Mako Sharks: The Ultimate Trophy? Think Again.

This past Monday, some fisherman off the coast of California caught and killed a shortfin mako shark that broke the previous record. The new record now stands at an impressive 1,325.5lbs. That is obviously a massive fish, but where is the issue here. What's the difference between this massive shark being killed and the thousands of other mako sharks being killed? Realistically nothing. The fisherman did abide by all rules in catching this shark. When you look a litter deeper though, there is a big problem that has nothing to do with the fisherman who caught the shark. The issue lies within the other fisherman and a television crew that were on board the boat. During the catch, one of the television crew described the shark to KTLA saying "It's like a giant nightmare swimming around!". There words on television is more than enough to instill fear into a population. Another fisherman basically said that taking a few sharks will not effect the populations of these animals. So lets look at the issues a little closer.

First of all, a little introduction to the shark known as the shortfin mako...

So here is the shortfin mako. Now for a few fast facts...

The shortfin mako is a mackerel shark just like the great white and goblin shark.

Range: Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.

Shortfin makos can leap 30ft into the air.

Age of Maturity: Males: 7-9 years     Female: 19-21 years

Average Maximum Weight: 1,200lbs (Females are often larger than males)

Primary diet: Squid and large fish. Adults will also eat dolphins, seals, birds, and other animals.

IUCN Red List Status: Vulnerable

Population Trend: Decreasing

So this is the type of shark I am talking about right now. 

The fact that this catch could be on television is frankly a frightening thing for anyone who cares about these animals. The media has always portrayed sharks as these frightening, bloodthirsty animals when in reality they are far from it. Shortfin mako sharks are the fastest shark in the ocean. Capable of reaching speeds of over 60mph. They are a very popular sport fish and as with other large species of shark, they are also the target of illegal shark finning operation. This catch being shown on T.V. as a part of a reality show will do nothing but encourage fisherman to go out and kill one of these creatures for themselves. There will, I'm sure, be no mention of the fact that this species of shark is listed as "Vulnerable" on the IUCN's Red List. This places it just one small step below being an Endangered Species. There will be no mention that makos are rarely the size of the one that was caught by this fisherman. In fact so many makos are being taken out of the wild that the vast majority of those caught struggle to hit 300lbs, which for a mako, is not really big at all. 

 The attitude that these fisherman, and plenty of other fisherman have is that macho man attitude which can be a horror for sharks or any other large fish. Whether it is an inferiority complex that these fisherman have, or something else that makes them feel that they need to go out and kill the biggest fish they can find, it is an issue. They are so proud of their catch that they will let the animal go to waste. What I mean by that is this animal will most likely be stuffed as a trophy. Meaning it was killed to be hung on a wall somewhere. It's bad enough that one of these animals had to die and potentially put on television, but the meat and the rest of the body will go to no use other than a fisherman being able to tell his friends about his catch. 

The bottom line is that the shortfin mako shark is an animal that is fighting for it's very existence on Earth. Every year there are multiple catch and kill tournaments in the United States that specifically target these sharks. You can read above when these sharks mature in life. With the downward population trend, more and more young makos are being taken before they ever have a chance to reproduce. Even if they do get the chance to reproduce, like many other sharks, shortfin makos only give birth to a few pups at a time. Shortfin makos are under enough pressure from recreational and commercial fisheries as is. They do not need a T.V. show glorifying the killing of them added to the fire. Long line fishing, shark finning, and shark kill tournaments have put far too much pressure on these sharks and now their very existence is becoming more and more threatened on a daily basis. For those of you who think that taking one or two of these sharks out of the ocean will not hurt the population. Think again. Things are getting that bad that virtually every shark counts. If you want to catch a mako for the thrill of it, that's fine. Go out, catch it and then let it return to the sea alive and well. Do the entire ocean a favor and do not take it home and stuff it to show off to your friends. If you want to kill it and eat it, do so at your own risk. Mako sharks are literally filled with mercury. So much that the FDA recommends avoiding the consumption of mako or any other shark for that matter. So if you want to still see what is in the picture below in another 20 years, please, if you must fish for these animals, just let them go, there is no grand prize for killing these animals that can justify extinction.

