Sea Shepherd 1 Faroe Islands/Denmark's Navy 0

Greetings again everyone. Good new out of the Faroe Islands this morning. For the first time since Sea Shepherd arrived in the Faroe Islands, pilot whales were spotted. Due to nasty weather, the Faroese did not start a grind as they believed that the whales would remain in the fjord overnight. Well Sea Shepherd was not going to allow that, even in terrible weather. The whales were apparently spotted during the night by Sea Shepherd's land crew and the conservation group acted quickly to get their boats in the water and drive the whales back out to sea. Sea Shepherd plans to continue to keep an eye out for these or any other whales that may be approaching the Faroe Islands and steer them clear of what would be a certain death.

Needless to say the Faroese people are probably none to happy about this situation. This would have been the first grind to take place since May. The first battle of Sea Shepherd's Operation has gone to the conservationists. The Danish Navy paid a visit to the Sea Shepherd camp during the night, but no arrests were made as Sea Shepherd had not broken any laws. While it is illegal to interfere with a grind in progress, no grind had been called by the local government officials. Here are two bits of Faroese law regarding the grind....

When the message of a whale drive is communicated, the district administrator can designate a particular area, whether on land, in the sea or in the air, as a whaling area. In this connection the district administrator can decide who is permitted to be in the area and he can order vessels, aircraft or people to leave the area immediately, regardless of whether or not they are participating in the whale drive.

In addition, the district administrator can at any time cordon off an area as a whaling area, whether on land, at sea or in the air and order anyone to refrain from entering the said area. It is not permitted to impede any drive or kill for which the district administrator has given permission in accordance with §§ 8 and 9.

So there it is in black and white. No grind was called, so now laws were broken. Had a grind been called, this situation would certainly be different, but the Faroese wanted to wait for the weather to clear before engaging in their mass slaughter. The beaches are blue in the Faroe Islands for another day thanks to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society!

Operation Bleeding Seas II Attacked

Greetings everyone. So. At some point either late Monday night or Tuesday, my email and this blog were both compromised by someone. Now however, I am back in control of this stuff and hopefully it is now more secure than it was. I see that there is a small blog post in Japanese. I will be removing that blog after I type this blog as the translation for it is quite profane and this is a family blog gosh darnit. As for who did this, I don't know and frankly I do not care. I probably angered some pro Faroe Islands kid or something like that. Whatever happened, I don't plan on it happening again and if it does well that's just something I'll have to deal with right? So anyway...

All this shows me is that A.) There are really people out there with nothing better to do with their lives than attack random people's emails and such. B.) This blog is reaching it's goals. C.) There is now more of a reason to keep this blog going. It saddens me that someone actually felt the need to break onto this blog to merely post an obnoxious comment involving a lot of F bombs and what not. Why not just try to argue with me in the comments or something? I'm always open for discussion. The fact that someone felt the need to do this means that the word about the stuff that gets blogged about is getting out there. Shark finning, manta ray gill raker harvesting, whaling, overfishing, and dolphin slaughters are all things that have no place in the world and that fact angers some people who feel like I and other people are trying to take their lives away or something. Goals are being reached. People are starting to wake up and with over 14,000 views here I would like to think that this blog has opened at least 1 person's eyes. Lastly. The above fact is just more of a drive to keep this blog going. When it gets to this point in any campaign I have to think about if I want to dedicate myself to another 6 month campaign (hard to believe this one ends in September already). Following this I know that people are seeing this stuff and some are not liking what they see. The truth can hurt and can expose a lot. So I will keep going here no further question about that.

So with that being said, I'm pretty much back to square 1 with the blogs I mentioned in my last actual blog. So stay tuned!

Operation Bleeding Seas II Update

Greetings again everyone and welcome to what will probably not be the final blog of July, 2014. So here is where we are and where we are going to be heading as we hit the last full month of Operation Bleeding Seas II. Since the start of the operation, this blog has continued to grow which I have to thank all of you for. The blog has reached now over 13,000 viewers. Far more than I could had ever hoped to have reached.

On the fronts of Operation Bleeding Seas II I'll be waiting and watching to comment on Discovery Channel's Shark Week. Also I'll be keeping an eye and ear on any shark news. There are still plenty of shark blogs to come as we continue on here. Sharks are and will always be the number animals of this blog. I'm currently looking into doing a special mako shark blog that will focus exclusively on the situation that is affecting the fastest shark in the world in New Jersey. That blog is in the works now and will probably be up in early August.

News has been pretty quiet on the manta ray front as of late. Still, I would expect a couple more manta ray blogs to come out by the time this operation wraps up. Manta rays are very interesting animals that humans do not know too much about. I might give an education blog a shot on the manta rays to try to give anyone whose interested a better view on what these animals are as opposed to them simply being massive rays.

I am currently working on a bluefin tuna blog as some pretty big news came out a few days ago regarding them. I know the bluefin has not been as large a part of this campaign as I had originally hoped it to be, but for those of you with an interest in these endangered fish, stay tuned because they are (hopefully) coming to Operation Bleeding Seas II very soon!

