"Get, Email" - Brilliant Eco Messaging

We have been highlighting some simply amazing conservation messaging over the past year. With the rise of You Tube and it's many clones, the decade of effective conservation messaging is here.

We need more of same - those with talent please apply:

Illegal Shark Fishing Vessel Ho Tsai Fa No. 18

After months of hunting, two documented sightings, and a high seas chase the Ho Tsai Fa No. 18 has surfaced...this time buried into a reef-minus her captain.

Greenpeace reported this illegal longliner working off the coasts of Java and the hunt has been on ever since.

Locals scavenging the ship have discovered holds full of tuna and shark. The captain is also missing reportedly killed by his own crew.

Sea Shepherd-Time to Depart From The World Scene?

Here's why we would like to see Sea Shepherd depart as gracefully as they can from the international eco-scene.

For the past year we have been carefully watching the "main event" for the big non profits, the battle to save whales and enlighten the public over Japan's involvement in the ongoing commercial whale slaughter on the Southern Ocean.

Both Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd had vessels on site in 2008 chasing hunter and factory ships here. We became increasingly disillusioned and then stunned at Captain Paul Watson's ratcheting hysteria, false claims against the Japanese, and multiple bogus media reports.

These wild reports depicted an eco organization not in touch with anything except making headlines for it's self and titular head. Sea Shepherd anti whaling crews who were "held hostage" by the Japanese were only there when Watsons vessel sailed away "abandoning them" on Japanese whaling vessels.

At one point Watson went as far as claiming he had been shot by Japanese whaling crews, a news report that was picked up verbatim by almost every blog and media source on the planet.

Unfortunately, the entire report was a media charade, and Watson had never been shot. The media had a field day with a video of a bullet proof vest and Watsons surprised look, but no follow up has ever been done by Sea Shepherd and he has not submitted his vest or bullet for any testing to authorities...ever.

But this is not the main reason for wanting to see Sea Shepherd gone. It's the quality of eco-work that is lacking from Sea Shepherd. Paul Watson believes that just showing up with a vessel and creating a bogus media storm by throwing around wild accusations is enough to change the public's view and change political policy. For all intents, once he has departed the area of operations Sea Shepherd ceases to remain on message, choosing instead to highlight the "next big thing".

The term for this is "drive by eco-news". What is needed is follow up, undercover work, and dedication. Case in point Greenpeace Japan announced today that it's members in Japan have uncovered what happens to a large amount of the scientific whale meat harvested from the Southern Ocean. In a stunning revelation they have found much of it gets distributed as a form of graft within Japan, either stolen, or "disappeared" by the crews of the government run whaling vessels. It has created a stir within Japan, where graft is considered a social faux pas and a culturally sensitive topic. This is how you change policy.

For Watson and Company they seem to have missed this point. It is time to consider retirement lest Sea Shepherds legacy devolve into that of hysterical non effective eco crazies who no real agenda but the next fake news report depicting events that never really happened.

Isn't the stark reality of whale hunting enough without the self imposed media theatre that Watson and Sea Shepherd bring to the international scene?

How much harm does this do to legitimate eco groups worldwide who are increasingly seen though the same lens?

Greenpeace-Managing the Message

When it comes to the "Eco- Message" there are those who flail around with bullet riddled flack jackets and those who get right to the point.

Kudos to Greenpeace...for getting right to the point.

Click image for full size and inhale.

Japan:Greenpeace Out-Sea Shepherd Remains

As you know we have been following the 2008 Southern Sea whale hunt this year with keen interest.


First there was the Sea Shepherd vs Greenpeace war of words. The "who was more green" eco-ocean smackdown.

Then, three weeks ago, we covered the ongoing Sea Shepherd stink bomb throwing hippie hostage standoff with the Nisshin Maru.

We also covered Yokozuna Asashoryu, Tokyo's top Sumo wrestler's open wrestling challenge to Sea Shepherds captain-Paul Watson. Man, what a season!

And now, after two full months of chasing the bad guys and world attention, sadly, Greenpeace is withdrawing their vessel from the hunt due to lack of fuel.

This leaves the anti-whaling eco ball squarely in the "Jesters Court" with Sea Shepherd and their somewhat crazed crew of die hards. If we were betting folks (and we are) this is how we think the 2008 Southern Seas whale hunt is going to end:

1. Japan will start killing whales again
2. Watson's Vessel "Steve Irwin" will ram and sink the Nisshin Maru
3. Huge media frenzy

Japan: Whale Update "It Ain't Over"

As the old saying goes, "It ain't over till the fat lady sings"...the same is true apparently for this seasons Southern Ocean whale hunt.

