Pete Bethune Launching New Marine Conservation Org

46
by Michael dEstries November 16, 2010
Categories: Animals, Video
Tags: .

Tomorrow evening (6PM PST), Pete Bethune will go live on UStream for an hour Q&A to talk with fans and discuss upcoming projects. What makes the event special, however, is that the former Sea Shepherd member (and Captain of the Ady Gil) will make a formal announcement regarding the creation of a new marine conservation organization.

According to an email received by Ecorazzi, several marine conservation projects are already in the works, with key players identified to help the new organization become established. Bethune had earlier announced that he would be focusing on the slaughter of pilot whales in the Danish Faeroe Islands.

Stay tuned for more on this developing story.

About Michael dEstries

Michael has been blogging since 2005 on issues such as sustainability, renewable energy, philanthropy, and healthy living. He regularly contributes to a slew of publications, as well as consulting with companies looking to make an impact using the web and social media. He lives in Ithaca, NY with his family on an apple farm.

View all posts by Michael dEstries →
  • RadicalOmnivore

    There is no conservation concern with the Faeroese Pilot Whale Harvest.
    This is just more demonization of minority food cultures to milk closet suburban fascists of some hate money.

    Move along nothing there’s nothing Conservation related here.
    Save your money.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Christian-Burgess/100000739416659 Christian Burgess

      lol call it what you will, its inhumane and the only reason humans are intelligent is because they tell themselves so, 5 billion humans …. how many whales??? its on!!!!

      • Chris H.

        Christian,

        the thing is that Radical Omnivore views whales and dolphins as just another resource, to be exploited, to satisfy his personal desires.

        It’s very similar to the way slave traders felt towards the peoples of Africa during the Atlantic slave trading period.

        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_slave_trade

        Being an Inuit, you would hope that RO would hold a more enlightened view, but alas, it is not so…

  • atrout

    Hey Pete, much better forming yet another conservation group than sinking expensive boats in the Antarctic. You will dilute the donations and compete for space in the protest ranks. Imagine lining up to steam past whalers in the Faroes!!! Leave that one to your former mate Watson as there isn’t enough room for the two of you. You could call your new group The Sea Sheep but you’d probably want a grander name. No conservation projects in New Zealand with a high enough profile to satisfy your need for publicity$$$???

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Hart-Noecker/100001623066825 Hart Noecker

    White Christian males are not a minority in Europe, nimrod.

  • http://www.yahoo.com Animals_deserve_rights

    Anytime a group of people does a mass slaughters of any creature its a conservation issue. How long are the pilot whales supposed to survive when their pods are being slaughtered?

    • David

      Well apparently the scientists that study these issues seem to think that the pilot whales will survive forever ‘when their pods are being slaughtered’.

      http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/9250/0

      “The only current fishery for long-finned pilot whales is undertaken in the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Although this fishery has been actively pursued since the 9th century, catch levels have apparently not caused stock depletion, such as occurred off Newfoundland. Catch statistics exist from the Faroes since 1584, unbroken from 1709 to today, showing an annual average catch of 850 pilot whales (range: 0 – 4,480) with a cyclic variation according to the North-Atlantic climatic variations (Bloch and Larstein 1995). The IWC, ICES and NAMMCO have concluded, that with an estimated subpopulation size of 778 000 (CV=0.295) in the eastern North Atlantic and approximately 100 000 around the Faroes (Buckland et al. 1993; NAMMCO 1997) the Faroese catch is probably sustainable. In Greenland, catches are relatively small.”

      Don’t you just hate when people start using facts instead of hearsay?

      • imforthewhales

        Did the ICR pop up page come up for you again david?

      • David

        I think you are lost again iusuallyfail.

        The ICR doesn’t have any interest in the Faeroe Islands. And my link clearly states it is from the IUCN.

  • josh lamb

    Pete is a joke, he automatically is a eco warrior after being out in the SO for 3 months?! Hes a dumbass. He then lies and then tries to blackmail Captain Watson.