Recent events in the Faroe Islands have really grasped much of my attention when it comes to this campaign. The Danish military threatening peaceful activists, the Faroese people continuing to insist on killing pilot whales, and Operation Faroes Killing Bay are all things that I've either been participating in or watching very closely. With that being said, things in the Faroe Islands can blow up at anytime. It has been a quiet summer thus far, but the tension in those islands continues to rise and a lot of the anger from the Faroese people is starting to spill over onto the internet where Anonymous thrives. The problem for them is that Anonymous is not on their side. So far Anonymous has really showed patience and restraint in dealing with the obviously angered Faroese people, but that can only last for so long before a statement is made. This coupled with the Danish navy following Sea Shepherd has created an interesting powder keg that could potentially go off the moment a pod of whales is spotted. Despite their differences, I have a hard time believing that Anonymous will simply sit idle if the Faroes kill whales or the Danish navy harms Sea Shepherds. I could be wrong with that, but I just have a hard time believing that would be the case.

On the movie making scene... I've finished a rough run of the first portion of the video for this blog. I still cant say when it will be out since well, blogging, school, work, and other things come before it, but it is coming along!

While I plan on doing more blogs on sharks, manta rays, and bluefin tuna, the Faroe Islands are going to be at the forefront of the campaign from here on in. If things get too dicey over there I may have to shift my focus to just the Faroe Islands and sharks to wrap up the campaign. I've done similar things (without saying anything) in the past with Taiji's dolphin slaughter and West Australia's shark cull. The other animals will still be a part of the campaign, but may wind up more on social media than on the blog if that makes sense to everyone.

We are getting close to the final stretch of Operation Bleeding Seas II. I hope you all are enjoying the ride so far and what has been explored, exposed, etc. There is still plenty more to come as Operation Bleeding Seas II rolls on.  

Denmark Flexes Military Muscle On.... Wildlife Conservationists...

Greetings everyone and welcome to blog number 150! It feels like yesterday that I did blog number 100, but alas here we are 50 blogs later, knee deep in a battle against the Faroe Islands. So before I really get into what the main topic of this blog is going to be about, I'd like to recap a personal experience that happened to me a couple days ago on Twitter. I'm not going to post the pictures here out of respect for the person I was conversing with as he/she was very open to what I had to say once we got to talking. So, a Faroese person responded to a post on Twitter that I was tagged in by a member of Operation Faroes Killing Bay. The person made a remark that was pro whaling and seemed to be trying to get a rise out of us. The short of it is that this person really did not know the extent of what goes on in those islands. The person believed that the whales died a quick and painless death from a cut just behind the head. After showing this photo,

the person realized that something was not right with their belief. In that moment he/she seemed to realize that the foolproof way that the Faroese go about killing whales was really not all that foolproof and the animals do endure a lot of pain before their deaths. In the end, the person seemed to be indifferent on the topic of whaling, but seemed to really get that the slaughter was not really what he/she was brought up being told it was. This was a young Faroese person who is very proud of their country in general, as I'm sure many of us are wherever we may live for one reason or another. Just like us this person wasn't too keen on seeing their country attacked and tried to defend it only to (hopefully) realize that the actions that they wre defending were not worth defending at all. That brings me to my next point.

I think I've been called a racist by the Faroese people more than I have been called racist by the Japanese and Chinese over whale hunting, dolphin killing, and shark finning. It's incredible how quick these people are to throw out the race card. I explained to the person on Twitter exactly what I am going to say here. My issue is not with the people of the Faroe Islands. I do believe that there are a large number of people who do not support the grind over there and I'd love for those people to stand up and make their voices heard. At the same time though, I know that there are people over there that do support it and as nasty as it may sound, even lust for it. I am opposed to any slaughter of animals. If that much isn't clear I don't know what is. That includes the United States killing Sea Lions in the West for eating... I don't care the nationality or race. I am against the killings and that is my issue with the Faroe Islands. I think the country itself is beautiful and pictures can certainly prove that, however, I will never go to or support anything that the Faroe Islands do or want to do due to the fact that their government and a few hundred citizens have a blood lust for pilot whales. I may poke fun on Twitter, I may say things that are not the nicest, but it is nothing against the good people of the Faroe Islands, it is all aimed and directed at those who are directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds if not over a thousand pilot whales every year. It doesn't matter who you are or where you are from, if you participate in the slaughter of any of the animals in these blogs that I do, then you are an enemy of this blog. On that same page, if you are just now learning the truth about what is going on in the Faroe Islands and ma be experiencing a change of heart, I say welcome and thank you for being open minded. Another thing that I am also against using the military to discourage conservation organizations which is the main reason that I am typing up this blog today.

This morning I read an article posted by Sea Shepherd Captain Paul Watson that the Danish Government has sent naval units to prevent Sea Shepherd from preventing the slaughter of the whales in the Faroe Islands. First of all... Massive grey area. Denmark has time and time again said that the Faroe Islands are self governing and can do nothing involving the whale killings despite the Faroe Islands being largely under Danish influence. However, Denmark will move military vessels and people to defend the Faroe Islands from a conservation group? I guess Denmark has nothing better to do in a country where having intercourse with animals is widely accepted by the Danish government. I'm not going to go into any details on that as this is not a blog about dogs, but the facts are facts as disgusting as they may be to you and me. Getting back on track here... Yes, the Danish Navy is currently in the Faroe Islands following Sea Shepherd's every move.





The Faroe Islands have threatened Sea Shepherd with violence since they've arrived on the islands, but to my knowledge, outside of trying to block Sea Shepherd vessels from getting into the water, there has not been much in the way of physical violence towards the visiting conservation group. The Faroese continue to state that the grind will go on as planned as soon as whales are seen (apparently none have been seen since Sea Shepherd showed up). So Denmark has gotten themselves involved in something they told the world time and time again that they cannot get involved with. What exactly do I think these Danish navy vessels will do? I have no idea. I don't know if they are there for intimidation purposes or if they are going to try and arrest the protesters in the event that whales are seen. They may be there to shoot down Sea Shepherd drones if they try to live stream? Again I have no idea what a nation's military is doing or trying to prove in going up against what equates in this case to a small group of unarmed boats. They are certainly not showing the world that they are a force to be reckoned with and I would think if any harm comes to Sea Shepherd vessels or crew that an international event would kick up given that Sea Shepherd is really a global group as their crews are from all over the world. If anything that would cause more people to seek education as to why the Danish navy is there and in turn learning the truth about the grind.

