yay…FINALLY!@!

These folks are truly heroes. Thanks for what you do!

Amazing man. I get so pissed watching those hunts… makes my blood boil! I can’t wait for the series and wish him the best! Heroes indeed!

THE REAL PIRATES ARE THE DUMB FUCKS ON THE STEVE IRWIN! if steve was alive he would order the destruction of that terrorist ship.

Hey Bob…Irwin was a SSCS supporter…do your homework dumbass.

If I were the Japanese I would arrest them and jail them. The only thing they are accomplishing is pissing off millions of Japanese people and adding to their resolve not to change. They don’t harrass the Koreans or any of the other whale-harvesting countries. What about American whalers? Why not chase them around?

Confrontation that puts peoples lives in danger is NOT a way to achieve objectives. I suspect Watson and crew are more interested in stroking their egos and making money rather than whale saving.

YES! I can hardly wait to see what I read in the updates.

I think what the Sea Shepherd is doing is fantastic and can’t wait till the seas and oceans are full of protecters such as these. I wish we had the benefit of such groups to protect the congo gorillas and the colorado wolves, etc. I love to read the websites to know that there are others like me that support their methods too as waiting for the law or for the “proper channels” to do something would end in disasterous results. Keep on keeping on

I actually watched a few episodes thinking they may be doing some good work, now I look forward to their next clip on The Soup. Idiots.

I love the cause, and and I like how they actually have a few qualified people this season.

I don’t know if it is the TV producers making them look like idiots or if the rest of the crew is actually that incompetent. Stay out of the ice, choose your battles wisely and communicate your status when away from the ship, seems like some simple guidelines are just being ignored.

I agree in principle that whaling is bad. But the Captain is incompenent. He repeately puts people at risk by asking inexperenced crews to do risky “missions” in rough weather and in a area of the world that does not forgive mistakes. I’m afraid it is only a matter of time before someone will be seriously hurt or killed. As for the 1st mate, learn your compass points and simple navigation. It is excusable that the 1st mate does not know simple navigation and while in the middle of a ice field is not the place to learn.

um….i actually believe that steve irwin and his wife (who i believe christened the ship) are big supporters of what they do…so i dont belive the irwin family think its a disgrace.

you think the Japanese are using all the millions the make slaughtering whales to help the hungry??

what do YOU do to help change the world? Do you go out and HELP THE HUNGRY? or you just donate $20 once a year and think you are such a great person.

i find it hilarious that MOST people that point fingers at AR activist saying “oh me oh my people are starving they are wasting time and money” usually do absolutely NOTHING to impact the causes they believe in….

except complain on animal protection orientated broads online.

@Steve Anderson:

From your rude and insulting language, it is obvious that you’re not a very evolved person!!

“would like to stop all hunting in the world, and it would be an ecological nightmare!”

You really are a very uninformed person aren’t you?

Humans have created the ecological nightmare the world has sank into!!
Nature is perfectly balanced. The only disruptive variable on this planet is humankind!

Haven’t you ever heard of a ‘list’ of endangered species worldwide, which by the way is the result of human activities?

Do I need to remind you that humans haven’t always inhabited Earth? You do know that there was a time when we weren’t around…!?

“Try to wrap your stupid minds around that one.”

Maybe you’re the one who should try to wrap his ‘superior’ mind around that!!

Maybe you should, I don’t know, watch a few wild life documentaries, read magazines like National Geographic, and so on…

Probably you would learn something instead of making a fool of yourself on-line!

Whoever…, there is no question about the legality of the whaling or the value of the research done by the Japanese. It is completely legal under the international agreements that they’ve signed and they are mandated to report yearly all the research they’ve done. You can, and should, go take a look at the reports. The research done by the Japanese is very real, cannot be done without killing the whales, and has increased our understanding of these animals greatly. This is all well documented and understood by the people who have actually bothered to study the issue. If the Japanese were not whaling we would know much less about these animals than we do now.

So, yes they are killing whales, yes they are selling the whale meat for human consumption, and yes they are doing very valid science. The World isn’t as black and white as some extremists think. Vilifying the opposite side of the argument, seeing them as completely evil in everything they do and yourself as completely virtuous in everything you do, refusing to acknowledge their viewpoints and culture is not a way to reach a sustainable solution. I’m convinced that the short-sighted actions of Sea Shepherd are leading to more whales being killed over the long run.