    • Hufingraz

      Josh,
      Sorry to burst your bubble, but Paul Watson lies and does it directly to his supporters. Have you seen the “shooting” from season 1? It was a total lie that did nothing to save the lives of any whales. If you believe that Paul was really shot, re-watch that episode. If I recall correctly, Peter Hammarstedt says, “I want to see if anyone picks up a gun” minutes before Paul was supposedly shot. That scene was so staged, it wasn’t even a little bit believable. The same thing goes for the “anthrax” scare in season 2. Both incidents were done for ratings, yet Paul claims that both events really happened. That is just 2 of the many lies that Paul has told to his supporters. Paul lies when there is no need to lie. It doesn’t help his cause and actually causes him to lose supporters. I stopped giving Sea Shepherd my support after the incident with Pete Bethune. I just couldn’t stand anymore lies.
      Now regarding Pete and him being a “joke”. Pete showed more courage & competence, than any other member of Sea Shepherd last season. In the words of helicopter pilot Chris Aultman, “Most of Pete’s ideas were pretty sound, and ALL the ideas that he actually tried, WORKED!”. Chris obviously didn’t think Pete was a joke. I surely don’t think he is a joke, considering that he jumped from a jetski to a moving ship in the pitch dark off the coast of Antarctica. Let’s see you try that and then we’ll see who the joke is.

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Josh-Lamb/100000872581980 Josh Lamb

        so you basically have no evidence showing that he is a lier, your taking real taped events and saying hes lieing because you want to. He is a joke. Paul has been a eco warrior for 40 years, hes put himself in front of ships, destoryed illegal whaling vessels, destroyed illegal operations, brought real attention to the harp seal hunt and ended EUROPE from buying and seal products, helped expoze the atrocitys of “The cove” and hundrdes of other operations. Pete was out for 3 months, and was not paying attention and got his boat ran over.

      • David

        Well Paul claims he has never been convicted of a felony but the proof has been posted here many times.

        Paul claims the UN WCfN gives him enforcement powers even though he claimed in his defense in Canadian court that he was mistaken and knows the UN WCfN does no such thing.

        He claims to have been at Wounded Knee and to have recieved an Indian name, but no one else who was there remembers him and none of the Indians there know anything about him being given an Indian name.

      • Chris H.

        David,

        you sound like a broken record…

        The garbage that you link to does not prove what you say it proves.

        You love to use the word “felony”, and yet you know full well that there is no such legal ruling in Canada.

        You deliberately mislead people and attempt to smear Paul Watson’s name, and the only motivation that makes sense is that you are paid to post this crap.

        You have zero credibility, and you’re a nasty little irritant to boot. Go sell your special brand of “crazy” elsewhere.

        P.S. Continuously repeating a lie does not make it any more true.

