Sea Shepherd - Hunters Become Hunted

A 21 minute lasting documentary produced by Bart Smithers and Muffin Kimber for the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society showing how the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in 2005/6 tried to halt the Japanese whaling fleet from fishing illegally in the Antarctic.
With this movie they tried to show the public what they were doing and how they were detained unjustly.
The documentary film Hunters become Hunted won the top environmental film award in the world, the 2007 Genesis Brigitte Bardot award for international film and television.

1 April 2006

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society make waves wherever they go. As very pro-active law enforces of the high seas as they call themselves. Bart Smithers of ecoeye learnt of their heroics in Antarctica where they chased the Japanese whaling fleet out of the Whale Sanctuary. They limped back to Cape town in their ship the Farley Mowat, on their last dregs of fuel, and were immediately arrested and detained by ports authorities. (for not having the correct paperwork)

Transcript Sea Shepherd - Hunters Become Hunted

Producer: Bart Smithers

A few weeks ago the world witnessed one of the most intense demonstrations in recent times. A war waged in the Southern Ocean. Activists vs. the Japanese whalers.
These scenes may seem reminiscent of days gone by when whales were being slaughtered in large numbers, but this was recorded in the past two months.
This boat, The Farley Mowat belongs to the Sea Shepherd, now docked in Cape Town, after it returned from its anti-whaling campaign in Antarctica.
They make waves wherever they go, a small yet very committed marine protection organization that have a formidable reputation, even making our ports authorities nervous.
This and other boats in their fleet patrol the oceans in search of illegal fishing activities. They see themselves as the ‘law enforcers’ of the high seas and have a very direct approach when dealing with alleged offenders.
The man who started all this is Captain Paul Watson.

Capt Paul Watson – Sea Shepherd

I set up Sea Shepherd in 1977 because I thought there was a need for an organization to intervene in illegal activities, Greenpeace was a protest organization, and I was really not in to protesting I really wanted to intervene and the laws were there.
Green Peace arrived in Cape town a week after Sea Shepherd, with their two ships Esperensa and the Arctic Sunrise. They were also in Antarctica, trying to stop the Japanese whaling boats adopting a less confrontational approach.

Shane Rattenbury - Greenpeace

With Greenpeace, non-violent action is an absolute core principal for us, we have been practicing that for 35 years since the organization was first established. Our reputation for peaceful action is so important to us. Sea Shepherds have a different interpretation of that and so that is why we chose to work independently of them.

2nd Officer Peter Hammarstedt – Sea Shepherd

We are a non-violent organization. I guess the way I see it is if someone has a rifle in their hand and they are about to shoot somebody it is an act of non-violence to tear that rifle out of their hand and break that riffle across your knee. I think standing by passively and watching is an act of violence. I think that is complacency in that act of violence.
Both organizations have the same goals. That is to halt what they consider to be atrocities committed against the environment and in this case their focus was whaling in Antarctica.

Wessel-Louis Jacobsz – Rhodes University

I started on Sea Shepherd, I really liked what the organization was doing for the ocean, and I decided to join and I ended up being the only South African on board, in the history of any Sea Shepherd campaign, it has been 45 days that I have spent on that ship, and it has become my new home.
He is now one of 40 volunteers from twelve countries that keep the Farley Mowat steaming ahead - but it is not all just plain sailing.
Living quarters are cramped and there is only one shower and two toilets for the entire crew.

Inde Farris – Sea Shepherd

Some people didn’t even have cabins, they had to sleep in the second hand clothes locker just kind of little nooks around the ship.
Pictures on board are a constant reminder to them why they are there.

Wessel-Louis Jacobsz

This is a vegan ship, we only use vegan food. I’ve never been hungry once, and I’ve never complained about the food as well. It’s a great kitchen.

Wessel-Louis Jacobsz

The mission was to go save whales and I have been wanting to do this all my life. I have been an activist most of my life. I have always been aware of our world and our conservation practices.
On the 10th December the Farley Mowat, an Aging 50 year old war relic, named after the Canadian Environmental Novelist, chugged out of Melbourne harbour with a top speed of ten knots. Their mission - intervene and stop whaling in the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary by whatever means, even using force if necessary.

