Dnarever wrote on Jan 17^th, 2011 at 10:41pm:


You are not a seaman are you?

Belgarion wrote on Jan 20^th, 2011 at 11:01pm:



if it's the incident i am thinking of they were stationary and the japanese ship deliberately tuned in their direction causing the collision to occur.

unsure why you would need to be a seaman to see what is wrong with that

Saturday, January 15, 2011
Riding a Storm in Pursuit of a Black-Hearted Sun
Day Seventeen since finding the Japanese whaling fleet, and it is a wee bit uncomfortable today after the whaling fleet supply vessel Sun Laurel decided to lead us into a storm to try and shake the Bob Barker and the Steve Irwin off its tail.

We are now over 300 miles north of the Antarctic Treaty Zone Boundary and the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary as the Sun Laurel wanders northward and eastward hoping to unload her cargo of heavy fuel for the Nisshin Maru and diesel fuel for the harpoon vessels.

It is mystifying why the Korean captain thinks he can lose us in a storm. The Bob Barker and the Steve Irwin are far superior sea vessels than this tanker and the rolling of the supply ship has to be uncomfortable for her crew, far more uncomfortable than for the Sea Shepherd crews.   

Behind the two Sea Shepherd ships in plain sight are the Yushin Maru # 1 and Yushin Maru #2. Both of them are more than a day's steaming from the whaling grounds, and if they are not on the whaling grounds, they are not killing whales.   

The Bob Barker tracking the Sun LaurelThe Bob Barker tracking the Sun LaurelThe Gojira continues to hunt for the Nisshin Maru and the Yushin Maru #3. Captain Paul Watson has decided that the most effective tactic that can be implemented is to cut the Nisshin Maru off from her supplies. The Bob Barker and the Steve Irwin will be able to pursue the Sun Laurel for longer than the Nisshin Maru can survive without fuel.

The Nisshin Maru has four choices now: (1) quit whaling and return to Japan, (2) attempt to refuel with the Sun Laurel, (3) go to a distant port to refuel, or (4) find another tanker somewhere to refuel them and hope they are not discovered before they do so.

Option two will put them into a direct confrontation with the Sea Shepherd ships. Options three and four will cost them weeks of time.

Yesterday, the crew of the Steve Irwin were accompanied by a large pod of pilot whales.

The crews of both the Bob Barker and the Steve Irwin are in high spirits as this pursuit continues.   

freediver wrote on Jan 20^th, 2011 at 9:52pm:


No you are the only one with that View - the impact has clearly been detected, The doubt expressed by the scientists is not if it is detectable - they have results showing a decline - the doubt they raise is if the Whales have gone somewhere else - like under the ice.

The fact is they are counting less Minke whales in the relevant area.

I would think that the count from under the ice would mean little without past data. to show how many whales were always there and to simply add these whales to the current count would be misleading.

The missing whales from the hunt area would without doubt be much more likely to have migrated to Japanese restaurants then under the Ice.

Which leaves the question of sustainability open to a nation with a history of pursuing  unsustainable fishing practices.

freediver wrote on Jan 22^nd, 2011 at 4:36pm:


I have only mentioned detability in response to you statements, it was your focus.

freediver wrote on Jan 22^nd, 2011 at 4:36pm:


I do not remember that Q and I have no idea but would assume the answer would be yes if I thought their was a problem in this case.

In this case progressive counts have been getting lower results in an area where about 10,000 whales have migrated to Japanese Restaurants. The conclusion is very obvious even though you would prefer to not believe it.


freediver wrote on Jan 22^nd, 2011 at 4:36pm:


In any species repetitive counts showing a reduction in numbers in a given area where there is a hunt would indicate an unsustainable situation.

In the US when the Bison were in decline people may have assumed that they had migrated to Canada or to other areas. In the case of Antarctic whales they are hiding under the ICE?

freediver wrote on Jan 22^nd, 2011 at 5:15pm:



Clearly not what I said.

freediver wrote on Jan 22^nd, 2011 at 5:15pm:



Let me see - we have a process which appears to be causing a reduction in numbers of stock.

As long as the process continues as is the numbers would continue to decline

This decline would slow as the stock numbers approached Zero.

I.E obviously sustainable.

freediver wrote on Jan 22^nd, 2011 at 5:15pm:



So half of them swim up to the ship to have a look and the rest are hiding under the ice?  So the Japanese only eat stupid whale, thats ok then.

Dnarever wrote on Jan 21^st, 2011 at 12:16pm:


I could attempt to explain the situation in laymans terms but I doubt you would be receptive to the facts, as they would interfere with your pre-conceptions.