Frances Evans, Melbourne
"We're not a protest organisation, we're a law enforcement organisation. We're planning on shutting down the Japanese whaling industry", Peter Hammarstedt, coordinator of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS), told a public meeting at the Kaleide Theatre on August 7.
The MV Farley Mofat, a converted 1958 North Sea trawler, is the SSCS's flagship. It arrived in Melbourne on July 25, sailing from Cape Town where the ship's crew had been held in detention for three months following an intense six-week campaign to hinder illegal Japanese whaling off Antarctica.
Hammarstedt explained that the SSCS uses the techniques of direct intervention to protect marine wildlife. In 1979, an SSCS vessel rammed the notorious pirate whaler Sierra. In 1986, the SSCS sunk half of Iceland's whaling fleet in Reykjavik harbour.
The society also has a vessel permanently stationed in the Galapagos to ensure marine conservation, and in 1987-92, it exposed illegal drift-net fishing in the Pacific Ocean.
The last meeting of the International Whaling Commission increased the whaling quota, with 935 minke whales and 10 endangered fin whales set to be slaughtered this coming Antarctic summer. Japan intends to kill an additional 40 fin and 50 humpback whales early next year.
For more information, visit <http://www.seashepherd.org> or email <info@seashepherd.org.au>. The Farley Mowat is docked at Berth 15, Victoria Harbour in the Melbourne docklands. The crew welcomes visitors.