2nd Officer Peter Hammarstedt

We don’t shy away from destroying illegal property. And this organization has sunk ten illegal whaling ships in the past and that is why the Japanese are afraid of us. The captain who has captained this boat for almost 30 years has never been convicted of a felony. What Sea Shepherd does is, we act under what is called the UN Charter for Nature, and that states very clearly that any individual, private organization, and or nation’s state, has the right to uphold international conservation laws.
About the same time as they left Australia two Green Peace boats departed from Cape Town, also heading for the Antarctic. The larger of their two ships, the Esperenza, which can cruise at seventeen knots, should get there first.
What frustrates them is that most governments have laws in place to protect marine resources but very few actually monitor their own conservation areas, some even turn a blind eye when laws are blatantly ignored.
Many won’t intervene as they fear their actions might cause an international incident and upset lucrative economic pacts.
The Southern Ocean surrounding the Antarctic is a declared whale sanctuary. So it is illegal to kill whales within its boundaries - yet Japanese whalers return every year and slaughter hundreds.

2nd Officer Peter Hammarstedt

The problem is year after year the Japanese whaling fleet goes down to Antarctica and violates that. Just this year they have doubled their quota of Minky whales to 935 and when it gets to that point protest is not enough and that is when an organization like Sea Shepherd is absolutely necessary.
The Southern Ocean is a vast and hostile place. On their previous Antarctic mission, the Farley Mowat failed to find the Japanese whaling fleet altogether. But this time it is different. On Christmas morning the Japanese factory ship, the Nishin Maru, appeared on their radar screen.

Wessel-Louis Jacobsz

And by luck we sailed straight in to the Japanese mother ship, with the Green Peace ship the Esperanza.
The whalers didn’t respond to the approaching ships and continued processing the whale carcasses.

Wessel-Louis Jacobsz

I think what happened was the Japanese saw us on the radar and saw us coming, but they thought we were the other Green Peace boat, the Arctic Sunrise.
Green Peace obviously does not worry the whalers much as they quite openly continued their gruesome business. They also came well prepared to meet any protestors.

Shane Rattenbury

Well I think that they feel very confident; they have defied internationally opinion for a number of years now, they’ve gone out and doubled their quota, and still governments have just stood by and sort of rung their hand and said, oh that’s terrible but nothing has really happened and so I feel that they can get away with it. Because international diplomatic pressure clearly doesn’t embarrass them enough to make them stop.
Although the Japanese government recognizes there is a ban on commercial whaling, they exploit a loophole in the agreement - claiming their whale hunts are for scientific research.

2nd Officer Peter Hammarstedt

In fact the scientific committee sends a letter of protest to Japan every year. When Japan claims their whaling is legal it is really only Japan that recognizes it. The scientific permits are issued by the Japanese department of fisheries and oceans so there is certainly no one that buys that.

Capt Paul Watson

We don’t know what kind of research they are doing. They haven’t published a single pre-reviewed paper on any of the work they are doing.
When Farley Mowat got in close, the crew of the Nishin Maru realized they weren’t Green Peace and started to run. The team came with a specially designed prop fowling device which had to be deployed from the deck as the sea was much too rough to use a inflatable.

Wessel-Louis Jacobsz

We had a prop fowling team, there were five of us on the aft deck.
They tried to cut across the bow of Nishin Maru to drop the prop fowling devise.

Wessel-Louis Jacobsz

They started running quite fast, they first started running away from us, and then for some reason, they started turning around. She was on a collision course with us.
Captain Paul Watson faced a difficult situation. The Nishin Maru was a much larger boat. And a collision would be disastrous for both the Farley Mowat and crew.

Wessel-Louis Jacobsz

The Japanese were trying to scare us. As soon as they came close we heard their big horn. A minute later, a minute from impact. The captain pulled his horn and that was his signal to release our prop fowling device. And we chucked over the long blue line. I was holding on for dear life. It was a massive storm the ship was now being bashed from the side by 15 metre waves.
When the Nishin Maru saw the blue line being dropped they turned. Only 30 seconds away from impact. They then ran and proceeded to run for the next two weeks.

Wessel-Louis Jacobsz

We are willing to put our ship on the line for the whales. That was Christmas day. That was all over by 6am then I went to bed and woke up on the 26th December. Lovely Christmas it; was a great present though. We did chase them out of the sanctuary that day. They ran for about ten days without whaling.
The Farley Mowat couldn’t keep up with the Nishin Maru for very long. Green Peace and the faster Esperenza were in a stronger position. They could constantly demonstrate, and harass the Japanese.