“What agreements? Please, show me where I can find those alleged agreements! I don’t know what reports you’re referring to! And even if those reports were real, do you truly believe they aren’t biased?”

So you admit you don’t know even the very basics of the issue you’re arguing about. It never ceases to amaze me how extreme positions people can hold with blind conviction without knowing anything about the issue. It is very telling that you’re convinced that there is some bias in the reports you know nothing about, made to a committee you know nothing about, with results you know nothing about.

Just for your education, the relevant agreement is the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, which Japan has signed. The relevant part is article VIII. Which, among other things, mandates that the results of scientific research must be made available to the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission.

Given your ignorance of the basics of the organizations and agreements that govern whaling, it comes as no surprise that you’re equally ignorant of the type of research that is done both on dead and live whales. Fortunately you need not remain ignorant but can go and educate yourself by studying the materials published by the Scientific Committee of IWC.

Personally I want to see whaling either banned or at least significantly reduced so that we do not drive these animals to extinction, but I cannot stand uneducated extremists even if they’re nominally on my side of the argument.

If you look at the whaler’s website they freely admit that the only purpose for their “scientific” hunt is to “prove” to the IWC that whaling is “sustainable”. Disgusting!

Whoever…, It would be obvious to anyone knowledgeable of the debate which agreement and reports I was referring to; it is THE agreement governing whaling, what other agreement could I possibly be referencing? The fact that you didn’t know shows your ignorance of the basics of the argument.

“You failed, however, to mention one other significant fact…
You should take a look at Article IX:
…
Isn’t Japan commercialising whale meat?
Hum… what about that?”

Article IX, paragraph 2 says that you cannot pay crews a bonus for catching any whales they’re not allowed to catch under the agreement. What’s your point? Did you even understand what the article says?

I assume by “commercializing whale meat” you’re referring to the fact that much of the whale meat caught is sold for human consumption in Japan. This is perfectly legal under Article VIII paragraph 2. Absolutely there are commercial aspects to the Japanese whaling, but there are scientific aspects to the whaling as well. In fact, without the “loophole” of VIII:2 Japan probably would’ve never signed the convention and there would be no oversight or negotiations over the whaling with the Japanese.

The majority of people who eat whale meat in Japan are from the older generations. As the younger generations take over there is a good chance to evolve the convention towards either stopping or significantly reducing the scientific whaling. That is if Japan is a part of the agreement. Actions like ramming the Japanese whaling fleet only increase the risk that the Japanese feel like they’re being attacked and will defend themselves and their right to whale rather than move towards stopping whaling.

“Have you read any of those reports?
I mean, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to realize that if they’re going against the majority the international community on this matter, then their reports can’t be that impartial can they? The committee? What assures me they’re impartial? There are other signatory countries desperate to bring back whaling!”

Yes I have read their reports and other documents. You can read the documents yourself and you can look at the composition and statements of the committee to judge their validity.

“I would like to emphasize “Japan extended [*PG326]its targeted whale species to the sperm and bryde’s whales, mammals that are deemed endangered and protected under U.S. law”

I would like to emphasize “U.S. law”. It does not apply to the Japanese.

“No wonder we still haven’t been able to end whaling once and for all!”

Eating whale meat has been a part of the Japanese culture, as well as others, for a very long time. They feel like the have a right to catch whales, you feel like they don’t; both are equally justified in their positions. This is not something that can be changed over night. It will necessarily take time. That’s just how the real world works.

@chris…
“Eating whale meat has been a part of the Japanese culture, as well as others, for a very long time.”

Commercial whaling is NOT a part of Japanese culture…it was a “gift” of the American administration after Japan’s defeat in the 40s. There is nothing cultural about the Japanese sailing 7000 miles with a factory ship and fast killer vessels to kill whales in their Antartic winter feeding grounds.

For someone who is supposedly against whaling you sure are arguing pretty hard for the whalers.

That’s pretty funny Steve Anderson…I was thinking the same thing about you!

