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By Sarah McDougall of NZPA
Wellington, Jan 10 NZPA - Anti-whaling protestors hope to hear tomorrow whether New Zealand or Australian police will investigate charges against the captain of a Japanese whaling fleet that collided with the anti-whaling protest vessel Ady Gil in Antarctic waters.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Group, which had the boat in the Antarctic, wants to see charges laid, including attempted murder.
The group's two other boats the Steve Irwin and the Bob Barker this weekend continued to tail the Japanese whaling fleet to try to stop them from hunting whales and impact their quotas, Sea Shepherd founder and captain of the Steve Irwin, Paul Watson, said today.
The Ady Gil, formerly known as Earthrace, sank while under tow late this week after it was in a collision with the Japanese security ship Shonan Maru 2 on Wednesday.
The whaler suffered no apparent damage. Both sides blame the other for the crash, which occurred as the Ady Gil harassed the Japanese fleet.
Mr Watson said Dutch authorities were investigating possible piracy charges against the Japanese whalers.
The group's lawyers had also approached New Zealand and Australian police, but not yet heard if they would take action, he told NZPA.
"We want the Shonan Maru captain charged with attempted murder... if anybody had been inside the boat they would have been killed. So I don't understand how come there's no criminal charges being brought against the Shonan Maru.
"...I think it's the responsibility of the New Zealand Government and the Australian Government to lay charges against the Shonan Maru -- it took place in Australia's territory against a New Zealand vessel and New Zealand crew members."
Mr Watson hoped to hear from police tomorrow.
"It shouldn't even be necessary for us to contact them. They should be taking action right now."
A spokesman for New Zealand police national headquarters said if an application had been made over the weekend police would not be able to look at it until Monday. Police would have to ascertain if they had jurisdiction in the matter, he said.
Mr Watson today also called for New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully to resign or apologise after comments he made earlier this week.
Mr McCully said in a radio interview: "If people are determined to break the law and determined to kill other people on the high seas, then it is not the responsibility of the New Zealand Government or any other Government to send armed vessels down there or something of that sort to stop them."
The minister called for protestors and whalers to show restraint as New Zealand, Australian and Japanese authorities began an investigation into the incident. He is not commenting further on the stoush while it is investigated by maritime authorities.
Mr Watson said in six years the group had never broken the law or injured anybody.
He believed Mr McCully had "put all of our lives in jeopardy" by implying the protestors may have been at fault.
"I think it's grossly irresponsible of the minister to make a statement like that."
The Steve Irwin was able to pursue the whalers for at least another month and a half and the Bob Barker three months, before needing to head to a nearby port to refuel, Mr Watson said.
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Comments
Murray McCully does not want
Murray McCully does not want to comment further because someone whispered in his ear that he was WRONG with his original comments and he does not want to dig a bigger hole for himself!
You can see from this video
You can see from this video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bbuq0YEIPNU quite clearly that the whaling ship actually changed course so that it aimed at the Ady Gil! There's no boubt from this video that teh Japanese Captain is entirely at fault. The whalers even attack the crew with a water cannon AFTER they have chopped the Ady Gil in half! Disgusting
Did this 'news story' come
Did this 'news story' come from a Sea Shepherd press release with no further fact checking?
Neither of their vessels are currently following the Japanese. The Bob Barker is being followed by the Japanese and the Steve Irwin is trying to find the fleet.
As to Mr Watson's claim of never breaking the law and causing no injuries. Both would have been easily disproved.
Three Japanese crewmen have been injured by broken glass from the Sea Shepherds along with numerous injuries among Mr Watson's own crews.
Ramming Japanese vessels last year, throwing glass bottles at Japanese crewmen and pointing lasers (that are illegal to own in both New Zealand and Australia) are all examples of breaking laws. And the Sea Shepherds not only admits to these acts but seems proud of them.
The world is actually taking
The world is actually taking a lot of notice of these happenings in Antarctica, I'm writing from Brazil. It seems the Japanese think that they can get away with anything. Indeed they seem to flaunt their illegal deeds to show the west that nobody can tell them what to do. From the video it's obvious the Andy Gil was rammed so surely Paul Watson is right on this one and the whalers should not be allowed to get away with this.
