tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3297844654165114902024-03-05T04:33:25.233-08:00Sailor DaveDave has volunteered with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society since 1998. He is also active with forest conservation and pesticide abolition.David Nickarzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07597605432375477068noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329784465416511490.post-86753230288269871432011-04-17T07:52:00.000-07:002011-04-17T08:00:31.788-07:00Beluga Whale Campaign<p class="MsoNormal"><st1:place st="on"><span lang="EN-US">Churchill River</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> Estuary, <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Manitoba</st1:place></st1:state></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">August, 1992<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">By David Nickarz<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">In 1992 I was 20 years old when I took part in my first direct action campaign.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I traveled to <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Churchill</st1:city>, <st1:state st="on">Manitoba</st1:state></st1:place> with four other activists to stop the capture of Beluga Whales for the Shedd Aquarium in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chicago</st1:place></st1:city>.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We were opposed to the use of wild animals in captivity, so we decided to do our best to stop the capture.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">In August of every year the Beluga Whales would return to the calving grounds in the <st1:place st="on">Churchill River</st1:place> estuary, on <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Hudson</st1:place></st1:city>’s Bay.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The whales would be close enough to the town of <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Churchill</st1:place></st1:city> for people to come out in boats and attempt a capture.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">We read old news reports talking about how the whale chasers would jump on the whale and ride it while it tried to get away.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It was like a rodeo to them, and just as cruel.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">There were also reports of whales dying because of ‘capture shock’.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The stress of being violently removed from their family group and forced into captivity actually caused the whales to die.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">In the <st1:place st="on">St. Lawrence Seaway</st1:place> the Beluga whales had to deal with heavy pollution and their numbers are dropping and now are estimated to be only about 1000.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In the early 20<sup>th</sup> century the government put a bounty on the Belugas because they thought that the whales competed with the fishery.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>As a contrast, the <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Hudson</st1:place></st1:city>’s Bay population was a healthier 25,000 and we wanted to keep it that way.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The way we saw it, human kind had done enough damage to this species.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It was time for reparations, not to continue to reduce their populations for our amusement.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">There was no doubt in our minds that the capture needed to be stopped.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We took it upon ourselves to put an end to this barbaric interference with wildlife.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span lang="EN-US">Animals are not ours to<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span lang="EN-US">eat, wear, experiment on, use for entertainment or abuse in any way<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">A decision had to be made.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I remember sitting in a meeting with the local animal rights group and arguing for a direct action campaign—getting ourselves up to where the action was and stopping the despoilers of our wildlife.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I was new to this group and didn’t hold much influence.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Some of them were skeptical.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Why spend all that money to get people up there and do what?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Get a photo opportunity?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>How exactly did we intend to stop the capture—ram their boats with our own?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Being violent would look bad on camera.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The media would be there to cover the confrontation, but they wouldn’t hesitate to portray us in a bad light.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We didn’t intend to give them any reason to.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">To get our boat to Churchill, we had to ship it by rail from <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Winnipeg</st1:place></st1:city>, which would cost a few hundred dollars.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Getting people to Churchill involved driving ten hours to Thompson and taking a train for the last 350 kilometers, as there were no roads.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Each ticket on the train was $120.00.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Accommodations, food and fuel would have to be factored into the cost too.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Our group was small and didn’t have much money.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>With all these expenses the campaign could cost more than two thousand dollars and we couldn’t guarantee results.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Those of us who wanted to go argued that opposing this capture required being in the place where it was happening.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Being 1500 kilometers away from the action in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Winnipeg</st1:place></st1:city> wasn’t going to stop anything, no matter how much noise we made.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We would be seen as armchair quarter-backs at best.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">In the end the call for direct action won out and we were on our way. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I was allowed to join the campaign because I could pay my own travel expenses.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Five men made up the direct action team.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>James, Bill, Jonathon and I were from <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Winnipeg</st1:place></st1:city>.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>[<st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Baltimore</st1:place></st1:city>] was with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and he hailed from <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Baltimore</st1:city>, <st1:state st="on">Maryland</st1:state></st1:place>.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Donations and offers of help started pouring in.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society had offered us the use of an inflatable boat, but we would have to drive out to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Vancouver</st1:place></st1:city> to get it.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We didn’t have the time to drive 36 hours each way to pick it up or the money to have it shipped, so we thanked him but turned him down.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I raised some money for my expenses and my good friend Laura gave me a big, wool sweater to keep me warm.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The Media<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">“We will take our motor boat and save the whales from a life in a concrete prison.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">How this would be achieved was beyond us, but made bold and decisive statements to the media.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It all sounded great on camera and in print, but in reality we would have to make it up as we went along.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Direct action was relatively new to <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Manitoba</st1:place></st1:state> and the rural North.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The media were also keen on this story because there was the possibility of violence --violence on the whales for one and the chance of violence between the capture team and the animal activists.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It would be more likely that we would be the recipient of violence, as is true in most direct actions.