Bluefin Tuna: Predator on the Brink

The bluefin tuna is one of the most majestic animals in the ocean. It's size rivals that of swordfish and black marlin with weights of over 900lbs and possibly as much as 2,000lbs. It is one of the fastest fish in the ocean as well, capable of exceeding speeds of 60 miles per hour. It is an endangered species that will soon face extinction unless something is done to save them in the very near future.




Over the past 40 years, bluefin tuna populations worldwide are estimated to have dropped by an alarming 72% in the Eastern Atlantic and 82% in the Western Atlantic. (Source of statistic: www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/bluefin-tuna938.html#cr) For an animal that has the ability to lay millions of eggs, that is a very concerning statistic. Unlike sharks and rays, bluefin tuna mature rather quickly and can live to be over 50 years old. The problem is even with this high reproductive rate, more tuna are being taken out of the ocean than are surviving to adulthood.

As adults, the greatest threat that bluefin tunas face is man, but when they are younger, there is a vast array of fish and other animals that love to make baby bluefin tuna a meal. Bluefin tuna are known to spawn in very large numbers, which is when they are often captured by commercial fisherman. One of the places in the world where the bluefin tuna is being highly exploited is in the Mediterranean Sea. During spawning season, the tuna are spotted using aircraft. From there boats move in and net entire schools of bluefin tuna. This practice of course not only takes a good sized number of fish out of the sea at once, but it also takes the lives of countless baby bluefin tuna that would have otherwise been able to take the place of the adults if they were allowed to be born. This style of fishing for tuna is by no means sustainable, but it is mostly isolated to the Mediterranean Sea. Closer to home, bluefin tuna face another threat.

Long line fishing is a massive threat to bluefin tuna. Of course long line fishing is an incredibly dangerous style of fishing that claims the lives of countless turtles, sea birds, sharks, seals, small whales, manta rays, and any other animal that bites a hook. For the fisherman though, this style of fishing allows them to potentially catch a large number of tuna and hence, make a large sum. The problem is that they don't only catch tuna. So what is driving these animals towards extinction?

In a word. Humans. In more than one word... Bluefin tuna have long been regarded as one of the best sushi items in Japan. In fact, roughly 80% of the tuna caught in the Atlantic Ocean is shipped to and consumed in Japan. The amount of tuna that people are selling is simply too much. Humans are putting way too much pressure on these animals and leaving them with very little hope for the future. At the heart of the bluefin tuna industry though is the all mighty dollar. Bluefin tuna sells for a pretty high price as it's meat is very valuable. In fact, a tuna sold in Japan for 1.6 million dollars (US). There are bluefin tuna farms, but there is even an issue with this. The tuna do not do all that well in these farms and they are repopulate using fish from the wild.

As you can hopefully see, the pressure these animals are facing is simply overwhelming. For an animal that spawns in just two places in the entire world, there cannot be such a wide unregulated trade. Being a highly migratory species, these animals will enter and leave the waters of many countries. In some they are protected, in others they are exploited. Welcome to the plight of the bluefin tuna. This summer, the hunt for bluefin tuna will once again kickoff in the Mediterranean Sea where tuna populations will once again take a sharp decline. Stay tuned to Operation Forgotten as the summer progresses for more blogs focused on the majestic bluefin tuna.

Welcome to Operation: Forgotten

Hello everyone, I hope that you are all doing well. After some time off it is time for my spring/summer campaign to get underway. There was some uncertainty that this campaign would actually happen, but the more I thought about it, the more I've come to realize that this is really something that needs to be done. So without further delay. Welcome to Operation: Forgotten.

