Keeping them moving on | Home | "Give us a P"

woooohoo! Good work guys. You must want lots of sleep. And heat. And some flat earth under your toes...

Today, a Whale was Spotted in Central London

Maybe it came to say "Thanks Greenpeace"?

Keep up the great work. Sadly, it doesn't sound like it will end in the near future. But we can hope.

Great work and many thanks to the crews of the Arctic Sunrise and Esperanza. Your courageous actions have forced the whaling issue to the forefront again, and people are listening.
While I am sad that you are leaving the whales and the killing will contiue, I'm also relieved that everyone is safe. Who knows how far the whalers might have gone - possibly causing the death of one of your crew.
Your teams have acted responsibly, demonstrating to the world how peaceful protests can work. I am proud of you, and proud to be a supporter of Greenpeace.
Your teams have made huge sacrifices - now it is up to us to continue the fight in whatever ways we can.
I've read your thought-provoking, and very interesting updates daily, and will continue to do. Besides documenting the brutality of whaling you have shared observations of a remote and beautiful part of the world many of us will never experience.
Have a safe journey back to Cape Town.
P.S. Loved the movie March of the Penguins.

I want to say the same...THANK YOU GREENPEACE.

You guys soooooo rock.

From www.greenpeace.org:

The inflatable boats have been hauled in. The crew is exhausted, the ships need fuel, and it's time to take the campaign to save the whales from the high seas to the High Street, (or from the bounding main to the Main street, if you're North American).

Activists like Texas, Andrew, Lally, Nathan, Mikey, Phil and all the other folks you've come to know through the Oceans Defenders weblog have done all they can. They've saved whales. They've slowed down the hunt. They've alerted millions of people around the world to the whale killing they've witnessed in the Southern Ocean. Now it's up to all of us to act on what they've shown us -- and finish the job. More...

Thought you might be interested in reading this email repy from Sealord. 

We assure you that Sealord is not in any way involved in whaling or the sale of whale meat.  We are a New Zealand company with our own values, policies and operations; we are 50% owned by Maori (the indigenous people of New Zealand) through Aotearoa Fisheries Limited which has made it clear it does not condone the hunting of whales for commercial purposes.  The New Zealand and Australian Governments are strongly opposed to whaling.

We have made our other shareholder, Nissui, fully aware of the Governments’ position on whaling and the strength of feeling in New Zealand and Australia about the Japanese Government’s whaling programme.  Nissui is also aware of Aotearoa Fisheries’ position.  If you want further information on Nissui or the Japanese Government’s scientific whaling programme we suggest you contact Nissui or the Japanese Government.

Sealord Customer Services

I cant express how grateful i am for your action out there, such curage and will is a pure wonder to look at.

You have done your part , and in a very good way!
Now its our turn, the people of the world, to show our dissapointment with the whaling industry.

You all deserve a long night sleep in a warm bed, good food and something good to drink with it!

thats the least you deserve.

i feel sorry for the whales you will not be there to save but we all have limits how far we can go.

I would like bring a big cheer to defenders of the sea!.

Also a big thank you to all people sending letters, making phone calls, protesting in the streets and whatever you are doing to do your part.

have a safe journey home and make sure you get a big treaty when you get back to land! :P

I've read the daily updates with much interest and I'm not ashamed to admit that I quietly cried on several occasions. Whaling is a hideous business and I deplore it. Thanks to Greenpeace the world is aware of what is going on in the Southern Ocean and everyone must keep up the pressure to eradicate whaling permanently. These remarkable animals must be afforded the protection they deserve. Thank you Greenpeace for everything you do. The whales - and the planet - needs you.

Sealord Customer Service (from the above post) just doesn't get it...yet!
Thank you, each and everyone, for what you have done to bring this to center stage. You've got my support for the sake of the whales and all our futures.
You are heros of the ocean and whales!

Congratualtions on your successful, if at times distressful journey. It has be a privilege to feel part of it, if only - sadly - as readers. Long may the whales you saved continue to swim the great oceans of the south.Your courage and strength helps us all to keep the campaign going.

NOW please help the lost northern bottlenose whale in London - your rescue skills are needed!!

Safe journies home and enjoy your well deserved rest....or change of activity!

