Surfers for Crustaceans

Only kidding, that should be Cetaceans. As we all know it refers to our marine mammal cousins: dolphins and whales. Last week a small flotilla of sea kayaks arrived at Bondi Beach after a 36 day ocean voyage 700 kms from Byron Bay in northern NSW – members of Surfers for Cetaceans, organised for anti-whaling protest and protection of both species. Their Transparentsea campaign highlights the Rudd government’s failure to take action against Japanese whaling.

Japan’s whaling fleet will soon be in Antarctica to kill this season’s target catch of 900 whales for ‘scientific research’ (8728 killed in 10 yrs). Ecology warriors on Sea Shepherd’s ship ‘Steve Irwin’ will also set sail soon for Antarctic waters, where they will follow the fleet and intervene, with their Whale Defense Campaign dubbed Operation Waltzing Matilda.

‘The Last Whale’ by Chris Pash is a recent book about Australia’s own whaling past and worth a read. It documents the role of a small group of activists who took a stand at Albany in WA in the 1970s to help close down the remnants of our whaling industry. Some were pioneers of Greenpeace Australia. 

Direct action, documentation, film, speaking out and courage can change the world. KC reported on documentary film ‘The Cove”, about one man’s crusade to stop the secretive annual slaughter of dolphins in Taiji Japan, and its effect in changing hardened Japanese official attitudes and reactions.