At the conclusion of my last campaign, Operation Sadistic Truths, a major milestone was reached in the fight to protect sharks and manta rays. Despite these new protections, there is still much work that needs to be done. Sharks are still being wiped off the face of the Earth as are manta rays. The gill raker trade that has seen manta populations destroyed continues to grow and more and more of these gentle giants are being wiped out. Shark finning has not slowed much as 100,000,000 sharks are being killed for their fins every year. To catch you all up on recent happenings involving sharks in the United States, well lets just say things are looking slightly up. Maryland, New York, and Delaware have recently banned the sale and possession of shark fins. These laws are similar to the laws that Hawaii, Washington, and several other states have already passed. New York passing this law was very significant as New York is the largest shark fin hub on the east coast of the United States. There is also a similar bill in the New Jersey government system right now. With that being said, the primary focus of Operation: Forgotten will be sharks and manta rays. This summer though, these two amazing creatures will be joined by a third animal that is quickly headed for extinction.


Venture into the open Ocean and you will without a doubt find all kinds of fish. Few though are as majestic as the endangered bluefin tuna. Sadly these fish are being fished to extinction. Bluefin tuna are regularly caught and sold at a very high price. They are yet another one of the Ocean's apex predators that are being driven to extinction by man's unwavering desire for money. For an idea as to just how rapidly these fish are being wiped out consider this fact. Female bluefin tunas are capable of carrying 30 million eggs. Of course the vast majority of those baby fish will be eaten by other fish in the Ocean and only few will survive to adulthood where their size makes them safe from most would be predators. Just like many other fish, bluefin tuna are known to spawn at the same time, so large groups of them will gather together. It is at this time that they are very vulnerable to nets as spawning often takes place near the surface. Sometimes entire schools of bluefin tuna are taken out of the sea at one time, which does heavily hurt their fragile populations. This will be the first time that any of my campaigns have had any kind of focus on these animals.



Without any words, here are two quick photos to show why these animals are in so much trouble.


To put it simply, far too many bluefin tuna are being removed from the Oceans and unless something is done about it soon, they will cease to exist.

So ladies and gentlemen. Here we are at the start of yet another campaign. For those of you who have been following along since Operation: Bleeding Seas last year, you know the plight of sharks and manta rays which is why I didn't really go into detail about them. If you are just joining us. Welcome! I strongly encourage you to take a look back at my past blogs from Operation: Sadistic Truths and Operation: Bleeding Seas to get caught up on the plights of sharks and manta rays. All three of these animals are crucially important to our world. Losing any of them would be nothing short of a tragedy that could severely alter the face of the Earth. While you go about your daily business, do not forget what is going on in the world around you. Do not forget that these animals are suffering and rapidly moving towards extinction. Do not forget that we, the people who care about them, are their only voices. We are the voice of the voiceless. Never forget. With that being said Operation: Forgotten is officially underway. Expect to see the first blog of the campaign go into some more detail about the plight of the bluefin tuna so we are all fully aware of what is going on with these majestic fishes. From there, expect a bunch of blogs on all three of these animals complete with pictures (sometimes very graphic), videos (new to this campaign), facts, opinions, news articles, and much, much more!

Major Milestone Wraps Up Operation Sadistic Truths

Well here we are. On September 5th, 2012 I began Operation Sadistic Truths. My mission was to expose some of the terrible truths that are occurring in the world. This mission focused heavily on whales and dolphins. Sharks also had their fair share of attention given to them in this campaign as well. I weighed in on a lot of different subjects and made my feelings known and backed those feelings up with real facts. This blog will be a brief summary of what has happened over the last 6 months leading up to incredible news.

Dolphins: From September through late February, Japanese fisherman set out to kill hundreds of dolphins and sell many more into a life of captivity. Inspired by the documentary, The Cove, I read up on the slaughter. This year, Sea Shepherd's Cove Guardians livestreamed some of the action from the cove. The videos I watched were truly heartbreaking. To this day, I still call upon Sea World and other large aquariums and dolphinariums to stop the support of this slaughter and help save these amazing animals.

Whales: The chaos in the Southern Ocean has come to an end. After the most chaotic whaling season I have seen, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society managed to have it's most successful campaign, entitled Operation No Compromise. The biggest development of the season was several collisions between whaling ships and protest ships along with Japan finally admitting that there is no scientific research going on in the Southern Ocean. All that is happening down there is commercial whaling.

Sharks: Shark finning has continued to ravage shark populations around the world. There was a totally heartbreaking story that came out with a new estimate on how many sharks are being killed on an annual basis. The number is staggering, heartbreaking, scary, and downright alarming. The number is 100 million. 100 million sharks are being killed every year by humans. This fact now leads to this incredible news and final mark on Operation Sadistic Truths.

