Support Sea Shepherd’s Cove Guardians: Operation Henkaku

Sea Shepherd Cove Guardian volunteers are now on the ground in Taiji, Japan for Operation Henkaku (Operation Metamorphosis). The 2015-2016 season marks the sixth consecutive year of Sea Shepherd’s Dolphin Defense campaign and their promise to the dolphins remains the same – they will not stop until the slaughter ends!

Sea Shepherd’s Cove Guardians will continue to document and live stream from Taiji, ensuring that no dolphin or pilot whale is captured or slaughtered unseen by the eyes of the world. This year’s campaign will also have an increased focus on raising crucial awareness of the inextricable link between the slaughter in Taiji and the global captive industry. It is the international demand for live cetaceans for captivity that is the economic fuel driving the hunting boats each day in search of pods to be taken forever from the sea. Just one trained captive dolphin can be sold by the Taiji hunters for $250,000 USD. The most effective way that you can help bring the slaughter to an end is to never patronise aquariums, marine parks or swim-with-dolphin operations that hold whales or dolphins captive.

Japan has already attempted to hide the brutal actions of a handful of individuals that turn Taiji’s waters red with blood, shaming the entire nation of Japan. In recent days, Cove Guardian Ground Leader, Karen Hagen of Norway and Linda Trapp of the USA were detained, interrogated and denied entry to Japan and deported from the country, just as other returning Sea Shepherd volunteers have been denied before. These obstacles will not stop Sea Shepherd in their mission for the dolphins and more Cove Guardians will arrive in Taiji.
Japan may be able to stop one volunteer but it cannot stop a movement based on compassion.

Join us! Sea Shepherd is the only group on the ground daily throughout the entire six-month hunt season, so it’s important that we have volunteers stationed at the cove from September 1 until March. If you are interested in joining us as a Cove Guardian in Taiji, please email groundcrew@seashepherd.org to express your interest. The dolphins need YOU!

For more information on Operation Henkaku and how you can lend your support, please click here

 

Jaws Should Be Terrified Of Us!

Forty years ago this week a dark fin broke the surface of the water around the fictional resort of Amity Island. To John Williams’ heart pounding theme, the 25-foot, three ton, Carcharodon Carcharius, promptly started chomping its way through naked bathers, fishermen and the odd water skier. Based on Peter Benchley’s best-selling novel, Jaws was an instant box office hit but controversy has always stalked the film much in the same way as Benchley’s shark stalked the residents of Amity. The project had been beset with problems during filming. The main stars disliked each other intensely, the mechanical shark that was used didn’t work properly and the director, Steven Spielberg, feared the whole thing would be a cinematic flop. The biggest controversy however, still remains forty years on. That controversy is the fact that many conservationists feel that Jaws propagates a myth, the myth of the “killer shark”. Peter Benchley, who would later become an advocator for shark conservation, even said he regretted writing the novel in the first place. “What I now know, which wasn’t known when I wrote Jaws, is that there is no such thing as a rogue shark which develops a taste for human flesh,” Benchley told the Animal Attack Files in 2000. “No one appreciates how vulnerable they are to destruction.” 

 

No one can deny that sharks do attack people and that these attacks are sometimes fatal. No one can deny either, the dreadful impact these attacks unquestionably have on the lives of survivors or the sense of horror and loss that families must feel when they are informed that their loved one has died as a result of a shark attack. Nor should we underestimate the psychological, drip, drip effect that news of these attacks has on the rest of the global population. 

In the movie Jaws, the towns Mayor, played by Murray Hamilton neatly sums this up when he tells Chief Brody (Roy Schneider): “Martin, it's all psychological. You yell barracuda, everybody says, "Huh? What?" You yell shark, we've got a panic on our hands...”

Then of course there is the notion that sharks serve little or no purpose in the ocean eco-system. Again this is neatly encapsulated in the film when the character Hooper, played by Richard Dreyfuss remarks that sharks are in essence machines. “…And all these machines do is swim and eat and make little sharks, and that’s all.” In short sharks only exist to swim around eating fish, surfers, swimmers etc and then pop off to propagate more sharks in order to continue the oceanic killing spree. But do sharks really deserve their reputation as voracious killers or is the idea of the “killer shark” really just a myth and if they serve no purpose as a species would it really matter if man looked upon them as a scourge of the oceans and simply wiped them out?