      • Hufingraz

        Josh,
        Okay, well talk to me in about 3 years, and we will see if you feel the same way. I was brainwashed, just like you are. I stood up for Sea Shepherd, even when I knew in my heart that I was being lied too.
        You are right. I don’t have any evidence to support that Paul wasn’t really shot or that some random person just came up to Paul and handed him an envelope full of a white powder. But come on Josh, if you watch both of those episodes a few times, and if you have any common sense at all, you know that neither of those events really happened. None of Sea Shepherd’s crew members are actors and it clearly shows. Why would the Japanese decide to shoot Paul on a moving ship on rough water, especially with a television crew onboard? The seas were extremely choppy that day, and for an assassin to make a shot like that, would be next to impossible. If the Japanese wanted Paul dead, Paul would be dead and they wouldn’t need to do it on the open seas. Also, isn’t it convenient that the “shooting” just happened to coincide with when the season ended for Sea Shepherd & the show’s finale? Why wouldn’t the whalers just send real anthrax, instead of fake stuff, if they wanted Paul dead? If you actually think about it for more than 2 minutes, you have to agree that it is total bullcrap.
        Now to give Paul all the credit for ending the seal hunt, is a pretty big statement. Just in case you didn’t know, there have been other groups fighting against the seal hunt, and some of them for much longer than Sea Shepherd. Groups like IFAW(International Fund for Animal Welfare), the Humane Society, and WSPA(World Society for the Protection of Animals) are just a few groups that played a big part in the European ban of the seal hunt.
        Sea Shepherd didn’t get actively involved with the Cove until this year. They have sent celebrities and people there before and they have brought a small amount of attention to the Cove. But Ric O’Barry has been bringing attention to the Cove long before SS was going there. It was also Ric’s movie “The Cove”, that brought worldwide attention to Taiji, Japan. This year SS has been very successful at slowing down the killing of dolphins in Taiji, but it isn’t because of Paul. It is because of the people that have been using their own money & time, to go and stay at the Cove. Yes, I will agree that Paul has saved the lives of countless animals, but he also lies to his supporters, which isn’t right. By lying, he is stooping to the same level as the ICR and it makes it really hard to believe anything he is saying. If he would come clean on all the lies, I might actually start supporting them again.

    • Drake

      LIAR HE DID NOT!!!!!

      • josh lamb

        @David

        1. No he has not

        2. The UN world charter for nature states that a conservation group may protect if not protected.

        3. he flys the flag of the reservation on the steve irwin, and was given a cottage on the reservation

      • David

        1. Actually yes he has.

        2. Actually the UN says it doesn’t, courts have said it doesn’t and in court Paul admitted that he was mistaken in his belief that it did.

        3. Actually you need to learn a little history. From the Sea Shepherd website it says he got that flag in 2007 from a lodge of the Iroquois, while Wounded Knee was in 1973 and involved the Oglala Sioux.

  • Drake

    Let him save annimals they cant protest

  • Drake

    he has all right to I mean the japs destroyed his boat and arrested him!!

  • romika3

    Pete: Taking on the people of the Fareo Islands makes you no better than Paul Watson. Find a real conservation issue.

    • josh lamb

      romika3: stop working for the ICR and maybe he might listen

      • romika3

        Lamb chops, go back to your pen. When we want you to post a commnet we will let you know.

  • atrout

    Today’s news about the Maritime Safe inquiry in NZ concerning the collision (not sinking) of the Ady Gil includes the interesting statement that the two simrad plotters on the Ady Gil were removed by the SS crew. One was found washed up on the Tasmanian Coast and the other was later ‘rediscovered’ by the SS crew. The inquiry Commission expected that the two plotters were to be handed to them by SS to better determine the reasons behind the collision. A lack of seamanship was attributed to both parties but this attempt to hide vital evidence does further discredit SS. To attempt to hide evidence from a court of inquiry is certainly dishonest and not very clever.

    • Michael Raymer

      Source please.

      • David

        http://www.maritimenz.govt.nz/AdyGil/Investigation-report-Ady-Gil-Shonan-Maru-Hi-rez.pdf

        It is on page 4 of the MNZ report.

        The SSCS even agreed that it was most like that a Bob Barker crewman threw it overboard.

      • http://none Nobody Important

        Page 18

        93. The information available suggests that,
        when Shonan Maru No. 2 was approximately
        130 metres away from Ady Gil, Shonan Maru
        No. 2 steered so as to alter her track
        line some 13o degrees starboard (that is,
        from about 350o(T) to 014o(T). This
        alteration of course by Shonan Maru No.
        2 rendered a close quarters situation
        inevitable in the absence of either a
        further change of course by Shonan Maru
        No. 2 or a change of course by Ady Gil.

        (Refer to Appendix 4 from Point D onwards, and to Appendix 5)

    • romika3

      Paul Watson is noted for hiding and distorting evidence. That is his way.

      • Chris H.