CITES has voted to add smooth hammerheads, scalloped hammerheads, great hammerheads, porbeagles, oceanic whitetips, and manta rays to Appendix II. This upgrade puts these animals under the same protection that basking, whale, and great whites have. Appendix II means that any nation that fishes for these animals must issue licenses to those who catch these animals. There is also set limits on the number of these fish a nation can catch. If a nation is caught overfishing, that nation will be subject to sanctions that will be imposed by CITES. This is a massive step towards saving these species of sharks and mantas. Though illegal shark finning and overfishing will most likely continue to run rampant, there are now restrictions in place that will cause nations to begin to take a closer look at just how many sharks are being killed in their waters. All three species of hammerheads that have been added to Appendix II are currently listed as Endangered Species. Any help that these animals can get is a step in the right direction.

Despite lobbying by China and Japan to not pass the vote, the vote went through, largely pushed by South American nations that realize sharks are far more valuable alive than dead. Another major factor in the vote going through were African countries that have seen their local shark populations plummet. Money was also a factor as usual, but this time in a good way. The EU has stated that they will be willing to help poorer countries financially to change their fishing practices.  There is still a chance this vote can be overturned, but as of now it has not been. It looks like these 5 species of shark and manta rays are finally getting some of the help they so desperately need!

In my opinion, that is probably the best way for me to end Operation Sadistic Truths. So in closing I would like to thank each and every one of you for reading these blogs over the past 6 months. It means so much to me that even one person has taken the time to read these blogs that I feel so strongly about. So with that, Operation Sadistic Truths is officially at an end. Thank you all again so much and stay tuned for the future of this blog!

Desperate Sharks and Mantas Need Protection!

Sometimes the worst news can bring about new protection for animals. So could possibly be the case for a few species of shark. On March 1st, 2013 a new study came out that dramatically increased the estimate for the number of sharks killed on an annual basis. The old estimate was roughly 70 million sharks killed every year. The new estimate, that is just a few days old is a massive 100 million. That is roughly 100 million sharks killed each and every year. The primary reason sharks are literally being exterminated has nothing to do with anything natural. It has to do a lot with human greed and that is about it. Shark finning has continued to run rampant throughout the world. Despite certain states, nations, and cities banning shark fin soup, there is still a massive demand for it in China. After another year of studies, there is still no proven health benefits to eating shark fin soup, so it remains a status symbol and nothing more. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we are exterminating one of the world's oldest creatures to show off status. Terrible isn't it? Well it is the truth. People claim that shark fin soup has all of these positive effects on the human body, but not a single one of them has been proven. What has been proven is the exact opposite. That shark fin soup can lead to several health issues and even mercury poisoning. The FDA would not be telling people not to eat the soup if it was good for you. Despite how heartbreaking this news is, it could finally propel CITES to give certain species of sharks to get the protection they so desperately need.

From March 3rd-March 14th, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species(CITES) will be   looking over 71 different proposals. Personally I am most interested in  those that deal with sharks and manta rays. Under the proposal, the oceanic white tip, porbeagle, smooth hammerhead, great hammerhead, scalloped hammerhead, and all species of manta ray would become part of Appendix II where the basking shark, whale shark, and great white shark currently reside. Appendix II requires that anyone wishing to catch these sharks must have a license to do so. Those who are caught doing so without a license would be severely fined, possibly jailed.