In 2014 there were 72 unprovoked shark attacks reported globally, seven of which ended in fatalities. Since 1900 the number of shark attacks reported has increased annually. The great majority of these attacks occur off the coasts of Australia, U.S. and South Africa. Florida is particularly prone to attacks with 54% of reported shark attacks in the U.S. occurring in that states waters. Troubling figures you might think, but let’s get some perspective. In the UK in 2014, road traffic accidents accounted for 1,713 fatalities. In the same year 42 people died in the U.S. as a result of dog bites and in Florida in 2014, firearms were used to kill 687 people.  Sharks don’t even make it onto the list of the top ten dangerous animals to mankind. Top of that list is the mosquito, which through transmission of malaria manages to bump off two million people every year, snakes kill on average 100,000, scorpions help 5000 people to shuffle off the mortal coil yearly and are followed in order by crocodiles, elephants, bees, lions, rhinoceroses, jellyfish and tigers. It is true that the number of shark attacks has increased yearly since 1900 but this is easily explained by the fact that the number of people entering the oceans has increased, More people swim, snorkel, dive, surf and play about on boats than ever before in history and thus there are more opportunities for interaction between man and sharks. Experts also cite the fact that reporting of shark attacks has improved greatly and so many more incidents are reported, logged and investigated. The great majority of attacks are often a simple case of mistaken identity, Surfers paddling on boards, divers and snorkellers floating near the surface, tend to resemble many a sharks favoured prey; seals. Swimmers splashing about in the shallows also attract sharks as they mimic the actions of fish in distress. Of course knowing that you have been mistaken for a seal is hardly going to enamour you to the toothy critter gnawing through your surfboard or heaven forbid your leg but it is worth remembering that your chances of being attacked is a staggering one in 11.5 million. 

Sharks do kill people but they are definitely not the deliberate, stalking killers of Jaws fame. But what if you’re not convinced? What if you still think that the ocean would be a much more pleasant place to frolic in without worrying about sleek, dark shadows lurking in the depths ready to sink a thousand razor sharp teeth into your flesh. What would a world without sharks be like?  The law of unintended consequences comes into play here. An ocean without sharks will not be the tooth free wonderland one might imagine. Sharks are the oceans top predators and if you remove them, then the chances are that the creatures they prey on will proliferate. These creatures in turn, unimpeded by predation, will overwhelm the food chain below.  In the U.S. in 2007 it was reported that over fishing of sharks in the northwest Atlantic had led to a boom in other marine species and as a consequence commercial fishing for oysters and scallops had been devastated. Most experts believe that the removal of sharks from the ocean would lead to catastrophic effects on the lower parts of the food chain. The bottom end of the chain would be destroyed and as a result reefs would die and the water itself would become a cloudy morass of detritus, jellyfish and microbes. The oceans as we know them now would become little more than a memory. A trip to the beach doesn’t sound that inviting if your sunbed is situated just a few metres away from a smelly, slimy oceanic bog infested with jellyfish rather than a crystal clear, azure ocean does it? We have much more to fear from an ocean without sharks than we have of sharks being in the ocean.

It might already be too late however. Shark numbers are in sharp decline and as usual it is man that is driving this decline.  Between 70 and 100 million sharks are killed every year. Most are killed to supply the repulsive shark fin soup trade. Shark fins sell for hundreds of dollars each and although the soup produced is bland and nutritionally useless, it is highly regarded in China and South East Asia with single bowls of the stuff reputedly selling for $150. Although 85% of shark fins are moved through Hong Kong, don’t think that the problem is simply an Asian issue. Mexico, Argentina, U.S.A, New Zealand and Nigeria have significant shark fishing industries. The practice of shark fining is banned in the European Union but European fishermen still net an estimated 100,000 tons of shark each year. Spain, France and Portugal are the leading culprits; together they are responsible for 12% of the global shark catch. Deliberate fishing isn’t the only problem either; a great many sharks are killed accidentally in commercial fishing nets and are hooked on long lines.