        And romika3 is noted for spouting an endless stream of unfounded accusations. That is his way.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Josh-Lamb/100000872581980 Josh Lamb

      And the Japanese goverment/ICR denied to hand over any information on the collision, this shows a wide range of dishonesty.

      • David

        You mean like the SSCS throwing one of the Ady Gil Simrads overboard rather than handing it over? Or like the SSCS ‘losing’ the second Ady Gil Simrad?

        Or do you mean like your lie? The ICR and Japanese government did hand over all the information on the collision. The report even says so. With some of it being related to Pete Bethune’s trial, it wasn’t released until the trial concluded. Actions that I expect would have been the same no matter what country was involved.

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Josh-Lamb/100000872581980 Josh Lamb

        SSCS agreed that it was probably thrown overboard but did not know who had done it. So theres no evidence to show the SSCS was responsible more likely pete or one of his crew had done it.

      • David

        So you were wrong about the Japanese and the Bob Barker captain, an SSCS member, was derelict by not securing the Simrads.

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Josh-Lamb/100000872581980 Josh Lamb

        I could not find anything saying the icr/JG complied neither did the master of the SM#2. It says the SSCS agrees that it was probably thrown overboard but they dont know who did it. They only person who would get in trouble would be the headmaster of the Ady Gil. Any SSCS member would not be at fault if it was the Ady Gils fault so the only thing I could think of would be either pete or another member of the Ady Gil did it.

      • David

        The MNZ reports mentions radar and VDR data from the Japanese a number of times. Your inability to find it is irrelevant.

        “…so the only thing I could think of would be either pete or another member of the Ady Gil did it.”

        So because you can only think of one possibility it must be true? Also as soon as they boarded the Bob Barker Pete and his crew and their actions were the responsibility of the Bob Barker’s captain.

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Josh-Lamb/100000872581980 Josh Lamb

        Can you please show me. Actually I never said it was true. And repeating lies about sea shepherd does not make it true either.

      • David

        No I won’t show you.

        From your comments you seem to have read the MNZ report and if you didn’t see the references then you must be blind or massively bias. Either that or you just believed whatever you were told about the report meaning you can’t or won’t think for yourself.

        Now what lies about the SSCS are you alleging?

      • Chris H.

        David,

        you can speculate until you finally find a girlfriend about how the SIMRAD ended up on a beach in Tasmania, but you have no proof of anything.

        Perhaps the Japanese whalers picked it up in Antarctica and handed it off to your friend Glenn, and he arranged for it to “wash up” in Tasmania… It wouldn’t be the first time that he’s been the bag boy for the Japanese whalers, would it?

        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Inwood#Spy_flights

        There’s no proof that anybody from SSCS did anything improper with regards to the SIMRADS. In fact, when they located the second SIMRAD, they handed it over to MNZ. There’s nothing in the report that states that MNZ believes that SSCS deliberately caused any obstruction to the investigation.

        As usual, you and Glenn (Kimitake & atrout) just drop a turd and let the stink diffuse throughout the room. It’s a strategy that’s designed to draw attention away from the real findings of the report. The real findings are that the Shonan Maru #2 created the dangerous situation that led to the collision, and the only thing that the Ady Gil’s crew were guilty of was underestimating the malicious intent of the captain of the SM#2.

  • atrout

    Christchurch Press 19th Nov. Bethune was quoted as being satisfied by the inquiry’s findings of culpability on both parties. The Shonan Maru for not having taken evasive action as the overtaking vessel. (After having avoided the Gil’s unwanted attentions for 6 hours or so earlier in the day). The skipper of the Gil (Bethune) was found in fault by not responding to a danger in an appropriate manner. In other words the Gil was on course to cross the bows of the SN2 and accellerated to place herself directly under the bows of the SN2. The contention by SS immediately after the collision was that the Gil was stationary and that the SN2 steered towards the Gil was untrue and is now not contested by Bethune. And as we now know Bethune later made the decision to sink the Gil and scuttled it. Like other Bethune stories this was intially not acknowledged until the cat fight between him and Watson.