At this point I feel that this really has to pass. It needs to become a part of CITES. Hammerheads are one of the Oceans most interesting animals and they are being wiped clean off the map. Porbeagles and white tips travel all over the world, yet they are being wiped out. Manta rays, one of the gentle giants of the seas, are being wiped out. What they all have in common is that man is their greatest threat and last hope. More and more people are becoming aware of the plight that sharks are facing, but the issue is few have any power to do anything about it. We, as normal people simply have to keep driving the facts to the governments of the nations in which we live to step up protection for these animals. 100 million a year? I am 23 years old. My guess would be by the time I'm 33 several famous species of shark, including all three species of hammerheads will be gone. How scary is that. An animal that I was always curious about as a kid and now respect as an adult, simply gone for a bowl of soup. There is still time to save these animals. With each day that passes by though, that time gets shorter and shorter. For those of you who are my age and plan on one day having a family, I don't know about you, but I would love nothing more than to be able to one day have my child learn about sharks in science class as an animal that still swims in the Ocean and not an animal that is either gone from the Earth or would soon be gone. If you are older and are reading this, than think of your grandchildren or children. Do you want them to see the day, along with yourself that species after species of shark goes extinct? For those who are younger and might somehow be reading this. I hope the day comes where you meet a shark, either in the wild or in an aquarium before they all vanish. When you do I hope you are able to see that what you are looking at is not a monster. It is not a creature put on this Earth to eat people just the same as it was not put on this Earth to be totally destroyed for human greed.

The end point is this truth. Regardless as to how old we are, the time to save these animals is now before it is too late. Extinction is forever. Once these animals are gone we will not be able to get them back. They will go the way of the dinosaurs, and I am sorry to say that the ramifications of them vanishing will be far, far more dire than when the dinosaurs went extinct. Remember, sharks are at the top of the food chain, when the top link falls, the whole thing falls apart. We are now the predators, sharks are now the prey.


***I will update this blog as decisions begin to emerge from CITES. I will update this even if Operation Sadistic Truths ends before any decision is made. CITES will be going on until March 14th, 2 days after the end of this operation***

The Slaughter Has Ended...

It's that time of year again. The time of year where the dolphins of Japan can swim peacefully by Taiji without any threat of being corralled into the cove and brutally slaughtered. Just a few short days ago, the annual dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan came to an end after 6 months of killings. It is during this time that we as people need to speak out against the horrors that go into this slaughter every year. There is so much that needs to be looked at. On one level you have the whole cultural issue. The Japanese fisheries basically claim that the slaughter is part of the Japanese culture. The problem with that claim is as follows. Until the documentary, The Cove, was released, the vast majority of the Japanese population had no idea where their dolphin meat was coming from let alone how it was being obtained. For something to be a part of a people's culture, one would think that the people of that culture would have some kind of idea about the killing that is apparently such a major part of that culture. Facts are facts. Dolphin meat does not sell well at all, so with that being said, how big a part of the Japanese culture is eating dolphin meat? Apparently not that big, otherwise dolphin meat would not have to be labeled as other meats to get people to buy it.

If I learned anything from this year's slaughter it's this. The annual dolphin slaughter in Taiji has sadly a lot to do with dolphins in captivity. The fact is, as mentioned earlier, dolphin meat just is not that productive when it comes to making money. It does not sell. So what does sell then? The live dolphin sells. One dolphin can sell for several thousand dollars. The dolphins that are the best fit for captivity are selected and sold to dolphinariums around the world for a very, very pretty penny. That alone, to me is enough for the Japanese to want to continue this slaughter. It makes them an insane amount of money from selling dolphins into captivity. If no dolphinariums purchased the dolphins, then this slaughter wouldn't happen because the business would simply not be there and the fisherman would have to rely solely on sales from dolphin meat. Those sales would never be able to keep the business afloat.

So why don't the Japanese just let the dolphins not selected go free? The answer to that is quite simple and kind of terrible really. There is still some kind of profit to be made from a dead dolphin. It's nowhere near as big as a live dolphin, but it is profit nonetheless. Setting the dolphins free does nothing for the Japanese, but potentially cost them some money in gas used while trying to catch them. The bottom line with this is that the life of a dolphin is realistically worth less to these people than the amount of money spent trying to catch them, even if they manage to sell off some of that dolphins family members for a major profit. It is a sad, sad truth, but it is the truth nonetheless.