Chris, it is so obvious that you fully support whaling!! You’re not being honest in your comments. At least have the courage to admit it!!

It’s also very interesting to realize you still haven’t told me what scientific advances were made regarding our knowledge of these animals, by slaughtering them.

“Yes I have read their reports and other documents.”

Where? What do they say?

“Article IX, paragraph 2 says that you cannot pay crews a bonus for catching any whales they’re not allowed to catch under the agreement. What’s your point? Did you even understand what the article says?”

Yes I understood it! But did you understand what I meant? Do you think japanese whalers (private companies) hunt whales for free and only for scientific purposes? The scientific research is just a cover-up to maintain the commerce of whale meat:

“Yushin, owned by The Institute for Cetacean Research, the organisation behind Japan’s whaling programme, and Kyodo Senpaku, which operates the whaling fleet, was designed to showcase and promote the consumption of whale meat in Japan. [...] Confirming that it was a financially motivated decision, a whaling industry spokesman told the Telegraph: “The purpose of Yushin was to enable more people to taste whale meat and to promote its consumption in Japan.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/3450376/Japanese-whale-industrys-flagship-restaurant-to-close.html

Oh and to prove to you what kind of people these whalers really are (and who are not in it for the scientific research), please read this:
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/01/07/Japan-whalers-reject-enviros-search-help/UPI-41081231339576/
And please don’t twist what you’re about to read. The crewman fell overboard not as a consequence of Sea Shepherd’s tactics, ok?

“I would like to emphasize “U.S. law”. It does not apply to the Japanese.”

What I wanted to emphasize was “japan extended [*PG326]its targeted whale species to the sperm and bryde’s whales, mammals that are deemed endangered” Wasn’t the convention signed by all those countries in order to protect whales from facing the risk of extinction?
Where does the scientific research fit in all of this? Why is the alleged scientific research more important than protecting endangered species?

“Eating whale meat has been a part of the Japanese culture, as well as others, for a very long time”

Culture and traditions don’t justify everything. In my country we have bullfighting and that same ridiculous argument has been used over and over to defend that barbaric ‘show’. Following that line of thinking christians would still be being fed to the lions in arenas…!

You know what, I’m through with you. It’s not possible to have a debate when one party is not willing to accept the information and data the other party brings into the argument. You don’t take into consideration any of the arguments I presented.

You twist everything I write and therefore this is obviously a waste of my time! No matter what I write, you’ll continue to believe you possess the ultimate truth…
So, enjoy it!

There you go again “whoever”: Bull fighting is fine entertainment. Try to understand. You show no knowledge of the word “barbaric”. The fine folks in Japan like to eat whale meat so they should be able to enjoy it. Talk about twisting things? It’s your way or no way. Tune into “Bizarre Foods”. Watch Andrew Zimmern travel the world eating all kinds of strange fare. I especially love it when he uses a gun and kills something for supper that undoubtly had parents. Tasty meat. It really is a great spectacle. He’s normal and loves eating once living food.