Again, I have to ask the question. Does Denmark really have nothing better to do? They leave the Faroes to govern themselves and basically be their own country with their own police force, yet they need to run to their protection over unarmed conservationists? Can't the Faroese police handle those big bad Sea Shepherds if they are breaking any laws? Apparently they are not actually doing anything illegal as they are not being arrested for any crimes in the Faroes at this point. Denmark really should pull its Navy back to Denmark where it belongs. If something takes place between the Danish navy and unarmed conservationists, what then? Is Denmark really willing to risk an international issue over whaling in a country that they apparently have zero control over? The upcoming months will tell on that story. I hope nothing physically violent ensues between the Danish military and Sea Shepherd, but we will all have to watch and wait on that one.

While the Danish military seemingly takes aim at Sea Shepherd, we continue to watch and learn. The Faroese seem to think that Anonymous is not that big of a threat when it comes to their whaling program. That is simply not the case.

While Anonymous may not be out there on boats staring battleships in the face, they are educating and spreading the TRUTH about the grind. Should the worst happen and whales are killed, I would not be surprised for the tactics to change and become damaging in more than one way. Operation Faroes Killing Bay has taken the vacation hashtag of the Faroe Islands on Twitter and has already alerted many vacation goers of just where they would be going if they chose to visit the Faroe Islands. The thing that the Faroes are not getting is that Anonymous is not a group. It is an idea. The people involved in Faroes Killing Bay are more than capable of changing the minds of people in regards to the grind as I can personally state given the story at the start of this blog. You can't kill an idea. Even if Sea Shepherd gets booted out of the Faroes, Anonymous will remain and be the voice of the voiceless. I will continue to bring you as much as I can about Operation Faroes Killing Bay as it progresses and what it achieves. The Japanese learned the hard way during Operation Killing Bay that the Anonymous collective is one that should never be taken lightly.

Me? I'll just be continuing to blog and attack the Faroese on Twitter and Facebook. I buy into the notion that you can't kill an idea and as long as I have a voice, I will continue to use it for the pilot whales of the Faroe Islands. Operation Bleeding Seas II will stand and fight side by side with Operation Faroes Killing Bay until the killing of pilot whales stops (at some point Operation Bleeding Seas II will be given a new name for the fall campaign, but you get what I mean).Stay tuned for more Faroe Islands stuff in the near future and as a side note... Should Denmark decide to openly attack conservationists I might have to stray from the norm here and do a special blog on dogs... Just for Denmark.... and all dog lovers out there.....

Operation Bleeding Seas II Playlist 2

Greetings again everyone. Back at the start of this campaign I posted a blog that was largely comprised of videos that I found to be either educational, factual, or useful in one way or another in getting the word out about the animals involved in Operation Bleeding Seas II. Well as a change of pace I will be making a second playlist of videos in this blog. As with the previous set of videos I hope you enjoy them, learn something from them, and spread them far and wide. After the videos I'll have a special announcement regarding something new for the blog!

The first video of the evening is going to be a quick look at why Bluefin Tuna populations in the Mediterranean continue to be in decline despite more protections being put into place.




The fact that these laws are not really being enforced or obeyed comes at no surprise to me and frankly that can be seen all over the world as commercial fisheries do what they need to do to make the most amount of money. Next up is another bluefin tuna video that summarizes the entire problem that the endangered species is facing.




While the bluefin tuna did not go extinct in 2012, this video offers a great insight as to what is going on in the world of the bluefin tuna. These animals are STILL endangered and are STILL facing extreme pressure from all over the world. We may have extended the bluefin past 2012, but extinction is still a very real threat to these animals unless something is done sooner rather than later.

Next up we'll return to the world of sharks. The first shark video of the evening will focus in on what sharks are facing globally and what some real live people who were bitten by sharks are doing as well. Goes to show that life as a person knows it does not have to end following a shark bite.




The only thing I can correct in this video for you is the estimated number of sharks killed annually. This video came out in 2012 while a 2013 study revealed that an estimated 100,000,000 sharks are killed annually. No matter what sharks are in peril and many species are now being pushed to the brink. The next video starts off sad, but is actually quite heartwarming.




It's not everyday that people would free ANY shark from a fishing net. Sadly sharks, including whale sharks are often times caught in nets when they are not supposed to. Lucky for this whale shark the divers found it, but so many more are not this lucky. Whale sharks do become the victims of shark finning operations so do not think for a moment that many fishermen would simply release this animal in Indonesia where this video was filmed. To wrap up the shark videos for this blog.... I feel like ending on a funny/happy note where a whale shark gets some revenge on some fishermen.




No matter how many times I watch that video it makes me smile. That is one happy whale shark by the looks of it! Alright next up is a video about the new Manta Ray sanctuary that was established a short time ago in Indonesia.




So the bittersweet news for the rays continues as they seem to be getting more protection, but at the same time demand for their gill rakers continues to rise. The next video will speak for itself.




This is the animal that I am fighting to save. That and well... This too...



