WELLINGTON, New Zealand (31 Jan 2007) -- The New Zealand government has denied it is doing the bidding of Japan by not telling protesters the location of a Japanese fleet hunting whales off Antarctica. Conservation Minister Chris Carter last week released footage showing the whalers at work in the Ross Sea but refused to give the coordinates to protesters intent on disrupting the annual hunt. Greenpeace and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society have both sent ships into the Southern Ocean, but have so far been unable to locate the Japanese fleet. A global moratorium on commercial whaling has been in force since 1986 but Japan still catches whales for what it claims is scientific research but admitting the whale meat ends up on dinner plates. The Sea Shepherd group today accused Mr Carter of bowing to pressure from Japan. "This is like a police chief finding out that a bank robbery is in progress but refusing to tell his officers which bank because the thieves asked him not to," Sea Shepherd President Paul Watson said in a statement. But a spokesman for Mr Carter denied the minister was reacting to pressure from Japan. He said the minister had not received any direct contact from Japanese officials about the issue. However, a Japanese government spokesman has publicly asked the coordinates not be released. "As far as I am aware the minister has not had any contact from Japanese officials. Nor, I hasten to add, would we do the Japanese bidding," he said. "The New Zealand government has made it clear it won't release any coordinates because of public safety. We can't predict what Sea Shepherd will do." The harsh waters of the Southern Ocean were the backdrop for dramatic confrontations between activists and whalers last year. The Sea Shepherd's flagship is equipped with a ram to tear the hulls of the whaling vessels above the waterline. Captain Alex Cornelissen, who is aboard a second Sea Shepherd vessel, M/Y Robert Hunter, said he still believed New Zealand had buckled under pressure from Japan. He said it was up to his members whether they wished to risk their safety, and all the crew on his boat were willing to risk their lives to save whales. | | Nisshin Maru pirate whaling vessel illegally slaughtering whales in Antarctica. Their boat was unlikely to cause any damage to personnel on the whaling ships, he said. Sea Shepherd campaigners on Monday announced a $A32,370 reward for anyone who provides information on the whereabouts of the Japanese whalers. Japan plans to kill up to 850 minke whales and 10 endangered fin whales this year as part of what it calls its scientific whaling program. New Zealand, Australia and many of other countries are opposed to Japan's annual whale hunt, and Mr Carter last week said he had taken the "very unusual" step of releasing footage of the whalers - taken as part of normal air force flights that police fishing. People could watch it and make up their own minds about Japanese whaling, Mr Carter said, asking "Is it science or is it butchery?" SCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