Speaking from scientific point of view, the research being done by the Japanese walers is worthless. Most of it can’t make it past the peer review stage. Therefore it can’t be published as scientific fact. Making it essentially worthless.
Also, it might be important to point out that with modern techniques most of these tests can be done without killing the whale. Any biologist, or environmental scientist would know this, so if the whaling industry truly is about scientific research to promote conservation and a healthy population then theoretically their scientists would have mentioned it.
The whaling industry is claiming that it is necessary to kill these whales to get their results because they are also providing “population management.” Now, as an environmental scientist I would have to ask myself, under what circumstance is it necessary to manage a population that is considered endangered? The only situation that would occur to me is if this particular population is residing in an area that it is not native to and is considered invasive, meaning that it has no natural means of population control (no natural enemies and high birthrate). This is not the case here as the whales are residing in their own habitat and already have a natural means of population control, specifically a low birthrate.
Unfortunately, what they are doing is probably legal (horribly immoral and ecolgically devastating, but legal). This is a grey area in the law, trust me there are a lot of them when it comes to environmental issues. Even environmental issues that directly affect human health have these incredibly vague grey areas. In many well developed countries it isn’t necessary to test pesticides anymore, they get passed through a grey area fo the law meant for emergencies. Now, at least where I am from some of these pesticides are being banned and recalled beause they got out into the environment and have caused deformities in the development of brains and hearts in children. I’m sure the parents of these children take comfort in the fact that the pesticide companies haven’t done anything legally wrong. While some these specific pesticides are being banned very similar ones are being pushed through the same grey area to poison children all over again. The problem isn’t that people are breaking the law, it’s that the laws aren’t set up to protect the general population. Laws are made to protect industry, not human health or human interests. Therefore we can’t do anything to stop them but try to oppose the loop hole in the law and have it ratified.
As for the actions of the Sea Shephard, it is clear that they truly care about the whales. However, I do think that the only way to stop whaling is to change the laws. Once that happens we will be able to lock up whoever doesn’t comply. Until this happens the Sea Shephards are the only thing limiting the amount of whales being killed in the Antarctic.
As for many people on this forum, it is not your right to chose which causes are worthy and which are a waste of time. If someone wants to spend their time and money dealing with environmental issues that is their perogative and you should respect that.
As for the attitude that human life is more important than anything else on this planet I have to disagree. Without these other species the human race would die out. Now more then ever we need to maintain healthy ecosystems. Agriculture in North America is not sustainable (again this is what scientists are saying and I am basing this statement on the information given to me through a sustainable agriculture course offered at my university). If we lose the ability to maintain our own health due to environmental issues our society will collapse. Environmental degredation is actually the largest reason why societies have collapsed in the past (here I am refering to the book Collapse by Gerald Diamond). I’m not saying that it is the only reason, just one that has been consistant in the breakdown of society in the past.
People have this opinion that it is us vs the environment in a battle for survival and domination. Unfortunately those people are misguided. It’s not us vs them, it’s life for us all (plants, animals and humans) or life for none of us.

I for one hope to hell that the whalers take one of the LRAD’s and ram it up Paul Watson’s ass and turns the gain all the way up on the damn thing. What these idiots on the Steve Irwin are doing is so retarded its comical. They go off planning and attacking these whaling ships and are then just flabbergasted when they retaliate…well DUHHHHHH you idiots if I were on that ship I would be harpooning your asses…DOHHH!!!

Whale wars is indeed a very entertaining program that atracts millions of viewers due to it’s highly controversial and real content. I myself watch the show mainly for the beautiful ocean sceneries and icebergs that appear in it. Now let’s talk Whale Wars.

What Paul Watson and his crew are doing is purely a waste of time, money and valuable time in their lifes. Let’s talk creation for a moment here. God created all the animals on Earth for man, period! God gave Adam the right to kill any animal that he pleased to eat, whether it’s a Whale, alligator, Seal or fish or anything else.

The problem starts when ” Man ” puts God to the side and tries to become God himself! People don’t just understand this, if a certain whale dissapears due to whale hunting, God can reproduce them again or create another new species out of nothing! People, God is in control of all creation and humans should not be fighting trying to save the animals!

Instead try this, what about ” SAVING YOUR SOUL ” ins’nt your soul way more important than saving a whale? When a whale dies it dies but when a person dies he or she will either go to heaven or hell and will have to deal with the judgement of God!

Paul Watson, if you have ears to hear then hear this: You have been fighting a ” worthless ” cause and have wasted almost your entire life preventing animals from being killed but God is now saying through me to you, ” Paul, look for me and I will show you the Truth “.

This is how the devil plays with people’s mind and emotion by planting ” false ” feelings for worthless things. The same can be applied to all other people who want to ” save the earth ” or ” save the Tigers ” or whatever they feel that they should save, IT’S A FALSE SATANIC MIRAGE “.

The Bible says, until a man comes to the light he is in darkness and this is what the darkness can do to people. When the whale is gone it’s gone, but you on the other hand have to face ETERNAL JUDGEMENT from God. Man was created in the image of God, because each man has a unique spirit from Him. Once we die, we will appear in front of God’s throne and he will ask us, ” what have you done with your life? “. The reason why man focuses all his energy on the things of this World is because he was created with a purpose. Our spirit is desperately in need of finding each individual’s purpose. The word of God says, ” you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free “, therefore when you don’t know the truth you focus your energy on the things that are not correct. This is a pointless war, as without Jesus man cannot find his real identity, Jesus said, ” I am the way, the truth and the life, without Jesus you have no way, no truth and no life. This is the main difference between man and animals, animals don’t have to be concerned with where they will spend their Eternity because they were not created in the image of God like we are.