Personally, I call upon some of the world's largest aquariums and dolphinariums, yes I'm looking at you Sea World, to step up and try to do something about this. The amount of influence these places have on smaller facilities is massive! I am a realist. I know that there is always going to be a dolphin trade from the wild to captivity. As much as I may not like it, I know there is a very, very good chance that it will not end as the popularity of these animals continues to increase. What can end though is the support of these businesses that find it 100% acceptable to slaughter each and every dolphin that they cannot sell into captivity. Dolphins are incredibly intelligent. They know when something major, like being brought into captivity, has happened to them. They know when they see a family member getting a spear shoved into their spine. Enough emotional damage is done to an entire pod of dolphins when members are removed that the should not be forced to then swim through the blood of their loved ones as well before their time to die arrives. Again, I ask of Sea World and other large aquariums/dolphinariums to step up and at the very least end the support of these terrible slaughters.  

This in all likely hood will be my final blog of Operation Sadistic Truths in regards to the dolphin slaughter in Taiji. I will spare you from the horrific pictures of the killings again until my final blog of this campaign. Thank you all for reading these dolphin blogs. It is my first time putting my opinions out there on this slaughter and I hope that you were able to take something away from it all. Even if it just becoming aware of the slaughter itself. Again, thank you all for reading. Operation Sadistic Truths does not end here though. I will continue this campaign until March 12th.

Chaos Grips the Southern Ocean

All right so there is a ton of new coming out of the Southern Ocean over the past 24 hours. I am going to describe the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's side of the story as there are actual photographs that back up their claims. The first part of this blog will be a summary as to what has happened in the Southern Ocean and the second part of this blog will be my personal feeling on the matter.

For those of you who are unaware, there is a war going on in the Southern Ocean between the Japanese Whaling Fleet and Sea Shepherd Australia. For the past few weeks, the conservation vessels have prevented the whalers from illegally killing whales in a whale sanctuary in the Southern Ocean that is controlled by Australia. Along with the whaling fleet is the fuel tanker Sun Laurel. This ship is carrying heavy fuel oil, which needless to say, if spilled would be catastrophic to the surrounding area. Several days ago, the Japanese harpoon vessel Yushin Maru #1 and Japanese Security Vessel were illegally fueled by the Sun Laurel. The reason the fueling was illegal was twofold. First, it is unlawful to enter the Antarctic Treaty Zone with heavy fuel oil, something that the Sun Laurel has on board and in large quantities. Second, it is illegal to transfer heavy fuel oil in the Antarctic Treaty Zone. For an idea as to where that treaty zone is, here's a map

The area in which to focus is the area controlled by Australia. For reference, the Antarctic Treaty Zone starts at 60 degrees South and extends through Antarctica. This means that the Sun Laurel (below) was below this line when it fueled the Yushin Maru #1 (the blue vessel in the picture being fueled) and Shonan Maru #2.


Fast forward to yesterday. The Sea Shepherd vessel Sam Simon and the Sun Laurel were joined by the Steve Irwin, Bob Barker, Yushin Maru #1,2, and 3, and the Nisshin Maru. Under the cover of darkness, the Nisshin Maru led the Sun Laurel into a thick ice pack in an attempt to lose the Sea Shepherd Vessels and refuel the whaling ships. The Sun Laurel is not designed for ice and could have easily sank if it had hit any thick ice. At this time, the Sun Laurel was notified by Sea Shepherd that they would not allow any illegal fueling to take place and told the Sun Laurel that they can refuel the whaling fleet above 60 degrees South. At the time, the ships were roughly 360 miles south of that line. The captain of the Nisshin Maru wanted none of that and soon after the mess began.

At 10:20am, the Shonan Maru #2 arrived on the scene. For a quick little introduction on this ship, this is the ship that earlier in the year entered Australian waters despite the Australian Government demanding they not. This is also the ship that made headlines a few years ago after it had cut the hull off the Sea Shepherd Speed Vessel Ady Gil, leading to it's eventual sinking. As the Shonan Maru #2 arrived, the three harpoon vessels began to circle the Sea Shepherd vessels, blasting their crews with high powered water cannons at the crew of the Sea Shepherd ships. Then the Nisshin Maru itself began to close in on the Steve Irwin which was alongside the Sun Laurel.

In this photo: The three harpoon ships and the Shonan Maru #2 (white ship) close on the Sea Shepherd vessels.

