Posted under Whaling
Well it didn’t take Sea Shepherd long to find the Japanese whaling fleet…
They are currently chasing them out of the whaling grounds with the Fukuyoshi Maru No. 68,with it’s armed coastguard, is in hot pursuit. Well… they ran away at first! I guess they were ordered to grow a back bone and have turned around and are pursuing the Steve Irwin.
On February 21, 2008, Captain Paul Watson wrote up the following order:
In accordance with the provisions defined in the United Nations World Charter for Nature, I hereby issue an order to uphold the rules and regulations of the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) and the regulations of the International Whaling Commission (IWC).
The order also calls for action to restrain Japanese whaling activities in accordance with the January 15, 2008 ruling of the Australian Federal Court.
This warrant hereby authorizes the crew of the Steve Irwin to board if required, to disable equipment if necessary, to destroy harpoons if possible and to intercept, blockade and harass all illegal whaling and poaching activities in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.
The warrant is signed by Captain Paul Watson – Master of the vessel Steve Irwin.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is legally authorized to intervene in accordance with the United Nations World Charter for Nature that was ratified by the U.N. General Assembly in 1982.
Section 21 of the World Charter for Nature states:
States and, to the extent they are able, other public authorities, international organizations, individuals, groups and corporations shall:
(c) Implement the applicable international legal provisions for the conservation of nature, and the protection of the environment.
(d) Ensure that activities within their jurisdiction, or control do not cause damage to the natural systems located within other States or in the areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction.
(e) safeguard and conserve nature in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
Additionally, Section 24 states:
Each person has a duty to act in accordance with the provisions of the present Charter; acting individually, in association with others or through participation in the political process, each person shall strive to ensure that the objectives and requirements of the present charter are met.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society believes that the acts of illegal exploitation of whales by the Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Whale Sanctuary is in violation of the laws and regulations of the IWC, CITES, and the Antarctic Treaty and in violation of and contempt of an Australian Federal Court ruling defines the Japanese whaling vessels as poachers.
In reply to the warrant to intervene issued by Captain Paul Watson the Australian Federal Police have said the following:
From: Byrnes, Jason
Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2008 05:08 -0800 Msg: AMOS-115713675
Subject: AFP message to Captain Watson [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
To: Captain - Steve Irwin
To: Peter Garrett
Cc: AOCC-Duty-Coordinators
Captain Watson
Thank you for this evening’s email titled “A Warrant to Intervene - Sea Shepherd Intends to Enforce the Australian Court Order”. The AFP is concerned by the contents of your email, particularly in regards to your proposed actions against Japanese whaling vessels in the Southern Ocean.
As you are aware, the Australian Government’s position on the issue has been articulated by The Honourable Stephen Smith MP, the Minister for Foreign Affairs. He stated that “when it comes to actions in the Southern Ocean or on the high seas everyone should exercise restraint and everyone has to conduct themselves in a manner which puts safety at seas as the highest and paramount consideration”.
The AFP calls on you to respect the need to practice a high standard of seamanship, and to adhere to the requirements of the regulations of the International Maritime Organisation that require masters of vessels to take all necessary precautions to preserve the safety of life at sea. Hazard mitigation should, and must be, your principle concern.
In order to clarify the AFP’s position for you and your crew, there is no support for violent or unlawful protest activity against the Japanese whaling fleet.
Should you have any further queries or issues, or wish to provide further information, do not hesitate to email or telephone.
Please note that because I work rostered shift operations, it is preferred that future emails be sent to the address of my unit - AOCC-Duty-Coordinators@afp.gov.au. This will guarantee a quick response as there is that address is monitored on a ‘24/7′ basis. Similarly, the telephone number for the Duty Officer’s office is +61 (0) 2 6126 7299.
Kind regards,
Superintendent Jason Byrnes
Duty Officer
AFP Operations Coordination Centre
Australian Federal Police
Captain Paul Watson’s Response
To: Superintendent Jason Byrnes,
We have absolutely no intention of conducting any violent protest against the Japanese whaling fleet.
