Whaling

Crew caught stealing the best whale meat from 'scientific' programme

Posted by jossc — 15 May 2008 at 10:43am - Comments

Update 20th May: Tokyo Public Prosecutor agrees to launch an investigation

Crew members from the factory ship at the heart of Japan's so-called 'scientific' whaling programme have been stealing and illegally selling off the best cuts of whale meat. Our four-month investigation uncovered disturbing evidence of an embezzlement ring operating on board the Nisshin Maru, the floating factory ship which processes the whales caught by the whaling fleet's hunting vessels in the Southern Ocean.

Article tagged as: japan, japanese fisheries agency, southern ocean, whale meat, whaling

Japan still splashing the cash to bring back commercial whaling

Posted by jossc — 4 March 2008 at 2:54pm - Comments

Greenpeace protest at the'Sustainable Use of Whales' meeting in Tokyo, March 2008

Greenpeace activists were demonstrating ouside The Japenese Foreign Ministry in Tokyo yesterday, where members of a dozen African and Pacific nations met to discuss whaling with Japanese bureaucrats. Representatives from Tanzania, Palau, Micronesia and Eritrea, all of which have received substantial 'fisheries aid' in recent years, were among Whaling Commission (IWC) and support Japan's latest bid to overturn the moritorium which currently bans commercial whaling.

Article tagged as: IWC, japan, whaling

Japan: public opposition to whaling increases

Posted by jossc — 18 February 2008 at 6:59pm - Comments

Japanese catcher ship tracked by Greenpeace inflatable

A new poll released today shows that the number of Japanese who don't support whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary is growing - the 69 per cent figure is a slight increase on the number found by a similar poll last year. Perhaps surprisingly, the Greenpeace commissioned poll showed that 87 per cent were unaware that their tax money was being used to subsidise the whaling operation - to the tune of 500 million yen (about £2.4 million) each year.

Article tagged as: japan, japanese fisheries ministry, whaling

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

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

A peak experience with the humpbacks

Posted by jossc — 9 January 2008 at 6:07pm - Comments

Earlier this week, Esperanza's crew awoke to find themselves surrounded by at least 50 humpback whales feeding in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. Leandra, one of the scientists on-board, captured some rare and unique underwater sounds as part of our ongoing research programme.

The crew were also able to get closer to the whales using the ship's inflatables, and to shoot some wonderful footage of the humpbacks at very close range, both in and out of the water courtesy of ace videographer Gavin.

Personally I'm seriously jealous. If whale-watching is your thing (and how could it not be?) then it doesn't get any better than this!

Article tagged as: humpback whale, japan, my esperanza, oceans, Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, videos, whaling

Southern Ocean scenes

Posted by jossc — 4 January 2008 at 5:29pm - Comments

Still no contact as yet between our ship Esperanza and the Japanese whaling fleet as the Espy heads further and further south on her mission to save as many minkes as possible from the whalers' harpoons. She's passing through some of the most glorious and unpolluted seascapes this world has to offer at the moment, though, and our photographers have been out and about in inflatables to capture the magic, so I thought I'd share a few with you.

esperanza in southern ocean

Wow factor: In this shot it's hard not to be impressed by the sheer size of this ice cliff rising almost verically out of the sea.

Article tagged as: albatross, humpback whale, japan, my esperanza, oceans, Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, whaling

Greenpeace UK