Bob and Cogs. UK

I'm glad you guys made it safe this year, and you have brought the Japanese whaling to the front for the public to see.
However Whales still died in your presence, and Greenpeace could have stopped the killing cold each time they saw a whale fixing to get harpooned by the whalers.
All you had to do is take direct action and put them out of business.
Remember you guys were attacked by the whalers and rammed by their ship.

Like Sea Shepherd, you guys have the right to be the sheriff on the high seas, and you have an obligation to physically put a stop to the whaling if you see it being done.
Taking pictures and posing for the press don't do no good if the whale gets killed in the end.
The only way to do it is like Sea Shepherd does, put the whaling ships out of commission which you can do without hurting any humans whatsoever on either side.
If Sea Shepherd had the monatary resources you guys have, there would be no whaling at all by the Japanese or anybody else, and I state that as a fact.

The whalers are afraid of us, (Yes I'm a supporter of Sea Shepherd, and gladly so) they run every time they see us.

Sea Shepherd alone has saved whales from being killed this year, every time the whalers have ran from us.
Greenpeace needs to change tactics and joiun us next year. If you guys did that, and join us next year in a campaign to stop the whales from being killed, how much good could we do to actually put a stop to it.
You guys would be surprised at what you can do if you change tactics and do direct action.
Here's hopin all crews get back safe and sound.

for the whales,

Phil Realing,
Thermopolis, WY

C.C. to Capt. Paul Watson (an original Greenpeace founder) and to Sea Shepherd.

Thanks for your well wishes. In response I would only make sure you have read this">http://weblog.greenpeace.org/oceandefenders/archive/2006/01/my_account.html">this account by Texas (2nd mate on the Sunrise), especially the personal comments at the bottom. I think you will find it argues both for and against some of the things you say.

As for this long standing disagreement over tactics - I would only say there is a line there that no one on a Greenpeace ship would cross, myself included. But of course I wish crew of the Farley Mowat a safe return from any expedition they take on next.

I am also confident that the new consumer based strategy, being pursued by a number of groups, will win the day in the end. The key is getting regular folks to think of themselves not as passive consumers, but as powerful decision makers who together can shift markets and change international policy. Big goals, but to get there we only need to keep taking small steps.

Phil is dreaming. And the "direct" action he's wanting Greenpeace to take would escalate the confrontation to a level where Japanese military ships could very well become involved. We're talking about international waters here, Phil, and the Japanese military have every legal right to protect their civilian vessels from pirates - which is what you seem to want Greenpeace to become.

I don't agree with Greenpeace's positions regarding whaling at all - but they are entitled to their opinions and they are showing their opposition to whaling in an appropriate and effective manner. Unlike Sea Shepherd.

thank you for saving so many whales and if you could buy a sailboat so you dont run out of petrol so you can save more whales

Arjuna age5

Disappointed.

On Saturday I sent an email to Sealord, the one from your site, edited slightly. I received a very automated response today, which I think indicates they didn't even read my email. Very disappointing. I will however, not purchase their products.

Sorry guys, but I tried. Looks like Sealord doesn't care too much about the whales at all, telling me to 'refer to Nissui or the Japanese government' if I wanted more information on their research.

GOOD JOB... I believe you accomplished your goals. We here in Maryland are so happy everyone on the Greenpeace crew is safe and returning to dry land in one piece. Your daily blog entries were exciting, interesting, and informative. Someone should write a book about your adventure. Congratulations.

This article gives interesting point of view about the countries supporting Japan in their whaling business. Describes why US, Australia or GB don't give a dam about stopping Japan whaling

http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=4086
Doing the hard yards to end whaling
By Sue Arnold - posted Tuesday, 24 January 2006

an extract :
With no powers of enforcement, the IWC is a toothless tiger relying on self-regulation and powerless to deal with abuses of the convention. According to international legal experts, Japan is violating the Law of the Sea, the Biodiversity Convention, the Convention on Conservation of Marine Living Resources, the Madrid Protocol and the Antarctic Treaty.
These same experts detail strategies which anti-whaling governments could utilise to stop Japan. While challenges in the International Court of Justice of the Law of the Sea Tribunal carry some risk, other options have been laid out under the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS).
The Antarctic Treaty System presents a variety of provisions which could be brought to bear against Japan. However, within the ATS, a gentlemen’s agreement ensures whales are never discussed in the context of Antarctic marine ecosystem. This exclusion is supported by the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand. No anti-whaling country will take action against Japan under the ATS and no anti-whaling government will produce the legal advices on which they rely to defend their position of non-action.