Stop the Sea Shepherd

[Fish-R-Man]

What do you think? Have you ever heard of someone getting busted without getting caught?

Watson is very clear when it comes to weapons of any kind including pocket knives. You bring them you're sent home and you don't receive any help from Sea Shepherd. It's the Japanese that bring guns to their research projects.

He's probably afraid of his own crew......

 

[Fish-R-Man]

Japan may quit whaling commission if ban stays put - Yahoo! News

Here is a link to a recent article about the upcoming meeting of the IWC. Even the IWC has proposed a limited commercial harvest of whales.

"A moratorium has been in place for 25 years, but countries such as Japan, Norway and Iceland hunt whales under a variety of exceptions to the ban. An IWC proposal was circulated in April to allow limited commercial hunts for 10 years.":shocked2:


Still think Watson is obtaining his goals?

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

Some here seem pleased that whales are being killed. Amazing

 

[stakanak]

Good post mikemill, although sympathizing with the whalers is not something I will ever do.
It is extreme capitalism with no thought towards the eventual outcome that is in play here with the Japanese fishermen (this has been an issue with fish and reptiles as well)...and the fact that they are hunting under the guise of research is outrageous!

 

[Fish-R-Man]

Some here seem pleased that whales are being killed. Amazing

I think I need top clarify my point. I do not like the idea of commercial whaling for what ever reason. All products produced from the harvest of whales can be produce using other sources. There is no real need to harvest them.

I had thought that the point of this thread was an individuals point of view about Paul Watson and his actions against the whaling fleet. A number of people are saying that what the countries involved in the harvest of whales are doing is illegal. It is not. What Paul Watson is doing is! That is my issue with Paul Watson. I have been on vessels that were harrased by people just like Watson. They put them selves and the vessels crews in jeapordy. To what end, I am writing this as we are harvesting Pollock. Money's used to combat the fishing effort was finally turned toward logical scientific research and to monitor the biomas here in the Bering Sea. It's a much more efficient way of making sure we do not over fish or endanger the fish population as a whole.

I thing that Saspotato made a very valid point. The Japanese are not going to stop whaling because of Watson actions, if nothing else they will continue just to save face. IMHO if you donated money towards legitimate research or a public awareness campaigns, I think you would be way ahead of where they are now.

 

[Sas]

Some here seem pleased that whales are being killed. Amazing

You're missing the point. I am not pleased whales (or any seafood) is being killed. But I am not pleased at the response of Sea Shepherd to the whaling. They are just making things worse.

Sea Shepherd go in with all guns blazing and seem to take zero care to find out more about the enemy they have. Mikemill got it spot on with what they should be doing - using their money to educate the youth in Japan. I am sure they don't want to be eating dangerous seafood like whales but that kind of info is hard to come by in Japan.

 

[scubafanatic]

If I go to McDonalds in Japan, can I order a McMinke burger?

....and a bowl of shark fin soup too !

 

[Paladin]

Dolphins and whales are of the same order Cetacea.

Wrong. All cetaceans are whales, but not all whales are cetaceans. The cetaceans are the toothed whales, like dolphins, killer whales, sperm whales and pilot whales. These are predators that feed on larger sea life such as seals, fish and other whales. The rest are baleen whales that feed on tiny sea life, like plankton and krill, and have no teeth.

The intelligence of cetaceans (toothed whales) has been studied for years, but mostly due to the fact that so many are in captivity and, therefore, readily studied and tested. Baleen whales tend to be very large and and their food requirements tremendous. Keeping them in captivity just isn't practical, so there isn't all that much in the way of scientific study going on to determine their level of intelligence.

 

[eponym]

[hijack]

Wrong. All cetaceans are whales, but not all whales are cetaceans. The cetaceans are the toothed whales, like dolphins, killer whales, sperm whales and pilot whales. These are predators that feed on larger sea life such as seals, fish and other whales. The rest are baleen whales that feed on tiny sea life, like plankton and krill, and have no teeth.

Ah, well . . . unless the relevant taxonomy has been revised recently, all whales belong to the order Cetacea. Baleen whales have their own sub-order, the Mysticeti ("moustached"). Toothed whales also have a sub-order, Odontoceti ("toothed").

The extent to which modern nomenclature has added Super- and Sub- classes, orders, families, and the like to the original Linnaean system is an indication of our increased understanding of nature's complexity, much of it thanks to genetic comparison. But I still treasure the simple mnemonics we learned ages ago (such as "Kindly please come over for great sex").

[/hijack]

-Bryan

 

[SC_Hoaty]

If I go to McDonalds in Japan, can I order a McMinke burger?

....and a bowl of shark fin soup too !

Apparently not. I checked the menu carefully.