Esperanza leaves Southern Ocean but whaling campaign continues

"We'd like nothing more than to keep going until the end of the whaling season but, unlike the whaling fleet, we're not able to refuel in the middle of the ocean."

If this is true then you would speak to sea shepherd and tell them the co-ords of the japanese whalers whereabouts. They will be able to delay whaling further.

OR failing that I believe there is still 2 months of the whaling season left? It doesnt take that long to dock, refuel and depart and save even more whales.

We chose not to speak to Sea Shepherd because, for Greenpeace non-violence is non-negotiable. My colleague Karli in the Southern Ocean summed it up in her blog:

http://weblog.greenpeace.org/whales/
2008/01/if_nonviolent_direct_action_is.html#more

But the truth is, that diverting attention to differences between our organisations takes the focus away from pressuring the Government of Japan to stop whaling.

No one is questioning any other organization's commitment, but we can’t give out the co-ordinates whilst Sea Shepherd refuses to rule out violence. Ultimately we would be blamed for any subsequent violence in Japan, which would undermine all of the amazing support our campaign is getting there :

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/fake-
science-exposed180108/Whaling-receives-criticism200108

And Japan is where this campaign will ultimately be won, not in the Southern Ocean. Which is why we took a strategic decision to focus our limited resources there for the good of the campaign, and not to refuel Esperanza and set off after the whalers again.

I think that ya shouldnt stop now. I say that after refuelling, ya should get back on that ship and sail it out to where the whaling is goin on and stop them again. i feel well pleased about what has been done already but will be even more happy if ya do even more......

[just dont start throwing acid and other dangerous materials like some organizations.]
How many greenpeace ships is there out there? if theres only the esperanza it might be a thought getting the moby-dick or sirius there too. The more greenpeace there is, the less whales the evil heartless whalers will be able to slaughter.

I know GP has non violence at it's core so i don't want to pass judgement, regarding the whole Sea Shepherd situation.

But i do think its interesting that it is considered as more violent to damage property than it is to hang back and allow violence be done to a whale..

It's pretty indicative of our culture that property is more valuable than living beings. :-(

As as long time member and supporter of Greenpeace I am dismayed and disappointed that the Esperanza has now left the Southern Ocean with no intention of returning.

Surely this is not the way to prevent the needless slaughter of hundreds of whales. And whilst I agree that the campaign needs to be focussed against those in the Japanese government who allow it to continue - against the will of a majority of people in Japan - I feel that a dual approach is neccesary.

Winning over public opinion and overcoming governmental bureaucracy will take a while to achieve, and whales are dying now!

There is no doubt that the close prescence of the Esperanza prevented whaling activities. But we are seeing reports that as soon as it left the area approximatley five whales were killed, and this occured despite the Australian Customs vessel Oceanic Viking being in the area.
Jossc seemed confident that this ship would have the same effect on the Japanse whaling fleet as Greenpeace's Esperanza. Unfortunalely this confidence has been shown to be totally misplaced.

Maybe now the Greenpeace hierarchy and policy makers will assist the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin in carrying out a task which the Esperanza has given up on - saving the lives of hundreds of innocent creatures.

Whilst throughout the whole world there are millions of people who are against whaling. There are dozens of governments who have expressed their disapproval. But there are only two environmental groups who actually do anything about it, and now only one of those is still prepared to take the necessary action to prevent whales being killed.
I am sad to say that the only ship in the entire world that will now come to the aid of these beautiful creatures is the Sea Shepherd's ship Steve Irwin.

There is no need to be bosom buddies, just provide co-ordinates and information - it could prevent mass murder.

On behalf of the whales and, I am sure, a majority of Greenpeace supporters - give them a hand.
They are going to need it!

phil.t

Thanks for your thoughtful comments, Phil. It is an agonising call to have to make - of course Greenpeace's aim is to save as many whales as possible, but it's also to win the war on whaling - not just one battle. And to repeat the main point from my last post, this war will be won in Japan and not in the Southern Ocean.

