Australian court sentences Japanese whalers to pay $1 million fine – Sea Shepherd provides damning evidence.
Wednesday, November 18, 2015: The Australian Federal Court in Sydney accepted the affidavit of Sea Shepherd Captain Peter Hammarstedt as damning evidence against the Japanese whaling company Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha Ltd (Kyodo).
This evidence allowed the judge to fine the whalers $1 million.
In 2008, the Humane Society International (HSI) won a major victory in the Australian Federal Court, which found that Kyodo was breaking Australian law with its whaling activities in the Antarctic, under the guise of scientific research, and subsequently issued an injunction ordering the company to cease whaling in the Australian Whale Sanctuary.
Despite the injunction, the Japanese whaling fleet has continued to slaughter whales in the protected waters of the Southern Ocean. HSI has now sued Kyodo for breaching the 2008 Australian Federal Court injunction.
Captain Hammarstedt, in his statement, recounts an incident that occurred during Sea Shepherd's 2013/14 Antarctic whale defense campaign, Operation Zero Tolerance.
Hammarstedt, Captain of the Sea Shepherd vessel Bob Barker , witnessed the slaughter of a protected minke whale by the Japanese whaling fleet inside the Australian Whale Sanctuary, approximately 60 nautical miles from the Australian Davis Station (note: Davis Station is a permanent base in Antarctica operated by the Australian Antarctic Division – AAD. It is Australia’s active scientific research station).
In the statement, Captain Hammarstedt states: “One of the crew members communicated this to me: the harpoon had been fired. I stepped away from the helm to verify for myself that the harpoon operator on the Yushin Maru 2 had indeed fired the harpoon and hit a whale. I saw through binoculars the whale struggling in the water in front of the bow of the Yushin Maru 2. ”
Jeff Hansen, CEO of Sea Shepherd Australia, said: “Sea Shepherd congratulates HSI and the New South Wales Environmental Protection Agency for advocating for this victory. This is an incredible victory for the whales. Sea Shepherd sincerely thanks HSI for this victory and for their determination in bringing the Japanese whale poachers to justice.”
In the wake of the Australian Federal Court verdict, Sea Shepherd is calling on Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to ensure that Japan's illegal whaling operations are top of mind during his visit to Japan this December.
Captain Hammarstedt said: "This year, the onus is on the Australian government to stop Japan from returning to the Antarctic to slaughter whales. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull must ensure that Australia's position against Southern Ocean whaling is a top priority in his upcoming talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
To do otherwise would mean losing the trust of the Australian people who are passionately committed to the protection of whales .”
Video below: The Bob Barker harasses the harpoon vessel Yushin Maru 2 after killing a minke whale (compelling evidence given to the Australian Federal Court), Operation Zero Tolerance 2013/14
Video below: Ramming of the Japanese factory ship Nisshin Maru , the Sea Shepherd vessel Bob Barker and the Japanese supply vessel during the 2013/14 Operation Zero Tolerance campaign