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I gave this very little thought as we jumped in the old, beat-up van and began the long drive to Thompson.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I was just interested in getting there and doing my best for the whales.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">During the drive up I decided to become vegan.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>My van mates were all vegan and encouraged me to do the same.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I had become vegetarian the year before and it made sense and was the next logical step as a compassionate consumer.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>From that day on I decided not to buy or consume animal products.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">After a bleak 10 hours on the road we arrived in Thompson we got some bad news.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>[did we read this in the newspaper?]<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The capture team arrived early in Churchill and had already captured four whales were in the process of testing them for parasites.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The whales with too many parasites wouldn’t likely survive the stress of the flight back to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chicago</st1:place></st1:city> and their prison in the Shedd Aquarium.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>If this was the case then the whales would be returned to the water and new ones would be captured.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">If the whales were kept, then our efforts would have been wasted.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>If we turned back and some of the whales weren’t kept, then we would have missed our chance to intervene.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">We took a chance and continued on our way to Churchill.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Our gamble payed off when two of the whales had to be released due to high levels of parasites.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They would have to capture two more, and this was our chance to take action.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The last 350 km to Churchill had to be traveled by rail because there were no roads.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Flying was out of the question since the fare from <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Winnipeg</st1:place></st1:city> would have been $1500 per person—way beyond our means.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The rail line was so badly maintained that the average speed was a meager 25 kilometers per hour—so very much slower than our drive to Thompson.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We were half convinced that the railway had slowed the train down to thwart our efforts.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">During the ride up a woman working on the train approached us and asked us if we were from Greenpeace—to her mind everyone who was an animal activist must be from Greenpeace—so we told her ‘no’.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It was the truth.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">She then said “We don’t like people coming up here and telling us what to do.”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">This was our first indication of the local opposition to our action.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We would encounter more.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">We arrived at the Churchill train station and saw the old northern town.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The population only numbered around 600.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In the past, it was home to the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Rocket</st1:placename> <st1:placename st="on">Research</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Range</st1:placetype></st1:place> and numbered in the thousands at its peak.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">We rented a truck and looked for somewhere to fuel up.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We came upon a gas station with a sign in the window saying “Animal rights actors go home”.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We ignored the directive, filled up the truck and cheerfully paid for our gas while the attendant watched us cautiously.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I was starting to get nervous about the potential danger of being in this town. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">We got a room at the Churchill motel and hunkered down until our boat got into town.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I came prepared.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">“Look what I brought!” I said.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I pulled a bag of trail mix out of my suitcase and proudly showed it to my roommates.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Sadly, everyone else had the same idea and presented their own bag of trail mix.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This town wasn’t friendly to vegans, so our diet consisted largely of trail mix for five days.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I couldn’t eat it for years afterwards without cringing.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">We went to the motel eatery for a meal of dry toast and fruit and encountered the big man in town.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He was in charge of the captures and was host to the aquarium staff who were in town.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">We were informed that the boat had arrived, but we could only retrieve it on certain days of the week.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We thought we were still flying under the town’s radar after telling our train attendant that we were not from Greenpeace.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We were mistaken.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Our motel room phone rang and Bill picked it up.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It was Bill’s wife inquiring about how we were doing.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">“How did you find out which room we were in?” asked Bill.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">He listened for the response and finished his call.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We all were silent, waiting for Bill’s explanation.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">“She told the operator she was looking for the animal rights guys and was patched through to this motel room,” Bill said.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Clearly, everyone in town knew who we were and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">where</i> we were.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">My anxiety level increased.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Anne, an older woman representing a wildlife conservation group was also in town to monitor the situation, but wasn’t going to try to stop the capture.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It was hastily decided that we would meet and chat about the campaign at the local bar.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We were approached by a blind-drunk man who staggered up to us and asked “Are you the fuckers from Greenpeace that want to fuck up the capture?”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Again with the Greenpeace thing.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">We decided that the bar wasn’t the best venue for a meeting and left.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">By this time I was scared shitless.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I was way outside my comfort zone for the first time away from my suburban lifestyle where I was always very close to home and safety.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I was very far away from home and there were people who wanted to see us hurt.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I was lobbying hard to go home on the train that we just arrived on.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Our next opportunity to leave was five days later.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Luckily, my colleagues talked me down and told me I wasn’t going anywhere.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I had decided that I could stay up all night worrying, or I could just let it go and get a good sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I chose sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The next day our boat arrived at the railway storage facility.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We were frustrated to learn that it was closed.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>After many phone calls, we found out that it didn’t open until the next day, which would further delay our plan of action.