
13-03-2012 21:39 | 1 comment

Image Angie Zelter arrested on Jeju Island
12-03-2012 18:52 | 1 addition

Image Historical moment for the welfare of fish
24-02-2012 18:18 | 5 comments

Text 30 Days of Action at Faslane
31-01-2012 15:53

Text The Echo of Silence
26-01-2012 09:32 | 1 comment

Text Cost of Sri Lanka Oxford Union PR is $ 8 million
20-11-2011 09:52 | 5 comments

Text This Exactly How PR works using Oxford
21-10-2011 12:50 | 5 comments

Image EU opens up on secret fishing deals
23-09-2011 11:28

Image Help to stop fish pedicures in Worcestershire
19-09-2011 16:01

Image Conservation organisations merge in effort to build momentum on bluefin tuna
01-09-2011 18:52

Image The Black Fish is looking for crew members
25-08-2011 20:33

Text Stop The Bycatch Killers.com
02-08-2011 00:18

Image Sea Shepherd Film Showing In Sheffield
27-07-2011 22:47 | 9 comments

Image Cyber Security a matter for MoD
10-07-2011 15:51

Image Liam Fox on 'Official' visit to Sri Lanka
06-07-2011 23:38 | 5 comments

Audio Scientists Expect Mass Extinction in Oceans
24-06-2011 08:16 | 3 comments

Audio PAUL WATSON Eco-Pirate
04-06-2011 18:56 | 1 comment

Image UK Screenings of 'The Pipe'
03-06-2011 19:57

Image Rossport: The Pipe Film Screenings
29-05-2011 14:47

Image The Black Fish is looking for crew members
27-04-2011 08:40

Image Global Petition: End Fukushima's Deadly Radioactive Fallout! Entomb Fukushima No
18-04-2011 17:26 | 4 comments

Text Fukushima cover up over extent of radioactive discharge?
10-04-2011 17:44 | 4 comments

Text Pirate for the Sea
29-03-2011 13:04

Image Shells Work begins in Rossport!!
29-03-2011 12:08

Image Pirate for the Sea
29-03-2011 11:54

Image The Black Fish need a boat. Will you help us?
23-03-2011 13:15

Image Shell's Glengad site blockaded!
21-03-2011 19:32

Text Rossport Solidarity Camp is Up!
20-03-2011 19:07

Text Nuclear Radiation Illegal Dumping Around the World Makes Meat, Fish, Dairy Poiso
17-03-2011 18:19

Text Today in Palestine 2010 03 15
15-03-2011 11:34

Image Massive Security presence at proposed Shell compound in Co.Mayo
11-03-2011 11:19 | 2 comments

Image Shells Work Stopped twice in two days
09-03-2011 22:25

Image Stopping Shells Survey Work
25-02-2011 18:04

Text Japan suspends whale hunt due to Sea Shepherd
17-02-2011 00:36 | 1 comment

Text Major Victory: Japanese whalers suspend Antarctic hunt
16-02-2011 10:47 | 2 comments

Image Admissibility of WikiLeaks Cable to be tested on Sri Lanka massacres of 2009
29-01-2011 09:18

Text WikiLeaks and Whaling: Paul Watson Interview
05-01-2011 01:59

Text Oxford - Bradford : 'Freedom of Speech'
28-12-2010 13:15 | 2 comments

Text Call out for Direct Action against Shell
19-12-2010 11:58

Image Who is in charge: the Foreign office, Defence ministry or the Oxford Union ?
17-12-2010 06:19 | 12 comments

Image Dumping dead fish in the sea
07-12-2010 01:36 | 2 comments

Text Developments out of Oxford 'Tamil' Protest
04-12-2010 11:34 | 12 comments

Image Arresting the War Criminals in UK
02-12-2010 23:57 | 2 comments

Text Big Gathering already in and around Hyde Park - Demo 3pm
02-12-2010 12:39

Text Miliband and London Tamil Protests of 2009 - WikiLeak
02-12-2010 11:48 | 2 comments

