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Bermudian thwarts Japanese whalers

Royal Gazette Staff
Updated: Jan 03, 2011 09:53 AM
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A small speedboat belonging to the Sea Shephard Conservation Society circles a Japanese whaling ship and avoids being hit by a water cannon fired by the whaling vessel, in this screenshot from a video of Friday's drama in the Southern Ocean.

Bermudian anti-whaling campaigner Laura Dakin is spending another winter fighting against Japanese whalers and helped thwart whaling vessels in the Southern Ocean.Ms Dakin, 26, has volunteered on Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ships on and off for the last six years.She was aboard the Society's flagship Steve Irwin when it thwarted Japanese whaling vessels in the Southern Ocean.It is the first time in seven years the Sea Shepherd group has been able to locate two harpoon vessels this early in the season.Ms Dakin, who is the chief cook, said: “This is fantastic, for the first time in Sea Shepherd's history, we have located the whalers before they even had a chance to kill a single whale.”Japan is one of only a handful of countries that continue to hunt whales. In 1986 the International Whaling Commission (IWC) moratorium on commercial whaling was signed.The moratorium has a provision, which allows whales to be caught for scientific research, which is what Japanese whalers cite. Under the IWC agreement the meat from scientific whale hunts can be sold in shops and restaurants. Most countries oppose this, but Japan continues to do so. Whale meat is popular in the country.Anti-whaling campaigners claim the scientific research claim is a thinly veiled way to get around IWC rules.Friday's anti-whaling campaign was without incident, unlike previous years. In 2008 two Sea Shepherd activists boarded a Japanese ship without permission and were detained for a number of days. That same year the Japanese claimed anti-whaling campaigners injured crewmembers.A year later the Japanese confirmed they threw “Flashbang” grenades on a Sea Shepherd ship. During another interaction that year a Sea Shepherd ship and whaling ship collided.In early 2010 another Sea Shepherd ship sank after colliding with a Japanese whaler.Previously Ms Dakin has told The Royal Gazette she is not afraid of her safety aboard the ships, but added that she would be willing to risk her life to lessen the suffering of animals.To date no member of the Sea Shepherd has been seriously injured during their altercations with whalers and seal cullers.

The view from onboard one of the Sea Shephard Conservation Society's boats as the group engaged with Japanese whaling vessels in an attempt to prevent them from catching whales in the Southern Ocean. This image is taken from a video of the drama, which can be viewed on the Sea Shephard website www.seashepherd.org
A Japanese whaling ship is pursued by boats belonging to the Sea Shephard Conservation Society in this screenshot from a video of drama in the Southern Ocean.
Sea Shepherd Conservation SocietyBermudian Laura Dakin poses with a seal while on an expedition with the crew of the <I>Farley Mowatt</I> to the Ross Sea in Antartica, in this file picture. She was involved in Saturday?s efforts by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society to disrupt the activities of two Japanese whaling vessels in the Southern Ocean.