Whales

IWC 2009 - whale conservation bloc not playing its hand

Posted by jossc — 24 June 2009 at 2:02pm - Comments

Sara Holden, our International whales campaign coordinator, blogs from the 61st International Whaling Conference in Madeira, Portugal. Even though for the first time in years the anti-whaling nations have a decent majority on the IWC, genuine protection for whales still remains low on the agenda.

As metaphors go, how about this? The IWC meeting is being held in a casino - and anyone betting on a good outcome for the whales would be unlikely to win. Equally aprt, just a few minutes before the opening of the 61st International Whaling Commission meeting, a large rat was seen scuttling through the hotel and out the door. Not a bad illustration of what's going on here.

Article tagged as: cetaceans, iceland, IWC, japan, norway, oceans, whale sanctuaries, whales, whaling

World's whales and dolphins may face growing sonic threat

Posted by Willie — 12 June 2008 at 2:06pm - Comments

A dead dolphin - the victim of bycatch - lying on a beach

In Chile, the world's scientists are already meeting in advance of the 60th International Whaling Commission (IWC), which will be held there in late June. At this time of year, the eyes of the world turn to the deadlocked struggle between pro-conservation and pro-whaling countries as they clash over the future of whaling at the IWC meetings. And recent events have not been going well for the whalers - in recent weeks we have seen just how desperate the pro-whaling nations are to play down not only the recent scandal of stolen whale meat in Japan, but also the saga of exporting whale meat from Iceland and Norway. Both stories highlight the extent to which the whalers are routinely flouting not only international opinion but also the global ban on commercial whaling and the trading of whale meat.

Article tagged as: cetaceans, chile, cornwall, dolphins, iceland, IWC, japan, madagascar, norway, oceans, whales

Esperanza back in Tasmania after successful anti-whaling tour

Posted by jossc — 6 February 2008 at 5:26pm - Comments

Esperanza crew members watch as the ship moors at Hobart after the 2008 Southern Ocean tour

Yesterday at 3pm local time the Esperanza departed from Hobart in Tasmania, Australia bringing to a close the 2007/2008 Southern Ocean Expedition. The ship had arrived on Sunday evening to a great welcome from the people of Hobart, including the mayor and a number of councillors.

After spending close to two months tracking the Japanese whaling fleet, Esperanza was forced to leave the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary last week when her fuel supply started to run out. The sanctuary had remained fatality free for the whales during the previous fortnight while the Espy chased the factory whaling ship, the Nisshin Maru, across 5,000 miles of the Southern Ocean.

Article tagged as: esperanza, japan, oceans, ships, southern ocean, whales, whaling

Esperanza leaves Southern Ocean but whaling campaign continues

Posted by jamie — 29 January 2008 at 2:41pm - Comments

A Greenpeace inflatable prevents the Nisshin Maru refuelling from the Oriental Bluebird

A Greenpeace inflatable prevents the Nisshin Maru from being refuelled by the Oriental Bluebird © Greenpeace/Jiri Rezac

A few days ago, the Esperanza - which had been pursuing the Japanese whaling fleet for two weeks - was forced to quit the chase and head back to port as the ship is running low on fuel. But this year's Southern Ocean expedition has been a resounding success.

Article tagged as: esperanza, japan, oceans, ships, southern ocean, whales, whaling

Whalers blocked from refuelling in Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary

Posted by jossc — 22 January 2008 at 11:44am - Comments

A Greenpeace infalatable delays refuelling of the whaling ship Nisshin Maru

After eleven days successfully preventing the Japanese whaling fleet from killing whales in the Southern Ocean, the crew of the Esperanza were this morning able to inconvenience them still further by delaying the refuelling of their factory ship, the Nisshin Maru.

Article tagged as: esperanza, IWC, japan, oceans, ships, southern ocean, whales, whaling

Second whaling ship leaves the hunting grounds

Posted by jossc — 18 January 2008 at 4:36pm - Comments

Here's the latest video update from Esperanza, on patrol in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary protecting fin and minke whales from whalers, plus a blog update from Dave, our intrepid onboard webbie:

Article tagged as: esperanza, IWC, japan, oceans, southern ocean, whales, whaling

Esperanza drives whalers out of the Southern Ocean sanctuary

Posted by jossc — 14 January 2008 at 5:16pm - Comments

Greenpeace campaigner Sakyo Noda contacts the Japanese whaling fleet

Greenpeace campaigner Sakyo Noda contacts the Japanese whaling fleet

Good news from Esperanza, our ice-class vessel on patrol in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. Yesterday the Espy had a face to face encounter with the Japanese whaling fleet's factory vessel, the Nisshin Maru, which was confronted close to the ice edge. As soon as they realised that we were in the area, the whalers put on speed and tried to get away.

After a high speed chase over hundreds of miles through fog and increasingly rough seas (see video clip below), the Esperanza this morning pursued the whalers north of the over the 60 degrees latitude mark - out of the Southern Ocean hunting grounds. The catcher vessel Yushin Maru also followed suit.

Article tagged as: esperanza, IWC, japan, oceans, southern ocean, whales, whaling

Fingers crossed - it's IWC 59!

Posted by jossc — 24 May 2007 at 10:38am - Comments

IWC 59: how the voting's going

It's time for us whale lovers to hold our breath and cross our fingers yet again as we watch developments at the 59th meeting of the International Whaling Commission, now underway in Anchorage, Alaska.

For the past few years the IWC, charged by the United Nations with protecting whales, has been the focus of serious lobbying by some whaling nations to allow a resumption of commercial whaling - suspended since 1986 following a dramatic decline in the number of great whales worldwide.

Article tagged as: 59, iceland, IWC, japan, oceans, whales, whaling

Little birds and big fish

Posted by Willie — 13 May 2007 at 11:00am - Comments

Follow the crew of the Arctic Sunrise on their campaign for Marine Reserves in our North Sea Tour blog

We have a hitch-hiker on board: a small bird, which - from my frantic bird handbook thumbing - appears to be a juvenile stonechat or whinchat. Anyway, everyone's happy to have the tiny stowaway with us for a while although it may leave us when we get closer to land. For now, however, it's proving to be camera-shy and getting fed on breadcrumbs.

Article tagged as: arctic sunrise, cod, marine reserves, north sea, oceans, scotland, shetland, whales
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