Text Greater London Action for Animals Formed
01-12-2010 22:43 | 9 comments

Text Our Planet is Not your Experiment
07-11-2010 18:20

Text Japan Continues Murdering Dolphins and Whales... Canada Has Not Ended Seal Murd
12-10-2010 14:17

Image Activists from The Black Fish cut nets to free dolphins in Japan
29-09-2010 11:04

Image Campaign Success: Münster dolphinarium to release dolphins
11-09-2010 09:19

Image A week of Hell for Shell
28-08-2010 17:49 | 1 comment

Image German activists take on Dolphinarium
25-08-2010 21:08 | 1 addition

Image Community walk brings Shell drilling work to a standstill in Sruwaddacon Estuary
11-08-2010 15:19

Text Shell disrupted - Beat the Boreholes continues
09-08-2010 16:33

Image Shell drilling stopped for 5 hours – as Beat the Boreholes continues
05-08-2010 14:29

Text Waders tie down Shell testing rig in Mayo, Republic of Ireland
30-07-2010 16:39 | 1 comment

Image Campaign launched to close down German dolphinarium
27-07-2010 21:38 | 1 addition

Text BBC Promotes Vivisector who Forces Antidepressants On Shrimp
07-07-2010 10:17 | 1 comment

Text BP, Government Blocking Press from Reporting Their "Ballet at Sea"
06-07-2010 05:56

Text Overwhelmed by Oil and Toxic Pollutants: The Destruction of an Entire Coastline
06-07-2010 02:33

Image Eye witness: Sea Shepherd frees 800 endangered bluefin tuna
29-06-2010 13:51 | 5 comments

Audio DANGER DEEP IN THE GULF
24-06-2010 05:33

Image A hole in the World
19-06-2010 14:09

Image Is Obama Child-Endagering In Recommending Gulf Fish Flesh?
15-06-2010 22:09

Text CALL OUT: Actions Against BP
04-06-2010 22:26 | 1 comment

Image Targeting the Free Gaza Flotilla
29-05-2010 06:09 | 4 comments

Text Film Night in Southampton this Sunday
07-05-2010 11:04

Audio BP Gulf of Mexico Spill Special
06-05-2010 18:11

Text The Ugly Truth About BP and Its CEO
30-04-2010 18:46 | 1 comment

Image Struggle stepped up as another whaling ship is sabotaged in Norway
08-04-2010 20:40

Image Failure to protect bluefin tuna has huge consequences
19-03-2010 10:24

Text Sea Shepherd: It All Pays Off..
05-03-2010 22:07 | 2 comments

Text Sea Shepherd: The Battle Unfolds
24-02-2010 17:21 | 3 comments

Text Papua Subsea Mining Newcastle
09-02-2010 00:00

Text Warning & prompt for action against the Chagos Conservation Trust
02-02-2010 00:25 | 4 comments

Text Seal Hunt Minister Pied
25-01-2010 19:18

Text Sea Shepherd: Update from sea
15-01-2010 18:15

Text Japanese whalers being sued for Piracy by Sea Shepherd in Dutch Court
09-01-2010 04:45 | 2 comments

Image Offshore Wind Farms in the High Seas!
08-01-2010 18:52 | 16 comments

Text Sea Shepherd vows to continue campaign after whalers destroy Ady Gil
07-01-2010 04:14 | 10 comments

Text Stop industrial Tuna fishing in Papua New Guinea
16-10-2009 09:07

Text Pirate For the Sea London Screening
11-09-2009 10:00

Text How Meat Fish and Dairy Harm The Brain
28-08-2009 12:48 | 22 comments

Text Marine Mammals And Other Sea Life To Be Decimated
16-08-2009 19:26

Text 3 tonne boulders to sabotage fishing trawlers
10-08-2009 19:39 | 3 comments

XML UK Ocean Defence Newswire Archive