The Federal court order was clear. The Japanese whaling fleet must be restrained from killing any whales in the Australian Antarctic Territorial waters. We are not protesting whaling, we are intervening to stop continued illegal whaling activity.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has never committed an act of violence. We have always been committed to the enforcement of international conservation law.
We intend to take all necessary precautions to preserve safety at sea. We also intend to take all necessary action to prevent the unlawful killing of whales.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society calls upon the Australian Federal Police to intervene to uphold the Federal court order prohibiting unlawful whaling in the Australian Whale Sanctuary.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is not comfortable having to take on the responsibility of enforcement of international and Australian law but lack of enforcement by national enforcement agencies leaves us with no alternative but to do what we can, with the resources available to us to stop the illegal killing of whales.
My crew and I are not operating in any covert manner. We take full responsibility for our actions and we are prepared to defend our actions both legally and morally.
Is there a discrimination here on the enforcement of the law? Is the AFP concerned with enforcement ONLY against actions taken by Sea Shepherd crew against illegal Japanese whaling. It appears that the AFP is unconcerned with enforcement against illegal acts being committed by the Japanese whaling fleet.
I also notice that the AFP seems unconcerned with illegal actions by the Japanese whaling fleet with regard to us. Japanese whaling ships have rammed the Sea Shepherd vessel Robert Hunter. Two crewmembers of the Steve Irwin were held hostage by the crew of the Yushiin Maru No 2 and demands were made in return for their release. That is extortion.
It appears that the Japanese poachers are operating above the law and have been given encouragement to continue to act unlawfully within the territorial waters of Australia.
I can assure the AFP that my crew and I will not initiate any actions that will cause physical harm or injury to any crewmembers of the Japanese fleet. We have an unblemished record in this regard and we do not intend to do anything that will tarnish this record.
We view the “exercising of restraint” requested by the honourable Stephen Smith to include restraint on killing. The Federal Court order specifically called for the Japanese whalers to be “restrained” from further illegal acts of whaling.
On one hand we have a Minister of the government calling for restraint on our part to not intervene against Japanese illegal whaling and on the other hand we have a Federal Court order calling for the Japanese whaling fleet to be “restrained” from killing whales.
Which form of “restraint” takes precedence under the law? Does a Federal Court order take a submissive position to a statement by a Federal Minister?
Should hazard mitigation be our principle concern or should the enforcement of international and Australian law be our principle concern? Would the AFP consider the enforcement of Australian law to be secondary to “hazard mitigation”? If so then all police officers would be unarmed.
With regard to the International Maritime Organization requirements, I believe that legally speaking these requirements do not apply to vessels classified as private yachts. However the Steve Irwin does indeed take all necessary measures to preserve the safety of life at sea. In fact we take it even further than the IMO requires because we take all measures to preserve the safety of ALL LIFE at sea and that includes the protection of the lives of whales that are the illegal targets of Japanese whalers.
Should you have any further queries or issues, or wish to provide further information, do not hesitate to email or telephone. Our position is to cooperate and respond with all inquiries from the AFP with regard to this situation.
We are committed to stopping illegal Japanese whaling activities in these waters over the next three to four weeks.
Sincerely
Captain Paul Watson
Master - The Steve Irwin
Master - The Farley Mowat
Founder and President of the
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
I see another international incident brewing down in the Southern Ocean…
The Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin in hot on the tail of the Yushin Maru No.2 and is chasing the ship through a snow storm through an obstacle course of icebergs.
“We have them on the run,” said Captain Paul Watson. “The Yushin Maru is only a mile in front of us and running at full speed. The Fukuyoshi Maru No. 68 which carries armed Japanese Coast Guard officers is one mile behind the Yushin Maru and closing aggressively”
This chase is taking place well inside Australian Antarctic Territorial waters. The position at 1530 Hours (Melbourne time)(0345 G.M.T.) was 62 Degrees 30 Minutes South and 096 Degrees 58 Minutes East.
The Steve Irwin is preparing a boarding party to deliver a warrant ordering the Yushin Maru No. 2 and the other Japanese whaling vessels operating illegally in the Australian Whale Sanctuary to surrender themselves to the nearest Australian port.