Our campaigners made a strategic decision that although Sea Shepherd's motives are undoubtedly sound, in practice their methods will alienate the Japanese public (a majority of whom currently oppose whaling) and prove counter productive - in which case whaling could continue for decades and thousands more whales will die. We feel that the mood in Japan is already changing, as evidenced by the fleet's refusal to whale while Esperanza was in the vicinity - they like to do their dirty work in secret and hate questions being asked at home about the hows and whys of their operation.

There were two main of reasons why the decision not to give the fleet's co-ordinates to Sea Shepherd was taken:

1) public opinion in Japan is the strongest lever we have and is starting to produce results, and we weren't about to let that genuine progress be jeopardised - by sharing co-ordinates we would ultimately have been held responsible in Japan for whatever action Sea Shepherd took.

2) in practice sharing the co-ordinates would have been pointless as the Nisshin Maru was on the move, and Sea Shepherd had to disengage pretty soon after us because of lack of fuel too. The only people who can help SS with co-ordinates are the Oceanic Viking, as they are still with them … so maybe that’s where SS supporters should direct their energy.

It's not about violence to property, Fiona, it's about violence to people. As you'll know the Souther Ocean is one of the most inhospitable environments in the world, and certainly not the place to risk lives. When one ship rams another no one can be certain what the outcome will be or who may be injured. There is also a law of the sea that you don't set out to endanger another vessel, or fail to aid another ship in distress. This time last year the Esperanza came to the aid of the Nisshin Maru after the whaling ship suffered an engine-room fire in which one crew member died.

Greenpeace will never knowingly put lives at risk to make a point. It's one of our core beliefs, and equally to the point, it's counter-productive to successful campaigning.

i totallty agree with what you are saying. I think that people[ie: the gov] have got the complete wrong idea about things. I am actually really ashamed to think that people think that property is more important than animals. The animals are way more important. I LOVE the animals and i certainly DON'T love the whalers ships.

I think that seashepherd shouldnt be so physical with their protrest and try what greenpeace are doing. Ie: more peacefull protes WITHOUT the acid bombs.

Hi Jossc,

I guess i just don't go along with the common notion that a human life is worth more than any other species life..

Again, the core belief that humans are the apex of the apex is what has led us into the total state of ecological collapse we are in.

"I guess i just don't go along with the common notion that a human life is worth more than any other species life.."

That's not actually what I was saying, Fiona, and not what I believe. My point was that we all want Japan to stop whaling as soon as possible - achieving that would be the biggest single thing any of us could do to protect the maximum number of whales. And the best chance of achieving this would be to make whaling politically unacceptable in Japan - Greenpeace has been working hard in Japan over the past few years to make this happen - and the fact that whaling is now being debated and discussed in Japan shows we are making progress.

Of course no one at Greenpeace wants a single whale to die at the hands of a whaler. But the reality is that the whaling fleet will continue to conduct its annual slaughter in the Southern Ocean until Japanese public opinion demands otherwise - so that has to be the main focus of our campaign.

I think that the Esperanza is doing a great job at keeping the whaling fleet from killing more Whales. It was a disapointment to hear they had to go back to land to refuel, but i belive that if they continue to track the whaling fleet, the goverment will notice and take action. It was brilliant news to hear that over 100 whales have been saved from the Harpoon and i think that if we continue to save Whales in this way people will see how effective it is. So overall well done to the Esperanza!!!

I TOTALLY AGREE WITH U !!!

Firstly, I wish to congratulate all the crew on the Esperanza on a job well done. These individuals are making history and a real difference in the world.
Secondly, I believe the only way to stop whaling is to intergrate a belief into the young that whaling is wrong. I would go about this by urging cartoon and childrens programs to take a stance that shows that this action is morally wrong and portray whales to be creatures that deserve our respect. Pressure should be applied to the creators of Manga to do this, and hopefully as a result, the young would rebel against the old ways and put pressure on their government to stop.