Shane Rattenbury

We have harassed them, we have interfered with their hunt, we’ve slowed them down, we’ve also captured some very powerful and terrible images of the hunting process which is very cruel.
But the whaling eventually resumed, crew members seemingly not in a bit perturbed by the cameras that are recording their every move.

Shane Rattenbury

But this time they were much more brazen. They simply hunted in front of us. So we captured images we’ve never seen before of the whales actually being hunted, of the process that goes on as they are killed.
A brazen act of defiance and perhaps a clear demonstration that the international anti-whaling agreement is quite toothless.

Inde Farris

If something large doesn’t happen to change it then you know our ship isn’t going to stop them, we can try, but they are still going to take whales.
The IWC or International Whaling Commission was set up in 1948 to manage the fast dwindling number of whales by allocating harvesting quotas to participating countries.
South African Horst Kleinschmidt, the deputy chairman of the IWC is very disillusioned by what he sees.

Horst Kleinschmidt – International Whaling Commission

The whaling commission stands out in international terminology as something that is incongruent and out of sync with where other environmental debate and organization has gone to.
When the IWC agreed on a moratorium on whaling in 1982, it consisted of 37 active members, of which only seven supported whaling.
At its most recent meeting in 2005 nineteen out of its 47 members voted for an immediate resumption of commercial whaling. It is expected at the next meeting in 2006 that even more countries will vote ‘yes’ for continued whaling.
When the Farley Mowat reached calmer waters Captain Watson played his next line of attack. This is where Wessel played a crucial role. On board are a small arsenal of light craft that can be deployed to harass whalers - two wave riders, three inflatable ski boats and a helicopter.
The maintenance of the ski boats was Wessel’s responsibility. He was also the skipper of the main attack craft.

Wessel-Louis Jacobsz

These davits clip on the zodiac and crane it to the side. And we can do this while the ship is moving.
His aim was to catch up with the whaler and then deploy their prop stalling device from the inflatable, slowing it down so that the Farley Mowat can get within striking range.
It was an ambitious plan that hadn’t been tested before.

Wessel-Louis Jacobsz

You have two floating devices, a big buoy and buoy with a cable strung in between them and from that cable you have frayed rope, that increases the chance of the cable to get sucked in.
Speeding up to a boat that towers above you, is never a pleasant thought, he says, but fortunately they had some inspiration along the way.

Wessel-Louis Jacobsz

As I sped off there were four fin whales that came up and it was like a signal and that just boosted me.
They circled the whaler a few of times to test their reaction.

Wessel-Louis Jacobsz

But as we got to the ship, its water cannons was already squirting. It’s whole aft area, was just pumping full of water. There was just massive burst of water, going in every direction.
Three prop stalling devices are deployed continuously until one hopefully does the trick. It’s dumped at the bow and if it fails to get entangled, it is then picked up and dump in the bow wave again for another run past the propellers.
They battled for two hours. But after their fifteenth attempt the ship was still steaming ahead.

Wessel-Louis Jacobsz

Yes, we were unlucky that it didn’t work. But it is going to work in the future. We are working on some newer models.
The next day they ran into a whaler supply vessel that also transports whale meat from factory ships to markets. They decided on a very bold move. This time a blade, that Captain Watson calls the ‘can opener’ that is attached to his boat, the Farley Mowat.
It is precisely these dramatic measures that makes the Sea Shepherd very unpopular in some circles but heroes in others. Yet again not the success they were hoping for. This time.

Inde Farris

We were trying to ram their ship so that we gouged it, we only managed to scratch it, and because of the way we hit it, the can opener actually bent.
Because they are quite prepared to risk injury and damage to property putting themselves and others at risk they have been branded as ‘Eco terrorists’ in some circles.

Wessel-Louis Jacobsz

We are not eco-terrorists, we are eco-warriors.

Capt Paul Watson

I don't really care too much what people think about us. We intervene against illegal activities and I don't see anything wrong with that. We've never injured anybody. And people say well we damage property, and we certainly do, but that is property that is being used for illegal activities. So I don't see anything different with illegal whaling, poaching of fish or that or smuggling ivory, robbing banks, or trafficking and drugs it is all the same to me.
For Paul and crew it had been an exhausting few months at sea and out of fuel, they limped back to Cape Town at the end of January. But they did not quite receive a hero’s welcome. Instead their detention by the port authorities soon dominated headlines.
Meanwhile Green Peace continued to harass the whalers for another week. Ironically their ship the Arctic Sunrise was actually rammed by one of the whalers and will have to be repaired in Cape Town.