THIS is the animal that I am fighting for. An animal that is so majestic, so beautiful, and so capable of doing incredible things. It is sickening that an animal as gentle and majestic as these rays are being killed for their gill rakers. Remember... The gill rakers have been scientifically proven to do nothing so far for human health, but do contain dangerously high levels of arsenic.

Okay the final video of this blog may disturb some viewers and does need a small intro. Every year the Faroe Islands claim that the pilot whales they kill are to feed the island as part of a tradition. This video destroys that claim as far as I am concerned. The Faroe Island pilot whale slaughter is nothing more than a sick, sick game that an island nation plays.



Shocking isn't it. I figured some were not consumed and were disposed of. Never did I expect this. Once this video was shown to me by a member of the Anonymous Collective it was game over for the Faroe Islands in my eyes. Operation Faroes Killing Bay will be the punishment that the Faroe Islands will have to deal with for these horrible crimes since governments simply refuse to do anything about this wholesale slaughter. If this video disturbed you as much as it did me, feel free to visit and join Operation Faroes Killing Bay. It is open to anyone who wants to make a stand for these animals that are being brutally slaughtered in the name of FUN... Click here to visit Operation Faroes Killing Bay

Well that concludes the second Operation Bleeding Seas II Video Playlist. I hope you were able to take something from at least one of these videos. Feel free to spread the fun of a whale shark stealing fish from a net and manta ray flying through the air. Spread the word about the dangers facing sharks and bluefin tuna by sharing these videos and of course expose the truth of what the Faroe Islands are really doing with many of the whales they kill. Now for a special announcement...

Odds are you don't know this (unless you actually know me), but I am quite the gamer in my free time. Back in 2012, an album was released by Theophany entitled Times End: Majora's Mask Remixed (The original game the music is from is entitled The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask). The final track on that album is entitled "Time's End" and I have been given permission to use that song in a video for this blog! So stay tuned as I have started working on what will be a slideshow video of what this blog is and what it is that it fights for and against. So THANK YOU THEOPHANY for letting me use "Time's End"! Check out their website and like them on Facebook! http://www.terriblefate.com/ Till next time everyone!

 

The "Great" White Panic

Good evening everyone. Hope all is well. Tonight will be a shorter blog compared to the last shark one I did. Sorry about the rambling on that one. I tend to get that way as many of you probably know already. Anyway... Tonight I'll be looking at somewhat of a local "issue". First of all let me get my map out to show you guys where I will be talking about. .


Close enough. As many of you know by now I do live in New Jersey and tonight's blog involves a growing "issue" in the waters off the state. There appears to be a growing population of white sharks in the water! This is causing a mixed reaction. You have people like me who are just about jumping for joy over the fact that conservation efforts are seemingly starting to pay off. Then you have people who are in a panic over it. So once again the issue of just how dangerous these animals are comes into play.


So the white shark is easily known as one of if not the most aggressive fish in the ocean by many people. Well, they certainly are aggressive, but I've been arguing for years as to just how aggressive they really are. Bear with me here. We are looking at a massive animal. Photos and video truly do not justice to the size that these animals are. Personally I have never seen one, but from what I'm told, technology does them little justice. So lets take a closer look at something.

Take a good hard look at that tooth. Clearly that tooth can do a massive number on a human. There is no denying that at all. Do me a favor now and feel your skin. Soft and smooth right? Keep that in mind for a minute. The natural prey items of a white shark varies greatly. They eat large fish, birds, other sharks, and marine mammals. With the exception of birds, all of these animals have tough skin. Some fish basically have plates covering their bodies, sharks have very tough leathery/sandpaper like skin, and marine mammals have thick layers of blubber that protect and keep them warm. For an animal to eat those types of foods, it needs to have teeth like the one seen above.

These teeth (sand tiger shark) would probably break trying to dig into and tear flesh from marine mammals and large fast moving fish.

These teeth (nurse shark) are waaaaay too small to even have a hope of achieving what the white shark would need them to do.


This tooth (mako shark) can do a good number on fast moving fish, but face the same problems the sand tiger teeth do when trying to grab and tear at larger marine mammals.

So in reality, the first tooth is the best tooth suited for the job it needs to do for a white shark. Now our skin is nowhere near as tough as a shark's, marine mammal's, or bony fish's. This, coupled with the fact that white sharks can weigh several tons is why when a white shark bites a human it does so much damage. If a white shark really wanted to it could tear a person to shreds in just one bite. If it was the aggressive monster they are constantly made out to be, you would hear a lot more horror stories of people being killed and torn limb from limb.

For a shark, the sense of touch is largely in their mouths. This is why you always hear about sharks seemingly gnawing on boat propellers or other random objects. They are not trying to eat a boat propeller. Again, if it wanted to it certainly could. White sharks are known to do something called an exploratory bite. It is not a bite designed to kill. It is a bite designed to figure something out. It is the same as us running our hand over something to find out what something feels like. It just so happens that their hands are in their mouth sort to speak. The key to remember is this. Your weight (nearly 200lbs here) vs a several ton animal. Even when being as gentle as can be, damage will be done. It certainly does not mean that the shark is out to get you because frankly. It's not.

Time and time again white sharks have proven to us that we are simply not on their menus. If we were, things like this

would not be possible. Things like this

would probably not even be legal and would be equated to committing suicide or something. If we were on their menu all of these divers would have been torn apart without any hesitation. Again, we are not on the menu for these animals and judging from the second photo, they are pretty curious of us as we are of them. So you can put down all the red flags about not going into the ocean. Don't worry. Just because there is an increase in populations doesn't mean that there is an imminent danger. Nobody has been bitten. Odds are extremely good that nobody will be bitten. If someone does get bit for some reason it will not be time to panic as chances are very good it would have been a curious shark and nothing more.