Its clearly attempted murder
Its clearly attempted murder by the Japanese captain. is Oz & NZ going to let a person get away with trying to kill 6 other people?
The Japanese are hunting
The Japanese are hunting whales commercially under the guise of "research", which is an illegal activity under the law Japan is signature to. Sea Shepherd are trying to impede them by throwing stuff on their decks and in the past ramming similar size ships at low lateral speed without injury to both crews. It's not the same as a big Japanese ship running straight over a small boat - it's pure luck nobody is dead. The "high powered lasers" as the Japanese called them, I believe are "photonic disruptors" run on 2 AAA batteries and are optically enhanced laser pointers used by law enforcement as nonlethal means to stop the attacker, sort of like using a mirror to direct sunlight on somebody. If you look at the sun long enough, it will hurt your eyes, but you will avert them instinctively before any damage happens. So I believe is the same thing with the lasers, and I believe they got them in response to long-range acoustic weapons that the Japanese employed on previous campaign, also in view of spoiling the aim of the harpoon gunners. By the way, you can't buy pepper spray in New Zealand for self-defence, but the police use it.
Interesting comments Dmitry,
Interesting comments Dmitry, but a few points. The Japanese signed a treaty not a law and the whaling they are doing is legal under that treaty. And they could just withdraw from the voluntary IWC and start whaling commercially perfectly legally.
Intentionally ramming another boat is illegal no matter the relative size and no matter if anyone is injured or not. We have seen the SSCS intentionally ram whalers in the past, in fact they brag about it. At present the collision with the Ady Gil is under investigation so to call it intentional is premature.
The SSCS laughed about the LRAD last year. The laser they used is designed not to cause permanent damage (although as you point out it can) but if someone is driving a 700 ton ship or preparing to fire an explosive tipped harpoon and the laser causes them to look away (as you say it will) doesn't that create a situation where bad things are bound to happen like collisions or a protest boat being hit by a harpoon? Isn't that a pretty irresponsible and stupid thing to do?
I don't know why you mention that pepper spray is illegal in NZ except for the police. Are you implying that although the lasers the SSCS have are illegal they are some kind of police force so it is OK? Because they are not recognized as a police force by any government in the world so the lasers and pepper spray are both still illegal for them to have.
I believe the Japanese are
I believe the Japanese are being challenged to publish results of their "research" in peer-reviewed journals, but they likely don't have much to show, except maybe inventories of whales stomachs. You don't have to kill 1000 whales year after year after year for that. So, their research is bogus and in reality is commercial whaling, which is banned for all countries who are signatures to the treaty, which is part of the framework of international law. Nobody has been brave enough to sue the Japanese for their breach of the treaty, so as not to jeopardize the economic ties. Yes they can withdraw and should, rather than make mockery of the treaty. The SSCS will still likely be after them for breach of the endangered species laws, violation of the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary or something else.
It is illegal to damage another person's property, but the court would likely look favourably on you, if you disable a poacher's rifle or puncture tires on his car. According to the SSCS, they are careful not to attack the sailors, only to make difficult for them to do their whaling.
Yes it is dangerous, but they are prepared to take the risk, again to oppose what they think is an illegal activity. I believe they are actually ready to put themselves between harpoons and whales (that's what Greenpeace says they did as well a few years back), and sailing in stormy seas among icebergs in the Antarctic is dangerous in itself. I believe all volunteers are made aware of that and sign relevant wavers etc etc.
Re lasers/spray, I am just saying there is stuff that is likely relatively harmless, but whose use is regulated differently in different countries. In the Antarctic NZ domestic law restrictions don't apply, so they are free to use whatever they want to counter the Japanese.
The Japanese have published
The Japanese have published hundreds of research papers based on their whaling activities and many of them have appeared in peer-reviewed journals. The research has also been submitted to the IWC which is really the whole purpose behind the research, to show the IWC that Minke whales can be safely hunted at a controlled level.
