Japan Stops Antarctic Whaling this Winter

Sea Shepherd has succeed in its goal to stop Japan from whaling. The stoppage is a result of Sea Shepherd actively hindering the ability of whalers to kill whales, nobody has been harmed by the organization but Japan is calling for the group to be banned by other nations.

Japanese whalers seem intent on whaling again this year but for now let’s take a moment to rejoice that the needless slaughter of whales is not happening for the rest of the winter.

Japan has suspended whaling in the Antarctic after repeated harassment by conservationists, says a government official.
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ships have been chasing the whaling fleet for weeks in the icy seas, trying to block Japan’s annual whale hunt, planned for up to 945 whales.

The Australian Greens said late last night that the Japanese decision was “truly a cause for celebration”.

Read the full article.
Check out Sea Shepherd.

Sea Shepherd Helps Whales Survive

Japan’s notorious killing spree of whales has been challenged by Sea Shepherd for years and this past year Sea Shepherd literally saved whales.

Japan’s whaling ships have returned from the Southern Ocean with their smallest catch in years, prompting the fleet’s leader to blame harassment by the Sea Shepherd marine conservation group for the shortfall.

The Nisshin Maru, the fleet’s mother ship, returned to Tokyo harbour yesterday with just 507 whales, a little over half the target catch of 935, according to the fisheries agency. The haul of minke whales and a single finback was well down on last year’s catch of 680.

The fleet said Sea Shepherd’s attempts to sabotage the hunt had deprived it of 31 days’ whaling.

The annual confrontation between the two groups reached its height in January with the sinking of Sea Shepherd’s high-tech powerboat, the Ady Gil, after a collision with the Shonan Maru 2 harpoon boat.

Read more at The Guardian.

Iceland and Norway also participate in annual whale killing.

Let us not forget that Bluefin Tuna is endangered and we need to protect them too.

Mr. Pants: A Whale of a Tale

Here’s a real story about a real whale and a real thing that happened on the internet as told by the founder of Reddit. A great four minute story about how the internet got Greenpeace to have a good time and in turn save a whole lot of whales from a Japanese assault.

Japan Stops Whaling

This is without a doubt, really reat news. Japan has halted whailing for the year, after pressure from the Australian government. A hat tip to Kevin Rudd and his fellow Aussies for convincing Japan to change their ways.

The country’s chief government spokesman, Nobutaka Machimura, revealed the backdown at a news conference today.

Japan had planned to harpoon 50 humpbacks
He said: “Japan will not hunt humpback whales.”

The country had planned to harpoon around 50 humpbacks on its current expedition, the first time since the 1960s that Tokyo would have hunted the species, which are popular with Australian whale-watchers.

Mr Machimura added: “It’s true that Australia expressed quite a strong opinion to Japan on this.

“As a result, I hope that this will lead to better relations with Australia.”

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