As reported this week by Shu-Ching Jean Chen the Hong Kong-based staff writer at Forbes.com it looked like all was over with the factory ship Nisshin Maru leaving the operations area. In fact Japan officially announced to the entire world last week that they had stopped whaling.

Turns out that's just a ploy, you know, for the major media folks, bloggers, and others. Sneaky whalers indeed!

So, what's the real deal in the Southern Ocean these days?

If you can push past the non profit war mongering between Sea Shepherd and Greenpeace- here's their blogs from the front lines. When you cannot rely on the major media to give you the scoop go to the source, just be prepared to donate to the cause.

Greenpeace and here's Sea Shepherd's take.

Japan: Whale Game Played Out

Japan conceded a rare defeat today and pulled it's processing ship Nisshin Maru out of the Southern Ocean whale hunt operations area.

Without a high tech factory ship to process whales from majestic sea born animals into fancy little cans- the ships that hunt them are next to useless.

"The Japanese government said Monday that its state-sponsored whaling fleet had stopped hunting after 10 days of harassment by the environmental activist groups Greenpeace and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary near Australia."

That's the good news.

The bad news is the Japan does not look like it will be giving up it's "Love of the Whale" anytime soon. So, we'll all be forced to watch the southern spring drama unfold again next year as whalers and the anti-whaling activists clash again over government-sponsored "scientific" whaling expeditions.

The final score for this year is:

Japan-300 whales
Sea Shepherd- 1 whale boat
Greenpeace- 2 whale boats

Whale War Update:Australia Sends in Vikings

Who even knew Australia had a navy?

Turns out they do and today they sent the good ship Oceanic Viking to the rescue of two protesters from Sea Shepherd who are being "held hostage" on board a Japanese whale ship.

CNN--Australia has sent a customs ship to retrieve two activists who were seized by a Japanese whaling vessel, the country's foreign minister said. The transfer, if successful, would end a tense two-day standoff in Antarctic waters.The Australian ship, the Oceanic Viking, was within sighting distance of the Japanese whaler Thursday.

So that just leaves us with one question: What Now?

Japans whaling fleet is on target to harvest 1000 whales this year, thus far they have only taken an estimated 300. Regardless of this "hostage drama" side event which has all the earmarks of a classic "don't taze me bro" moment, the question remains, how to stop another 700 whales from being slaughtered this year?

As always we'll keep you updated.

High Seas Drama or High Seas Drama Queens?

As we feared the high seas drama that is Japans 2008 Southern Seas Whaling Expedition has taken a turn for the bizarre today.

Crews from the Steve Irwin-the all black Vader-esque anti-whaling chase boat owned by Paul Watson from Sea Shepherd has made contact with Japans whaling fleet and the Yushin Maru.

What has transpired is something right out of Moby Dick. Turns out members of the Steve Irwins crew have been lashed to the main mast of the Yushin Maru in "freezing conditions" and not even allowed the basic rights to a hot chocolate with marshmallows on top- a time honored right granted to them under the Third Geneva Convention of 1949.

Naturally, this event has caused a minor international incident and the news media is running like a panicked herd of Wildebeast with this "high seas drama" story.

In our book anything that causes even the casual media reader to stop and say "wait a minute" is good media. As far as the anti-whalers are concerned their position can be summed up with the following quote from good old Captain Ahab and Khan from Star Trek:

"No. No, you can't get away. 'From Hell's heart... I stab at thee. For hate's sake I spit my last breath... at thee'."

The fine whaling folks in Japan should reconsider whaling as a vocation and also reconsider the taking of hostages-that's so 1980's.

The Great Whale War-Greenpeace vs Sea Shepherd

Can't we all just get along?

It would seem that's not the case-at least in the aptly named "Cooperation Sea" located some 4500 hundred kilometres southwest of Fremantle. Currently two ships are vying for the right to harass Japans illegal whaling fleet...and both sides are hurling verbal harpoons at each other harder than Queequeg on the bow of the good ship Pequod.

In one corner Sea Shepherd know for their "take no prisoners" brand of eco-enforcement, and by that we mean they actually sink ships. In the other corner Greenpeace the long time anti-whalers from the 1970's. Both groups have a long shared history and both groups for all intents have come to hate each other with a passion you would think they reserve only for the whalers they are chasing.

One look at their competing whale blogs and it would seem that Japans whaling fleet has nothing to worry about. If these two ships, the Esperanza and Steve Irwin, come in close range with each other it's going to be an eco smackdown on the high seas.

For our money, we're going with the Steve Irwin-Sea Shepherds boat. They have this nifty little item called a "Can Opener" which is designed to open up the side of a whaling vessel faster than zippers on prom night. We'll keep you updated.