Capt Paul Watson

I think it is more than a coincidence that only two weeks after our confrontation with the Japanese we come in to Cape Town and here the bureaucrats are waiting to give us a hard time.
Paul is convinced that there is collusion between governments that ultimately leads to the continued slaughter of whales. He maintains it was the Japanese that persuaded South African government officials to detain the ship and stop it returning to the Southern Oceans. Our port authorities claim the Farley Mowat needs to be registered as a commercial vessel, when actually, under Canadian law it’s registered as a private yacht.
Only a few countries in the world traditionally use whale meat, yet a surprising number of countries have turned pro-whaling, despite an overwhelming sentiment internationally that whaling should not be allowed.
IWC members claim votes are being bought. According to them the Fisheries Agency of Japan is operating a 'vote consolidation program' which promises aid to developing countries in return for a pro-whaling stance at IWC meetings.
Some whale species were once nearly driven to extinction by indiscriminate whaling, even by countries such as South Africa.
Some whale species have recovered now to a point where sustainable harvesting maybe plausible if there was any effective quota policing which, up till now has been non-existent.
Conservationists are quick to point out that the cornerstone of conservation world-wide is sustainable utilisation and that it has now become a moral and ethical decision not to utilize the meat of marine mammals but rather exploit the tourism potential. Whale watching worldwide, is fortunately also a vast and lucrative industry.
Fortunately, some locals came to the rescue of the stricken Farley Mowat. Food donations and offers of help started streaming in after the media published their story.

Capt Paul Watson

Well you know I think the people here in South Africa are very supportive, we have certainly been welcomed.

Wally Fry – Fry Group-Foods

We decided to come to the party and help these guys on the ship who are the true samurai of the whale preservation, they are actually out there doing it and living under harsh conditions and the least we can do is help out.
Willie, Wessels dad, is also very glad to see his son safely home – but seems undeterred by his decision to join such a dare-devil crew.

Willie Jacobsz

We weren’t‚ too worried in the beginning. But when it became a reality and he started packing we had a few nervous moments. Especially when we started reading up more about Sea Shepherd and the things that they did.
Sea Shepherd and Green peace are not alone in their struggle against the whalers. A new group, Whale Mark, is also putting pressure on the South African government and the whaling nations. They organised a demonstration recently outside the Japanese Embassy in Cape Town.

Ken Botes – Whale Mark

Absolutely the synergy in terms of Sea Shepherd, Green Peace and Whale Mark, we have to unite. You have to unite in terms of all animal welfare groups through out the world.
The anti-whaling groups have been identifying companies and organisations that have links to whalers and their affiliates, their list include major corporations and well known brands.
What they propose is a world boycott of all products that originate from pro-whaling countries or companies that can be linked in any way to whaling. But Japan’s claim of scientific research can also be disproved according to Whale Mark.

Ken Botes – Whale Mark

The Japanese government is utilizing part of the whale for cosmetics, for lipstick and pharmaceuticals, this is a fact, pharmacists at the moment are collecting data to analyze product and if this comes to light I really think Japan is in big trouble.

Horst Kleinschmidt

We have a huge obligation in this country to really, especially bringing it home to children. And youngsters in schools, what the point about an eco system is, what the point of an animal like a whale is in a wider echo system represents and we haven’t gone very far as far as that is concerned in South Africa.
Green Peace intend heading up the west coast of Africa. But the Sea Shepherd crew, for the time being have to stay put, killing time with maintenance work in preparation for their next dramatic adventure, rumoured to be up the east coast, hunting down illegal fishing operations off Mozambique.

Inde Farris

I think a lot of people tend to take it to heart, and wonder why we can’t do more, I think we are a small part of a major change in the world, we are definitely not going to be able to do it on our own, but maybe, people out there will see footage of what happened, or people will realize that a world without whales is really not a world that they want to live in.

Contact: Captain Paul Watson, Cell: 084 726 4078 / 076 539 7912.
Donations: Whale Mark NPO, ABSA Bank-Cape Town, Branch Code: 632005, account number:4063513753, Fund Raising No:36169-NPO 011-995.
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society