So for those of you who are in a panic over the potential increased white shark population off of New Jersey. Do yourself a favor and rest easy. This is a good thing. Last time I was on the ocean there were bunker as far as the eye could see. Perfect food for young white sharks. Again, this is not a bad thing. This shows that there is still hope for our oceans. Locally this shows that conservation efforts are working and that (barring seismic testing which will probably undo everything) we could be really starting to see a comeback of a balanced oceanic ecosystem. We've seen a ton of dolphins, many whales, several white sharks, and countless other predatory fish such as striped bass and bluefish all flock to New Jersey in pursuit of the seemingly endless supply of bunker. That's how it should be. That's a healthy food chain. It's local and who knows how long it will last before commercial fishermen are again allowed to decimate the bunker populations, but for now it is there and it is truly a great thing to see. The white sharks are here for the fish. They are not here for the humans and frankly many of them are too small to even look at marine mammals as a food source at this point so again, for them it's all about the fish right now!

The only issue with their being an increase in white sharks is that there has not been an increase in other species that are not protected such as the mako shark. Given the sheer amount of food that is around it leads me to believe that these animals are still suffering from overfishing in this area. Makos are not protected and are continuing to be harvested at a dangerous pace. If there is going to be a panic it should be over the loss of these sharks and not over the re-appearance of a shark that should probably frequent these waters every year.

 

Seismic Testing to Split the Mind of Countless Mammals off New Jersey

Greetings everyone. This is a whale/dolphin blog that needs to be typed despite these animals not being a part of Operation Bleeding Seas II. Today I come with alarming news from New Jersey. The federal government, yes, the United States Federal Government that is only looking out for your best interest and wants you to be as free as a bird in the sky, has given approval for seismic testing off the coast of New Jersey. What does that mean? Well Rutgers University will be leading the 30 day test that involves a ship blasting waves from a boat down to the bottom of the ocean. How it works is a massive airguns blast massive sound waves roughly 100,000 times as intense as a jet engine. These sound waves are used to help discover oil and gas below the bottom of the ocean. The blasting will tell officials if potential offshore drilling could be a possibility in New Jersey.

So what will the impacts be if these tests are allowed to go through? For one, we would be looking at the devastation of marine life and habitats anywhere remotely near where the blasts are set up (off of Long Beach Island from what I understand). Dolphins and whales rely largely on hearing for hunting and the blasts can easily deafen these animals for life, making it incredibly hard for them to hunt. The blasts can also cause marine mammals to beach themselves and even die. Habitat abandonment is another thing that is sure to happen should these tests take place. If these tests take place it is estimated that 138,500 whales and dolphins will be injured or killed. Included in those numbers are 9 North Atlantic Right Whale. This species of whale is critically endangered with 361 known individuals remaining. Those are just some of the potential impacts on marine mammals. Fish also face a real danger from these blasts.

The seismic blasts will kill millions and millions of fish eggs and young fish. They will also lead to fish abandoning their habitats which in New Jersey includes rock formations, ship wrecks, etc. The end result is locally destroyed fish populations and ultimately declines in fishing industries along the coast as the fish will simply move elsewhere to avoid the blasts. The effects of these blasts will be felt far and wide, so to think that fish populations in Northern New Jersey are safe because the blasts will be south is extremely foolish. Places where this testing has been done in the past have seen numerous dead dolphins and whales washing up on their beaches with blood coming from their eyes and ears as a result of the blasts. Those same areas saw both their recreational and commercial fishing catches plummet from 40-80% of the normal. The blasts will also hamper sea turtle nesting and mating as well as various migration routes for sharks, turtles, marine mammals, and fish.

President Obama and his cronies have given the green light for this testing to begin. In an attempt to reverse the fate of countless marine mammals, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and several local conservation groups have issued a lawsuit against the plan. It is now New Jersey vs the Feds. Causes for the lawsuit include the effects that the tests will most likely have on the marine life, fishing industry, and potentially even the tourism industry. The threats from these tests are very real as seen in Peru where beaches became littered with dolphins soon after tests began...


All of this for oil? Not a big surprise, but at the same time... How can anyone be okay with blowing out the eardrums of these animals for something just about anyone I know never wants to see in New Jersey. Offshore oil drilling. Those three words. We've obviously seen what can happen with these drilling stations with what happened during the BP oil spill a few years ago. The gulf is still not the same since that spill. We do not want oil industries to be drilling off our shore. We do not want our beaches littered with dolphins and whales who've been killed in the search for oil. We want our oceans to remain healthy, and for once, I don't think any recreational or commercial fishermen would disagree with that statement and apparently neither does the state government of New Jersey. President Obama and Rutgers University read the following message from the animals you plan on destroying for greed.
 

The seismic testing was scheduled to start sometime this month, but that date is currently unknown with the Christie Administration attempting to block the whole project.

Shark TV Month is Coming!

Greetings again everyone. The battle for the whales of the Faroe Islands is well underway. We have succeeded in taking over their vacation hashtag #Faroeislands on Twitter. Now when people go on twitter to look at vacations in the Faroe Islands, they may see a few beautiful pictures of the islands, but they will also see far more pictures and stories of the atrocities that take place in those islands on a yearly basis. So that is a quick update on Operation Faroes Killing Bay. Now tonight's blog is going to be about sharks. In particular, sharks on TV. Sharks of Discovery Channel's Shark Week and SyFy's Sharknado Week.