    • Chris H.

      From the Maritime NZ report, page 10:

      “As the overtaking vessel, Shonan Maru No. 2 failed to take early and substantial action to keep well clear of Ady Gil. This resulted in the development of a close quarters situation, during which Shonan Maru No. 2 failed to take positive and ample action to avoid colliding with Ady Gil.

      The stand-on vessel, Ady Gil, failed to maintain an effective lookout and to take early and substantial action when it became apparent that a close quarters situation had arisen and the risk of collision existed.”

      I think that these two paragraphs sum up the situation quite well. The SM2 created the dangerous situation by deliberately heading towards the AG, and the AG did not maintain an effective lookout in order to avoid being hit by the SM2.

      Being the larger, faster moving vessel (during that period of time), and therefore more dangerous vessel, the SM2 was indifferent to the safety of the crew on the smaller, stationary AG.

      If this collision had occurred between two vehicles on a highway, it is highly likely that the driver of the larger, moving vehicle would have been charged with dangerous driving.

      • ednakano

        Commonsense in marine is different from your opinion. Small, quick and manipulative ship have responsibility to avoid collision. and AG has intention to be close for obstraction.

  • Josh lamb

    @romika go back to your sad and decedent cave, troll

  • Josh lamb

    @huffingraz I support the protection of our Eco system, we get 80% of our oxygen from the ocean and I would like to help keep it that way. Your basically rambling on the only thing I found important in your comment was that, ss were the leading cause for the cove they helped free the dolphins by cutting he nets. I do not follow blindly I often criticize people for doing that. IE. Followers of faux “news” I used to be a mindless follower I am also an atheist/ humanist because I no longer follow the ridiculous teachings of Christianity.

    • Hufingraz

      Josh,
      I never said anywhere that SS was the leading cause for the Cove by cutting the nets. You are now making stuff up. I said Ric O’Barry is the reason that everyone now knows about the Cove, not Sea Shepherd. Ric O’Barry was talking about the Cove, LONG before SS was. You can call it rambling, but I know that you know that Paul is lying to you and you just don’t want to admit it. Anyone with any intelligence knows that the “shooting” and “anthrax” were staged. But hey, keep living in your dream world, if that makes you feel better.
      I will agree with you on one thing though. The teachings of Christianity and all other religions are ridiculous.

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Josh-Lamb/100000872581980 Josh Lamb

        If I said you im sorry I wrote that from my itouch .Yes ric is the very first one but the SS’s were the first to get some attention by taking action. I do not think paul is lying what so ever I have many times evaluated what I believe, and I do not take things just by taking them. The SSCS is an awesome organization protecting marine wildlife around the world, The southern ocean, the faroe islands, the cove, Bluefin tuna, horizon spill, galapagos islands, sharks, seals, and many other operations. The mindless killing of animals and our habitat often comes from religion. It basically says take anything you want with no consequence, and we have learned that this is completely false.

  • http://none Nobody Important

    Here’s the deal. The problem with whaling [compared to other types of manufacturing or production] is that whale populations are not sustained with the aid of humans which means, like tuna and other wild species they are not replenished by human efforts.

    Salmon has salmon hatcheries, cattle has massive operations as does pig, fowl and so on. Wild species do not share this advantage and like finning sharks, killing rhino, elephants, tigers and so on for their parts are not replenished and will eventually just become extinct.

    Paul Watson, Pete Bethune and others are tools to get what needs to be done, done. Your feelings on Watson and/or Bethune are simply irrelevant and if you are unable to differentiate between your emotions then you shouldn’t be allowed to vote or breed because you are too stupid to think for yourself. If you take offense to this statement then the statement most like is something you see in yourself and I could really care less.

    This is simply not a popularity contest, this is about stopping the wholesale slaughter of several species before they are extinct. No individual and/or country has the right to deprive the rest of the world of these animals.

    Nobody Important.

« PREVIOUS POST
NEXT POST »