Indeed, God wants us to take care of the animals and don’t torture them but He gave us the animals for us to eat and live as beautiful as the animal may be. God understands if for example Japan likes whale meat, and kills whales to consume them. What’s wrong with that?

The Japanese have clearly stated that the ” Minke ” whales have overly populated the World’s Oceans and that the Minke Whales are actually ” depleting ” the World’s fish supply due to their huge appetite for fish and this is why the World Scientific community have allowed that each year around 2000 Minke whales can be killed in order to maintain a healthy Ocean balance.

Killings whales is like killing chicken, pork and fish. Tell me, are people going to fight for them too? IT’S POINTLESS. The Japanese are doing nothing ilegal, as they have a scientific permit to kill around 1000 Minke Whales each year whether it’s for research or to make Sushi!

On the other hand, She Shepherd is ILLEGALLY harrasing the Japanese in a pointless battle. Wake up Sea Shepherds, and learn about the REAL SHEPHERD WHO GAVE HIS LIFE FOR YOU, JESUS CHRIST.

SEEK GOD THROUGH JESUS, AND SAVE YOUR SOUL NOT WHALES!!!

Is there going to be a season 3 on whale wars. I hope so . They are doing a good thing and should have more help from Australis in stopping Japanese whaling in a Australian whale reserve.

“Bull fighting is fine entertainment”

For unevolved people maybe!!
Yes, it is a ‘barbaric’ (b : possessing or characteristic of a cultural level more complex than primitive savagery but less sophisticated than advanced civilization – merriam-webster’s online dictionary) show.

“Screw the Whales. There are people dying all around the world. Lets feed them first.”

An absurd argument – from that point of view why don’t you sell your computer and your tv sets and donate the money to help feed the hungry people? Why stop there? Sell you car (you can always use public transportations) and do the same thing with that money. Bur hey, let’s be more ambitious… Let’s stop everything we’re all doing and let’s feed the hungry people of this world…
Obviously you don’t have a clue of what multitasking means. Everyone has different jobs and occupations because all of them are needed. Some organizations help feed hungry children, others help save the whales, others help refugees and so on… Get it?

“It has been shown that most animal rights activist are criminals.[...]The Japanese fisherman should start harpooning these dumbass fucks on the Steve Irwin boat. Oh, yes: all members of PETA should be killed and eaten.”

I guess no comments about this absurdity and immaturity are needed!

“well DUHHHHHH you idiots if I were on that ship I would be harpooning your asses…DOHHH!!!”

Again, this proves how animal eaters can be extremely violent people. Let me remind you that a while ago one crew member of the whaling ships fell overboard (nothing to do with the Sea Shepherd’s activities) and when SS offered to help search for him the whalers refused their help. This proves what kind of people are whalers…

“Indeed, God wants us to take care of the animals and don’t torture them but He gave us the animals for us to eat and live as beautiful as the animal may be.”

I’m not even going into this religious fanatic mumbo jumbo…
All I can reply is – have you ever heard of: “Thou shall not kill?” Let me ask you something – kill what? Humans? Animals? Humans and animals? Hum… What kind of perfect god would create such an ambiguous commandment? Or did (s)he mean “not kill, period”? In that case this would mean that all non-veg*an christians would be a bunch of hypocrites, right?

Let’s get things straight – Japan’s scientific research is a load of crap:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227136.100-why-japans-whaling-activities-are-not-research.html

Secondly, all those (the evil defenders) who accuse Sea Shepherd and other real AR organizations of being eco-terrorists are nothing but a bunch of cowards. At least these people are fighting for what they believe in and in the case of SS they have never seriously hurt anyone.

It’s so easy to point fingers when you’re comfortably sitting at home and doing nothing to change this world for the better. At least these people are out there putting their asses on the line fighting for their ideals!

you are too close to me…. you’re too close to the whales. what is the music at this time on the commercial?