First of all I will go on the record here and say that I find great amusement in the shark movies that the SyFy channel puts out. I take absolutely zero stock in any of them holding any kind of facts and I know that they are strictly for entertainment only. Bad entertainment mind you. The kind of train wrecks you just can't take your eyes off of. I mean seriously, look at the movie "Ghost Shark". At one point a ghost shark flies out of a fire hydrant and eats the top half of a few kids. The legs continue running around. How cheezy can you get? It is amusing though. Let's not forget another gem in the form of "Sharknado". Sharks in a tornado attacking the good people of LA, it doesn't get much more amusing than that. Then we have "Two Headed Shark Attack". Yes, the shark has two heads, is roughly the size of an island at one point, and then the size of a large great white the next. The thing created a large enough wave to literally wash over an entire island just so it could get the group of people on it. The list goes on and this year we have a couple new wonders of cinema coming out in the form of "Sharknado 2" and forgive me if my spelling is wrong... "Sharktopus vs Pteracuda".

Looks like a great concept no?
 

"Sharknado 2" is set to take place in New York and will probably be as big a train wreck as the original and offer just as much horrible entertainment as the first. Sharktapus... I have no words for. All I know is that it involves a shark crossed with an octopus and a pteradactyl crossed with a barracuda. Your guess is as good as mine as to what that'll be about... So why am I bringing up all these past and sure to be future 5 star films? Well it is to debunk a myth or two that shouldn't exist, but for some reason seem to.

First and foremost... Sharknadoes do not exist. If a shark were to be picked up by a tornado, the last thing the shark would be thinking about doing is eating whatever it gets tossed to. Several people have asked me if a sharknado could happen in real life. I don't know where that theory comes from, but it is a terrible terrible theory that someone who looks waaaaaay too deeply into SyFy movies probably came up with. Next. The vast majority of sharks live only in salt water. They cannot survive in swimming pools or bath tubs. There are fresh water sharks and even the bull shark has been known to travel over 100 miles from salt water, but they do not show up in pools or tubs. I've been asked that a few times after "Ghost Shark" came out as a shark randomly showed up in a swimming pool. The point that I am trying to get across here is that SyFy movies are SyFy movies and nothing more people. I'd say roughly 99% of what you see in shark SyFy movies is well... Sci-Fi. I know it sounds silly probably to be reading that, but there are some people out there that are unaware of just how much fiction is poured into those movies. With that being said, when Sharknado Week does roll around this year, by all means, enjoy it. The movies will be horrible yet awesome, but keep in mind. You are watching fiction and none of those movies should make anyone afraid to get into the water. That's all I really have to say about that. Just keep things in perspective when watching these films. You may just find yourself terribly entertained! 

Now that the more entertaining portion of the blog is done, grab a drink or a snack or something because the rest of this blog is something that I personanlly have issues with. <Proceed to get snack/beverage/whatever now>

Welcome back for part 2 of this blog. So let me get everyone started with this not so light hearted portion of the blog with a little clip that summarizes what this portion is going to be about. 

It's that time again folks. It's time for Discovery Channel's Shark Week. You may recall that last year I followed Shark Week and basically tore a few of the shows apart as lies and accused others as nothing more than fear inducing and un-educational aimed at ratings and nothing more. Well let's look at what Discovery Channel has in store for us this year. First of all the trailer you just watched. Everything that is wrong with people's images of sharks are in this trailer. Let's dissect it shall we.The announcer states  "The shark that has been terrorizing...", the fact that the shark is a great white "dead" on a scale (which would be illegal) with many people, including children taking snapshots at the warrior fisherman and his quarry, mass hysteria ensues when the shark randomly comes back to life for a moment, okay a seal comes out of the shark alive (I get that is a joke from last year's promo when the shark ate the seal), but then a person comes out of the shark. Allright so we got terrorizing, mass hysteria, glorifying shark hunters, and man eaters all in one 30 second clip. Impressive right? That is just about everything wrong with people's images of these animals. The media instills these fears and it drums up great ratings for the network. In the end that's what matters to them, but for people like myself who are trying to change the image of sharks in the public eye, it is a slap in the face. For Discovery to sit there and crow about it being all about conservation and then show the promo, is a slap in the face of anyone who fights for these animals. We all work 365 days a year to change the image of sharks to what it truly should be and Discovery decides to push that horrible image that originated with "Jaws" right back into everyone's faces. Don't believe that image exists? I personally know several people who refuse to go into the ocean because of what they have seen on TV (Namely Shark Week) and in movies (namely Jaws and to a lesser extent it's sequels). So before the week even gets here Discovery Channel is cramming that image of fear and monster down our throats. Fantastic. Well, let's look at some of the upcoming shows and see if there is any saving this year's installment of Shark Week.

"Zombie Sharks": Okay horrible title. Obviously aiming for the crowds of The Walking Dead, Zombieland, and other zombie films/movies. From the description though, it seems like this show could potentially be onto something. The show description is about tonic immobility. This strange behavior sharks exhibit when they are flipped upside down. It's almost like the shark goes to sleep or something. Either way, orcas have seemingly discovered how to use it to their advantage and have been seen inverting sharks until they drown and then eating them. Clever right? Here is where the show concerns me. I don't think this show is going to be about tonic immobility at all. The show description also makes note of one mans journey to place a massive great white into this state with his own two hands. I've got a feeling the show will be about this guy's quest and not about what the tonic immobility is, why it happens, how it happens, and how orcas have seemingly discovered it for themselves. Again, the show has potential, but given Discovery's track record, I am nervous to get on board with this being an educational show versus another one of those Shark Week shows that gets your blood pumping as to whether or not he will meet his goal. I really do hope that it turns out to be good though!

