On Animal Planet. Anyone else watching? I have found it to be fascinating, sad and moving. I want to be a Sea Shepard now (well, except for the fact that I am petrified of water)!The premise: A crew of men and women do everything (legally) they can to stop Japanese fishermen from whaling for what they claim is "research." I had no idea that this cruelty and humanity existed. If you like Ice Road Truckers and Deadliest Catch, it is worth the watch and kind of up that alley.
Bears, Beets, Battlestar Galactica
I've been 'patched
I'm watching most episodes.
After witnessing 4 whales being drug up to the whale processing ship I wouldn't be surprised if they don't ram the Sea Shepherd right into the whaleing vessels, which the previews for this next episode hint of.
Yeah, I get frustrated because they haven't seemed to do a very good job of deterring them from whaling. It's pretty disgusting how easy the killing/processing seems to be. The Sea Shepards really need a potato launcher for those bottles they throw at the ships!
I've been 'patched
Well, I guess it was just you and I watching the show. The last episode was awesome. I went to their website, and read some of their stuff. Apparently they didn't just head back to port JUST because they were running low on fuel. They got word that the Japanese were sending commandos to sieze the vessel.Next whaleing season, I hope they figure out how to launch an anchor to hook onto the tow line when they try to bring in a whale. Those guys are APPARENTLY hunting whale illegally, and there doesn't seem to be anyone willing to step up and enforce international law.
Why don't they cut in front of the whaleing ship, and throw something in the water to foul up the props on the Nissan Maru? That kind of thing shuts down crab boat captains. (deadliest catch.)
Kill crabs... not whales!
Yup, just you and I it seems!So... just finally watched the finale... then made the mistake of going to the animal planet website and read some of the message boards
. The only good that came out of it was it made me appreciate the normalcy of this board and the fact that here we can accept the fact that people have opinions and sometimes they will differ.
I thought the episode was good, too. The scene as they were leaving, with the whale pod almost saying goodbye was very cool. It is unfortunate that the Sea Shepherds couldn't do more to foul up the whaling operations.
And I still don't understand what "research" the Japanese are doing which requires them to set a quota of almost a thousand whales per season. Once they do their "research," they can then sell the meat? Ridiculous.
Some people may say that whaling is just like hunting or fishing. Well, hunting certain animals is legal because the animals aren't nearly extinct... and fish have litters of babies and have a short life span (aside from the huge fish varieties, of course). The more I read up on whales, the sadder I got. They are so similar to humans but don't often try to kill each other like humans do. Not to mention, much of their whaling occurs in whale "sanctuaries" that seem to be ungoverned until the Shepherds fight back.
Looking forward to next season, better foul methods, and meeting you here to chat about it (since no one else will
).
I've been 'patched
LAST EDITED ON 08-24-09 AT 09:33 AM (EST)I watch it on and off.
I am sickened by whaling. And frustrated by the lack of effectiveness of those fighting the whalers. And by the realization that they can't win. Maybe, hopefully, they can save a whale or two, but with the resources of the Japanese fishing industry, and probably the Government, they can't win a frontal assault like that that they are making.
And I am frustrated by the ecological damage the fishing industry in general is doing to our oceans. Rogue fishing boats from rogue countries, long liners, drift netting, industrial purse netting and other methods that are just too good at catching fish.
I'm going to stick a little spam in here, if you want to sign up as crew of the Steve Irwin(or for any of their boats), or want to donate funds:
http://www.seashepherd.org/get-involved/crewing-at-sea.html
OMHeck, it's the Kingfish... and he's watchin Whale Wars!
Glad you could join in.
Makes me sick I tell ya!Swimming around all the time, knowing that your next bite might have a hook in it. It's hell I tell ya!
I've been 'patched
Still swimming?