UPDATE (05.12.2007): Una din navele folosite de SeaSheperd a fost denumita “Steve Irwin”, in onoarea celui supranumit Crocodile Hunter

Ne plac japonezii…pentru ca sunt un model de cultura si civilizatie, pentru ca aproape toti am citit (macar) Shogun sau am vazut filmul, pentru ca au inventat tot felul de prostioare inutile – tamagotchi fiind unul dintre ele – ne plac pentru ca…. (inserati motivatia aici).

Nu ne plac japonezii… pentru ca vaneaza balene (cu cocoasa).

Aceasta specie este inclusa pe listele Conventiei CITES – deci efectivele ar trebui protejate. Oficial Japonia a renuntat la pescuitul comercial de balene ca urmare a unui moratoriu international din 1986, dar vanatoarea are loc in fiecare an pentru “cercetari stiintifice”; realitatea este ca balenele ajung in supermarketurile si restaurantele japoneze si ca japonezii publica rar descoperiri stiintifice. La fel se intampla si la noi cu pescuitul sturionilor, dar despre aceste lucruri vom discuta intr-un post separat.

Masuri luate:

International Crew Will Defend Endangered Humpbacks in Sanctuary

MELBOURNE, Australia November 2, 2007 –/WORLD-WIRE/– Sea Shepherd Conservation Society will embark on its fourth expedition to the remote southern waters off the coast of Antarctica, with the launch of its latest Antarctic whale defense campaign: Operation Migaloo. Sea Shepherd plans to intervene against the Japanese whalers targeting nearly 1000 whales, including 50 endangered humpback whales and 10 endangered fin whales in the Southern Oceans. The campaign is named in honor of Migaloo, an endangered albino humpback who has become a national icon in Australia. This year, the sights of the Japanese harpooners are set square on the endangered humpbacks, meaning that Migaloo and other humpbacks are under imminent threat of death at the hands of Japanese whaling vessels.

Founder and President of Sea Shepherd, Captain Paul Watson, will embark the first week of December from the coast of Australia with an international crew on the ship, Robert Hunter, to enforce international conservation law to prevent the illegal slaughter of endangered species. As the Japanese whalers seek to hunt down and kill whales, Sea Shepherd will be hunting the whalers with the firm objective of intervention against their illegal activities.

“I did not establish the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society as a protest organization,” said Captain Watson. “I have not gone to sea over all these years to simply bear witness to the atrocities that whalers continue to inflict upon the most gentle and intelligent beings in the seas. We are sea cops-operating legally under the guidelines of the United Nation’s World Charter for Nature, which allow for the enforcement of international conservation law by non-governmental organizations in international jurisdictions.”

For more than three decades, Sea Shepherd has been at the forefront of the whale wars, defending the gentle giants wherever and whenever they can. Sea Shepherd has tackled overwhelming odds with insufficient resources, won many victories, and saved the lives of thousands of whales. In 2005-2006, Sea Shepherd harried the Japanese fleet enough to ensure they went home 83 whales short of their self-appointed quota. In 2006-2007, the Japanese whalers fell over 500 whales short of their illegal quota. Sea Shepherd will return this year with a ship to match the speed of the Japanese fleet, new equipment for intervention, and an international crew of dedicated volunteers willing to spend their holidays at the bottom of the earth on a historic voyage to save whales.

“We are obsessed with stopping the Cetacean Death Star, that viciously cruel killing machine otherwise known as the Nisshin Maru, and her ruthless fleet of hunter/killer boats armed with their explosive deadly blunt harpoons,” said Watson. “Because if we kill the whales, the sharks, the seals, and the sea turtles, we will destroy the very foundation of life in the oceans-and in so doing, we will destroy humankind.”

About Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Established in 1977, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is an International non-profit conservation organization whose mission is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world’s oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species. Sea Shepherd uses innovative direct-action tactics to investigate, document, and take action when necessary to expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas. By safeguarding the biodiversity of our delicately-balanced ocean ecosystems, Sea Shepherd works to ensure their survival for future generations.

Sursa: ENS World Wire
Imagini: GettyImages, Greenpeace