"Air Jaws: Quest for Collosus": Air Jaws has always been one of my favorite shows Shark Week has ever had. I hate the name of course, but the prior installments have actually been educational and actually really fun and interesting to watch. It's not about shark attacks on people but rather how the great white hunts for it's natural prey in South Africa and Australia (Air Jaws II). I fear for this show somewhat now. The description is very vague and it basically states that the crew will be searching for a missing mega shark known as Colossus. I'm hoping Colossus just turns out to be a large great white that has been seen in South Africa or something and that they will not be looking for this mysterious entity that does not exist. Given the sheer amount of things that were covered in the first two shows, I would like to think this wont be a borderline sci-fi mockumentary type deal. We'll probably see some great whites jumping again, but at this point I'd like to see some others doing their stuff as well... Shortfin Makos or Spinner sharks perhaps?

Not a bad start right? I mean the title "Zombie Sharks" is pretty terrible, but the name alone will attract people to what hopefully will be an educational show. Air Jaws always brings people to the TV just by it's name and the fact that well, who doesn't want to see great whites jumping clear out of the water? So Shark Week doesn't look so bad right? Well that's about it for the good as far as I can see based off of these previews I have in front of me. Let's look now at the ugly...

"Sharkageddon": Yup you got that title right. This show is about the mysterious shark invasion of the waters off of Hawaii. Shark invasion in the waters off Hawaii. Take a minute to think about that....... Sharks live in the ocean. They've been around Hawaii far longer than we have even been around. We destroyed their numbers with years of unprotected hunting out of anger and fear. Now some shark are protected and Hawaii has a shark fin law in place that prohibits the sale and trade of fins in the state. These laws and protections have, I would think, helped sharks make somewhat of a recovery off of Hawaii. So let's look at the statistics. Since 2001 there have been 2 fatal shark attacks in Hawaii. 2. Non fatal... 65... So you're looking at roughly... 5 or so attacks on average per year. That's an invasion? Yes, the numbers have been higher in the past 2 years in attacks, but seriously? 65 attacks in 13 years. Try 100,000,000 attacks in one year. That's how many sharks are being killed. This show is going to do nothing but instill fear into people and potentially hurt conservation efforts with all this "invasion" talk. If it were say, 100 people killed in 1 year. Okay then I could see a show from a historical stand point, but still Sharkageddon? Please. It's all about the ratings here folks.

"I Escaped Jaws 2": Here we have another show that will be people who have been bitten by sharks telling their stories. Usually these types of shows have ups and downs. The upside is that usually the people who get bitten blame themselves and not the shark. Usually they admit to being in the wrong place or not having enough respect for them beforehand or something along those lines. Many have even become dedicated shark advocates and conservation supporters. Those are the ups and they are good ups by all means! How Discovery chooses to get to that point however, is a disgusting down. These shows tend to be extremely bloody and extremely dramatic. They don't just have people telling the story and showing a picture or two of the bite healing. Instead Discovery makes dramatic reenactments of the event as they see it. With the shark grabbing and thrashing with no remorse and the person crying out for help as the water turns bloodier than the waters of the Faroe Islands or Taiji. All the blood and gore is for are the ratings. These stories could easily be told without all of that, but isn't that what people are drawn to? I know these shows usually try to put out the good message that it was the person's fault, but that message becomes so lost in the blood, gore, and teeth that the show ends up doing the opposite of what it could do.

"Great White Matrix": First of all, this title makes me just say "uh what?". All I can think of is the movie series "The Matrix" and try to imagine sharks in it. Well that's not what this show is. This is another one of those shows where "scientists" will be risking their lives by going into "Shark Infested" (There's those words again) waters off of Australia in an attempt to unravel the mystery behind several "bizzare" shark attacks. So basically you can take Sharkageddon and this show, switch the locations, and have the same show. As they have done time and time again, Discovery is missing the boat in what more and more people want to know about sharks. Again though, the head rush from wondering if these guys are going to be killed by some monstrous man eating shark is something that will drum up ratings. Therefore, that is probably all that Discovery cares about. Want something interesting? Why not have it be about trying to understand why there seems to possibly be more sharks around in the past few years than normal? Why not have this be about the fact that conservation efforts could actually be paying off for once as opposed to trying to reinstate the fear of sharks that "Jaws" started when it first came out? Ratings folks. Ratings.

"Alien Shark: Return to the Abyss": I honestly am not sure where to put this show as far as a potentially good or bad show. I grouped it here because to me, the description seems a little out there. Scientists going out to try and find a species of bioluminesent shark in the deep sea. I feel like this is going to be another one of those shows where the ending is them not finding anything after months of grueling work. I say that because if a species of shark were to have been found, the world would have known about it long before this show airs. Example: despite extremely tiny differences between itself and the Scalloped Hammerhead, news of the Carolina Hammerhead was all over the place. That discovery involved very small differences between itself and another species. If a shark was found lighting itself up, I'm sure that would have made headlines. Personally I feel like this sounds like a chasing Big Foot kind of deal.

I'm sure at this point you are getting the picture. I'll leave all but one other show alone for now as I feel like they are either not worth mentioning for one reason or another or I really am unsure what to make of them based on the descriptions given by Discovery Channel. So that one final show I am going to look at, and I cannot believe I am looking at it is....