In this photo: The harpoon ships attacking Sea Shepherd vessels with high powered water cannons. The Bob Barker is the ship farthest back with one harpoon ship right next to it and the Steve Irwin is alongside the Sun Laurel with the Nisshin Maru a bit further back.

10:50am; The Nisshin Maru closed in on the Steve Irwin and started to get dangerously close to hitting the Steve Irwin and the Sun Laurel. Soon after chaos erupted.

12:20pm: The Nisshin Maru begins it's assault. The Bosun of the Sun Laurel warned the Nisshin Maru to stop because they were getting too close to the tanker. The Nisshin Maru did not stop, rather continued to bear down on the Steve Irwin (below) 
At 12:56, The Nisshin Maru would ram the Steve Irwin twice, damaging it's helicopter deck and port side. As the Steve Irwin, a ship literally 10 times smaller than the Nisshin Maru, tried to get away, the Bob Barker took it's place.


In this photo: The Nisshin Maru rams the Steve Irwin's helicopter deck on the port side of the ship.


In this photo: The Nisshin Maru rams the Steve Irwin a second time, pushing it towards the fuel tanker, Sun Laurel.


In this photo: The Steve Irwin running from the Nisshin Maru while the Bob Barker takes it's position alongside the Sun Laurel.

While the Nisshin Maru was ramming the Steve Irwin and while the Bob Barker was moving in, the Japanese crew threw concussion grenades at the crew of the Sea Shepherd ships along with the use of high powered water cannons. The whalers than turned their attention to the main exhaust pipe of the Bob Barker and tried to flood it with their water cannons. During the chaos, co-campaign leader Bob Brown ordered that the Sea Shepherd ships not retaliate to the aggression of the Nisshin Maru. An order that the three conservation ships would obey as no violence was directed towards the whaling fleet during this fight.

Next the Nisshin Maru would do the unthinkable. The Nisshin Maru in an attempt at ramming the Bob Barker, ran right into the port side of the Sun Laurel destroying it's life rafts.

In this photo: The Nisshin Maru just before ramming the Sun Laurel.

In this photo: The Nisshin Maru rams the Sun Laurel destroying their life boats.

In this photo: The Nisshin Maru rams the Sun Laurel again.

After ramming their own ship you would think the Nisshin Maru would stop right? Not by a long shot. The Nisshin Maru would then force it's way between the Bob Barker and Sun Laurel, hitting both ships at once. The Bob Barker was virtually ran over by the Nisshin Maru as these pictures will show.

In this photo: The Nisshin Maru starting to ram both the Sun Laurel and Bob Barker.

In this photo: The Nisshin Maru's massive bow towers over the bridge of the Bob Barker breaking the Bob Barker's running lights and radar systems. The Shonan Maru #2 stood by.

While the Nisshin Maru continued to push onto the Bob Barker, the conservation ship began to roll and take on water causing the ships power to go off. Captain Peter Hammarstedt managed to send out a mayday call. Upon hearing this call, the Nisshin Maru backed off. The Bob Barker would sit dead in the water for about a half hour while the crew fixed the breach and got power back to the ship.

Earlier, the Sam Simon also had to deal with the Nisshin Maru as they too were rammed and actually ordered to leave Australian waters under the authority of the Government of Japan. That means an Australian vessel was ordered out of Australian waters by a Japanese whaling ship. The aftermath of this incident becomes very interesting as things continue to develop.

During the fight, the Bob Barker had deployed their Zodiacs where some of these pictures were taken from. During the collisions a bottle was apparently tossed to one of the boats from the Sun Laurel. Inside the bottle was a note that read  “To Research ship, Please: ‘May Day’ ‘Help’ All crew did not know to this Antarctic trip. So all crew don’t like to supply this fishing vessels. We cannot use telephone so we cannot speak to IMO. Please you as soon as possible take action. Thank you.”

The captain of the Sun Laurel also mentioned in the note that the Sun Laurel, under Japanese order, was not allowed to use their phones from January 20th- February 28th. Also, the majority of the crew on the Sun Laurel had no idea that they were going to Antarctica and did not support the whaling fleet at all. After all of the ramming had taken place the crew of the Bob Barker tossed some t-shirts to the crew of the Sun Laurel who put them on and gave the Bob Barker a thumbs up. 