The Japanese aren't poachers so why you use that term I don't know. But have you ever heard the saying two wrongs don't make a right? Breaking the law to stop a legal activity just because you think it is illegal would not get you any sympathy in most courts.
"In the Antarctic NZ domestic law restrictions don't apply, so they are free to use whatever they want to counter the Japanese."
Firstly, the SSCS seem to think Australian domestic law applies, so maybe you should let them know it doesn't. Secondly, having them on the ships when they were in port in NZ and/or Australia is illegal. And thirdly, if they are free to use whatever they want to counter the Japanese then the Japanese are free to use whatever they want to counter the SSCS and Paul Watson should stop whining.
What those "hundreds of
What those "hundreds of research papers" that you seem to have discovered are about, what can be discovered by killing hundreds of animals each year?!!! That the kill quota is achievable each year, so they are fine? That each whale killed is replaced by a new full-grown one in a year? That they eat the stuff they usually eat?
Why Australia and NZ are reported to invest in whale research with the declared aim to show Japan that the killing is UNJUSTIFIED? Why Australia threatens them with LEGAL action?
BECAUSE THAT "RESEARCH" IS COVER FOR COMMERCIAL WHALING AND THEREFORE VIOLATES THE TREATY AND IS POACHING.
I am not a legal expert, but I think each ship is the territory of the country it is registered in, so they didn't store them on Ady Gil when they were in port.
As for the "Australian law", do you mean the Australian Antarctic Territory and Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary? Even if they don't recognize that, the Japanese should not be killing whales there, which is publicly taking a dump on everyone in an utmost show of total and utter disrespect and disdain.
There are all sorts of thing
There are all sorts of thing in those research papers; DNA studies, studies of contaminant levels in different organs, changes in morphology with age, and much more include their diet and population.
What Australia and NZ are doing is showing that some data can be gather through non-lethal means. And you know what, the Japanese agree. Which is why they also do non-lethal research. But some data can not be aquired with non-lethal means. It is kind of hard to sample the internal organs of a whale without killing it.
"...so they didn't store them on Ady Gil when they were in port."
Then where did they store them? In some alternate universe? They were either on the Ady Gil or the Steve Irwin or both. So whichever ship had them onboard was breaking the law. And yes I know that the Steve Irwin is flagged in the Netherlands, but the lasers are illegal there also.
The establishment of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary specifically says that research whaling is allowed. It was established in 1994, 8 years after Japan started research whaling in the Southern Ocean. So if they had intended to stop the Japanese whaling they could have banned all whaling in the Sanctuary. Since they didn't, I don't see how Japans continued whaling there is 'dumping' on anybody. And just as an aside, the establishment of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary violates the IWC charter, so legal it doesn't really exist.
I realize you emotionally don't approve of whaling, but the facts show that Japan, Iceland and Norway are legally allowed to hunt whales. And until a majority of the international community changes those laws and treaties the whaling will continue.
Sorry, it finally dawned on
Sorry, it finally dawned on me what you say this legitimate according to you "research" is about:
"Commercial whaling is banned, but we will continue to hunt them in commercial quantities for scientific reasons in order to prove that it still can be done"
Or rephrase:
"We will continue doing what is banned in order to show that it doesn't have to be banned."
Amazing. It is not science, as most people understand it, of the species, its biology and behaviour, that's science of commercial exploitation, the study of economics. I doubt the treaty implied that when leaving the scientific loophole, which likely proves again that you and the Japanese are wrong.
In the first place it isn't
In the first place it isn't a loophole. It was in the treaty from the day in 1949 when the first countries signed the treaty and it has been there when every country that has joined since has signed it.
What the intent may or may not have been when Article VIII was written I don't know. But I do know what the plain words of it say, that research whaling is allowed with no restrictions.
Commercial whaling is only under a moratorium for countries that have signed the treaty. Japan could pull out of the treaty and then do as much commercial whaling as they want. But they don't. They try and advance their countries aim through negotiations and diplomacy. Maybe the Sea Shepherds should try it. You know what they say, you get more flies with honey than with vinegar.