"Megalodon: The New Evidence": The first Megalodon show that Discovery put out last year was a mockumentary that for some reason peaked the interest of people all over the place. I cannot count the sheer number of people that asked me if Megalodon exists or where can they be found. The show last year had FAKE scientists and a ton of CGI. Whatever this evidence is that apparently nobody but Discovery has is going to be a load of garbage. The show last year was 100% fake and the show this year will be 100% fake. If anything Discovery should have linked up with SyFy to produce a Megalodon horror movie. It probably would be more entertaining than watching a fake documentary. The problem with this stuff people is the old saying... People will believe anything if it's on TV. How true is that? Discovery had people eating out of the palm of their hands over last year's Megalodon show and I'm sure the same thing will happen again. The thought of an ancient shark roaming our seas is by all means an interesting and exciting one to say the least. However, the facts are that there is zero evidence suggesting that these animals are actually alive today. I don't mean folk tales. I mean hard evidence. No unfossilized teeth, no bodies, no photos, no video, nothing. I implore you that if you decide to watch this disaster of a show to keep an open mind. Yes I do suppose it's possible, but it's only a possiblity and until it is proven, I simply cannot believe that these animals exist today. People have argued with me about it stating the first show as their source. That's the problem. People using a show that Discovery even admitted to being fake as a reason to believe something.

Ladies and gentlemen, you cannot believe everything you see on TV.

Discovery, if you want a compelling, drama filled show, then take a page from movies like "The Cove" and "Sharkwater". Have a crew do some undercover thing in the name of conservation. Have some real life drama into "discovering" (see what I did there?) the truth about sharks. Have the people jump into shark filled (NOT INFESTED) waters in dramatic dives, but don't have it be a random life and death experience. Let the viewers know there is more to them than their teeth. No, a 15 second commercial once a night is not enough to tell people the truth. More is needed. Images, videos, all things that Discovery has sed to instill fear and excitement can instill excitement and knowledge of the truth as well. Don't believe me that showing the truth about sharks and what they are really about can be dramatic, exciting, and frankly haunting? Well here just a small taste of what sharks are really dealing with versus what the shows on Shark Week may lead you to believe.......WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES AHEAD.......

Shark finning continues to contribute greatly to the over 100,000,000 sharks killed per year.


People mock and celebrate their deaths.


Thousands of dead sharks can be found in warehouses. Killed for their fins, skin, teeth. All for profit.


Size does not matter.



Age does not matter...


Roughly 3,500 fins are seen on this rooftop alone.

That my friends is the truth. Not that they are the monsters, but we are. They are just as curious as us. They are not out to get us. Sure, they may not be as intelligent as an orca or a dolphin, but there is something going on in those brains. They are not mindless eating machines. There is far more to them than we are lead to believe from Shark Week. So in conclusion, whether you choose to watch the inevitable trainwreck of good (bad) movies that will be Sharknado week on SyFy or if you decide to watch Discovery Channel's lineup of questionable at best shows on this year's Shark Week. Do yourself a favor. Remember what is really happening with sharks. 100,000,000 are being killed every year. On average less than 10 humans are killed by sharks in a year. Remember the facts. Enjoy the fiction. Remember not everything you see on TV is real. Have a nice day and enjoy more photos about  the truth of sharks! :)    NO GRAPHIC IMAGES AHEAD

These animals are not out to get us. They are just as curious about us as we are them. We still know so little about these animals and just how many different species of them exist in the world today. We are in grave danger of losing so many of these species. We are the only ones who can save them. Discovery Channel needs to change the tone of their programming towards conservation and not further away. After all is said and done... How can there be a Shark Week with no sharks left in the world?

Operation Faroes Killing Bay Begins

Greetings and happy July to all. We are just one day away from Independence Day in the United States and that means it is time for this summer campaign of Operation Bleeding Seas II to ramp up to pace. This blog will now be fully involved in the Anonymous Operation Faroes Killing Bay. The operation is pretty new, but has some of the best minds from Operation Killing Bay and other compassionate activists that have had enough of the annual pilot whale slaughter that takes place in the Faroe Islands. The operation took to Twitter yesterday and the Faroese people were not too thrilled about it. Not only are we obviously protesting their annual gorefest, but we have literally hijacked their island's hashtag #Faroeislands. Some of the Faroese and their friends have already taken notice of us as seen below...

I don't know what the whole stealing beer and food thing was about, but we'll go with it I guess? Anyway. The number one reason I have joined up with this operation is to raise awareness about the Faroe Island whale slaughter. This is basically going to escalate and possibly exceed what Operation Killing Bay was. We have one goal in mind and that is to see these killings stopped. Anonymous will do what they do and I along with other activists will do what we do to get this job done. So Faroe Islands be warned. We have had enough of things like this... WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGES AHEAD!!!!!!

The game is now over for the Faroe Islands. The world will be made aware of these horrific slaughters. They continue to say that it is tradition and family fun. There is no tradition like this in which the highest forms of technology are used. The vikings never had radar, radios, or motorboats. These people are not vikings. These people take absolute pleasure in killing animals that don't even have the anger to fight back. They smile and laugh while they are committing these actions. Not even in Taiji do families get pleasure from killing dolphins. This place is the Taiji of the North and possibly even on a more (didn't think it was possible) horrible scale. Stay tuned as now that Operation Faroes Killing Bay is underway you can expect more Faroe Islands blogs to show up in the near future. You can also expect some new shark blogs incoming as well as Discovery Channel has released their Shark Week programming and of course I feel the need to preview it. Till then stay well everyone!