So does the ICR have to say about this? Due to it being too dangerous to refuel with Sea Shepherd around, the ICR has called off the whale hunt for now until the ships can refuel. Chances are this means North of the 60 degree mark. They also blame the Bob Barker for ramming the Nisshin Maru which judging from this picture, I personally cannot see how that is even possible.  
The ICR claims that this is the Bob Barker rammig the Nisshin Maru.

So what is going on right now? Latest news has the damaged Sun Laurel being escorted by the Sam Simon heading North. The Nisshin Maru following the mayday call by the Bob Barker has fled to the West with the Steve Irwin and Bob Barker on its tail. The three Yushins and the Shonan Maru #2 have all take off in different directions. At this point it is unknown if the Sun Laurel intends to still refuel the fleet, but with her going one way and the fleet going in all different directions it is thought they may have had enough and are going home. As the sun rises over the Southern Ocean, more news will probably come out of the Southern Ocean as to what the whaling fleet is going to do.

So that is what happened while many of us here in the United States slept. My opinion on the matter is very simple. This was not even about whaling. This was about upholing the law and not allowing large ships to refuel using heavy fuel oil south of 60 degrees. The actions displayed by the captain of the Nisshin Maru should by all rights land him in jail, but much like the captain of the Shonan Maru #2 who got away with cutting the bow off the Ady Gil, I don't expect any punishment to befall him. As far as the Sun Laurel is concerned, I don't know what to think at this point. The Japanese have tried many sneaky things to try and secure their whaling operations. It wouldn't surprise me if they hired the Sun Laurel and tried to keep it hush hush. The Sun Laurel had no business being in an ice pack. I doubt that the Sun Laurel's captain was so dead set on fueling below 60 degrees. I'm sure there had to be some kind of radio communication between the Sun Laurel and Nisshin Maru involving that issue. The Sun Laurel is now heading North with the Sam Simon. I hope the crew of all the rammed ships are okay and really hope nothing goes wrong with the Sun Laurel on it's trip home. Their life rafts were destroyed by the Nisshin Maru so I am happy to see that the Sam Simon is escorting them. I'm sure though that the Sam Simon is also escorting the Sun Laurel to prevent any illegal fueling still as well.

All in all, this was a really scary event that should never have happened. The whaling fleet should never had tried to fuel below 60 degrees south. In doing so, they showed just how little regard they have for the law and in that case for the ecosystem of the Southern Ocean. If something had happened during the refueling of any of those ships and an oil spill occurred... I don't even want to think about it. It's not like Africa or the Gulf of Mexico where people are going to rush out and clean the oil. Chances are that stuff would literally destroy the ecosystem. Sea Shepherd at is now doing the job that the Australian navy should be doing. They are down there to prevent illegal commercial whaling. Now they also had to stop illegal fueling below 60 degrees. It is not their job to do any of this. The Government of Australia needs to say following this even that enough is enough and send a boat down there and get control of the situation. This season has seen several boats already in distress. The Yushin Maru #1 was ditched earlier by the rest of the whaling fleet when it was virtually out of fuel. The Sun Laurel and Bob Barker have taken a good amount of damage. Someone is going to wind up getting killed down there and it is not going to be one of the whalers.

Ship to ship, the whaling fleet is much larger. As you could see in the pictures the Nisshin Maru is a fortress compared to even the Sun Laurel which is by no means small. It is far too dangerous to allow this insanity to continue in Australian waters. Now it's not just whale lives that are at stake, it's human lives too. Some good has come out of this mess though. That is the ICR putting all whaling operations on hold. The fleet needs to refuel. Whether it is from the Sun Laurel or someone else, the fleet has to refuel. If the Sun Laurel does decide to refuel the fleet above 60 degrees, it will take several days for the fleet to get there, refuel, and return to the whale sanctuary. There are just 17 days left in the season. This could possibly be the end of the season, but until anything becomes official I am holding my breath. 

Thank you Sea Shepherd for doing the work that the Australian Government should be doing.

All photo credit goes to Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.