The rogue killer of Jaws fame it seems is far more threatened by man than man is by it. 

The myth of the “killer shark” really is just that, a myth. Yet that myth still seems to have a strong, cold grip, on our imagination. But here’s a thing, Peter Benchley’s novel and Spielberg’s film aren’t the problem here. Sharks and the fear of their attacks have terrified us long before Robert Shaw delivered that hair-raising U.S.S. Indianapolis monologue in the movie. Sharks are supreme predators with mouths brimming with razor sharp teeth and being wary of them is just common sense. But there is a difference between having a healthy respect for sharks and hysterical fear. Jaws is just a movie, a very good movie mind, but nevertheless just a movie and its main character, that 25-foot shark, is a mechanical fake. Jaws is simply Hollywood entertainment just as The Terminator movie is, and like the Terminator you have to willingly suspend your disbelief or the whole thing becomes preposterous. We, man, are the real problem here. Our fear of sharks is often driven by ignorance, helped in no small part we’re sure, by media hysterics when an attack occurs. We need to grow up here, we need to educate ourselves and learn that sharks are not mindless, cold-hearted killers but the supreme pinnacle of marine evolution. We need sharks, the oceans need sharks and if we want to keep our coral reefs and marine eco-systems, if we want to swim in azure waters and enjoy the benefits of healthy seas we are going to have to stop thinking like children and start thinking like adults. We are going to have to accept that even in a perfect world a little danger must always lurk.

Debunking the myth, the Sharkwater Film. Please check this out if you haven't already seen this brilliant 2007 film.

Shark Tracking - global shark incidents tracked yearly

No Peace For The Wicked From This Man’s Green Organisation

The oceans are under assault. Plastic waste, chemicals, effluent and industrial pollution threatens to suffocate the life out of the marine environment. Over fishing by floating factories is decimating fish stocks and through the problem of by-catch; dolphins, turtles, seabirds and a host of other species are being killed in the nets. Sharks, the supposed super predators of the ocean, are having their dorsal fins mercilessly hacked from their bodies and then thrown back into the sea to drown in order to supply a nutritionally useless soup to the restaurant tables of China and South East Asia on a scale that beggars belief. Illegal fishing is rampant throughout the ocean threatening extinction for some species and Whalers from Japan and Norway still ply their trade unencumbered by the anger of people across the world. Many people are concerned about these outrages and insist that something must be done, but what exactly. Well, some say we should all gather together with painted placards and protest outside embassies and national parliaments. Others suggest legal solutions should be pursued through the courts and international organisations like the United Nations. Others still, insist that we should all look to get involved personally and organise things like beach clean ups or buy recycled boardshorts or hold candlelight vigils for haddock. And others still, suggest that scientific solutions should be investigated without delay, as only science can stop the ensuing environmental massacre. 

Such activities have their place in the environmental activists tool kit but let’s face it; demonstrating, holding prayer meetings or hiring a bunch of snazzy dressed lawyers rarely achieves much. As for scientific solutions, well they might work for pollution but what scientific breakthrough is going to stop a harpoon smacking into a whales flesh or make a rich Chinese bloke turn his nose up at his shark’s fin soup. Faced with such an onslaught; protests, boycotts, church raffles and decade long law suits become nothing more than self righteous “ middle class” smoke that actually obscures the damage that has and is still being done. What’s needed is something far more meaningful and far more dangerous than many of us would contemplate, something that many legal minds would call piracy. Enter stage right, radical defender of the seas, troublemaker and self-confessed pirate Paul Watson, co-founder of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

Paul Watson, who likes to be called Capt. Paul Watson, (wow what an ego) was a founding member of Greenpeace but disagreed with the way the organisation was heading and was ousted from the organisation in 1977. Soon after he co-founded the Sea Shepherd Society. The Society’s mission was to take the fight direct to those who were committing the offending acts that so many environmentalists complain about but yet do nothing themselves to stop. He successfully led campaigns against the seal hunting trade, exposed the massacre of dolphins in Taiji and in the 1990’s used his ship to ram and sink twelve Japanese whalers. Sea Shepherd still undertakes annual operations against whaling activities in the Antarctica. There are those, including the Greenpeace Foundation, who condemn Watson and Sea Shepherd, calling them violent, but Watson is unrepentant.

“Pirates get things done without bureaucratic red tape… Yes, we be proud pirates, however we are disciplined pirates with our own special code of honour. That code demands that we do not cause injury or death to our enemies… We operate within the framework of international conservation law meaning that we only oppose unlawful exploitation of marine life… We do not target legitimate operations, even if we disagree with them. We are not a protest organisation, we don’t hang banners, we intervene against illegalities.” 

Watson cites the United Nations World Charter for Conservation, which he says, allows for nongovernmental organisations to intervene in order to uphold international law. “We have been called vigilantes. And indeed, we are vigilantes, because when the law exists but enforcement does not, a vacuum is created that allows for the actions of vigilantism…” 

The activities of Sea Shepherd have not just invoked commendation from what Watson calls the green crowd of protestors, banner wavers and lobbyists. The Japanese government is a particularly fervent critic as are other governments and global companies who have labelled Watson and Sea Shepherd as eco-terrorists. Watson’s activities have led to more than a few brushes with the law too. In 2002, after being invited to lead a fight against over-fishing by the Costa Rican Government, Watson boarded a vessel suspected of illegal fishing and escorted it to harbour. On arrival however, it was the Sea Shepherd crew that were arrested. Many believe that the crew of the fishing vessel had friends in high places. Fearing an unfair trial – being self professed pirates probably wouldn’t have helped - Watson and his crew fled. Watson was arrested ten years later in Frankfurt in relation to the Costa Rica incident, but skipped bail before he could be extradited. He therefore appears to remain a wanted man yet seems unfazed about court action against him in the US and other jurisdictions, and the more whalers, sealers and illegal fisherman rail against him the more he believes he’s winning.

“The more enemies we recruit from that crowd of ecological criminals, the more successful and credible we become.”

And successful they have become, Sea Shepherds activities and adventures are posted all over the web, they’ve had their own television series called Whale Wars and have stopped the issue of whaling from falling off the more mainstream environmental agenda. In 1998 they even planned to use a submarine in their actions against whalers, an idea that prompted the Canadian Navy to rebuke the organisation publicly by saying: “no one at Sea Shepherd know anything about operating a submarine and it is ridiculous for Sea Shepherd to acquire one.”

It was rebuke that Paul Watson savaged with buccaneering style by replying: “Since World War II, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has boarded more ships, rammed more ships, engaged in more high seas confrontations and sunk more ships than the Canadian Navy. They are hardly in a position to presume to judge what we are competent or capable of doing.”

No one apart from the Japanese and Norwegians seem to think that whaling is acceptable and the slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Japan, is as pointless as it is sickening. So whether you agree or not with Paul Watson and his Society’s methods there is no doubt that he has shown a courage and commitment that few of his fellow environmentalists have. In truth while illegal fishing is rampant, whilst the Japanese still pretend that slaughtering whales on mass is necessary for scientific research (seriously how many whales do you have to kill before you work out what a whale is?) and Sharks are killed in their millions for their fins whilst all the while the United Nations, national navies and law enforcement agencies the world over sit by and do nothing, we need Paul Watson. We need the volunteers of Sea Shepherd and thousands more like them.

Some of you out there may be content to paint catchy slogans on placards and hang banners from bridges. You might even prefer to hold a jumble sale or hold an all night candlelight vigil in the hope that such demonstrations might prick the conscience of hardened whalers or stop illegal fishing. We however are slapping on the eye patches and raising our frothing glasses in salute to Paul Watson and all the souls in Sea Shepherd. Hoist the Jolly Roger me hearties  Argggh!

More information on Sea Shepherd is readily available on the web. However we’ve added some pertinent links below. You can sponsor Sea Shepherd directly via their website click here. The more adventurous amongst you might even want to volunteer for active service in one of their many operations or simply help out in their onshore activities if so click here.

The Taiji dolphin slaughter video – caution graphic content

Whale Wars on Youtube

Sea Shepherd in Paul Watson’s own words