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">During our wait to get our boat, we donned wet suits and went to swim with the whales at <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Cape</st1:placetype> <st1:placename st="on">Merry</st1:placename></st1:place> historical park.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We were excited at the prospect of swimming with the whales.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>After enthusiastically wading in waist-deep, a park officer called us out of the water and informed us that the tidal currents were too strong for swimming.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We had come dangerously close to being swept out to sea.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">When we finally got our late asses out to the next day’s capture, three of us stayed on shore at the holding tank where first two whales were kept.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The other two went in the boat to intervene in the capture.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We soon found out that we had missed the last two captures by just minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>These two whales would later pass the parasite test and be kept.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Our boat pulled up to shore and our two colleagues jumped out to confront the capture team.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We didn’t want endanger the whales while they were being transferred to the holding tank.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The local RCMP was there, as well as the media—cameras rolling.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We also video taped the action with our own camera.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The captured whales were being held in a large tank, which we later learned was used to hold whale oil from when this same spot had been used for killing whales.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The newly captured whales were hoisted by crane and harness into the holding tank where so many of their kind had been slaughtered.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Our boat was hastily run onto the shore and I was asked to stand guard.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The blind-drunk man from the bar was in one of the capture boats a few meters off shore.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He was glaring at me.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He threw a small anchor attached to a rope near by me on the shore.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It landed with a metallic clank on the pebbly beach.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He threw it again, this time closer to me.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I was fearful that he would hit me next, so I pulled the boat out of the water on shore and joined my colleagues.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The more experienced activists started a speak-out for the whales.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This involves talking loudly about the issue for the sake of the media present and in an attempt to sway the captors.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>A friend would later tell me that he saw us on CNN.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Our action had achieved international media coverage.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The cameras recorded as James and [<st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Baltimore</st1:place></st1:city>] spoke about the plight of the whales, how it would live the rest of its life in a prison—the walls of the aquarium tank would reflect the whale’s sonar.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It would be like making a human live in a box of mirrors.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>These whales did not belong to us to exploit in this way.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They deserved to live their lives in the wild, unmolested by human interference.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">This helped to alleviate my fear and brought me back to why I was there-- to save the lives of these whales.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>If that failed--which it had--we then had to speak out and become an uncompromising advocate on their behalf.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The two, one thousand kilogram whales were being hoisted out of the water with a crane and harness.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They were visibly stressed and making high-pitched squeaks and whistles.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It is no surprise that they are also known as the Sea Canary.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I engaged one of the captors in a conversation about the whales.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I said that it was cruel to take the whales out of their habitat and imprison them in a cement tank.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I said it would be like taking one of us and putting us in a box.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The whale captor responded by telling me that, “If I were to put you in a box, I wouldn’t give you any air to breathe.”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">We were reduced to watching the whales get put into the holding tank.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They were then put in special crates and trucked to an airplane for their final destination to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chicago</st1:place></st1:city>.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">We had nothing better to do but follow the trucks and watch from the airport fence as they loaded them on the planes.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We watched in silence from behind the fence.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>After all the bluster and proclamations of action we had failed these whales.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They were now destined to live their diminished lives out in a prison.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Tourists would gawk at them and pay $12 for the chance.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">We left Churchill feeling like failures.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We had made grand pronouncements about stopping the capture and we barely made it to the show.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We had simply watched the last two whales get taken and put in crates like so much inanimate cargo.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">We caught the next train to Thompson and drove the long ride back to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Winnipeg</st1:place></st1:city>.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The night we arrived our friends had cooked us a meal and welcomed us like heroes.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It was good to be home and appreciated the hot meal that was not trail mix, but we didn’t feel like heroes.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Our depression was deepened when only days after the whales had arrived in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chicago</st1:place></st1:city>, a veterinarian had given the whales an overdose of antibiotics and killed two of them.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We were heartbroken.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Our failure had now involved two deaths and we felt directly responsible.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I learned a very hard lesson about activism.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We proclaim to save lives and protect those who cannot defend themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It’s all well and good to talk about something, but to actually achieve it is much more work.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I had to ask myself a serious question at that dark moment.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Did I want to continue to be an activist, knowing that I might feel this shitty again?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Did I really want to take responsibility for lives that most certainly would be lost?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Could I handle the psychological devastation that comes with fighting a losing battle?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">---------------------<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Shortly after the whales were killed, a federal government committee on marine wildlife had recommended a policy that no more Belugas be captured for export.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>One of the reasons for the policy change was the efforts of animal welfare groups opposing the captures.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Since the late 1960’s there had been whales captured in Churchill every few years. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">In 1998 the Montreal Biodome Aquarium wanted two Belugas for their aquarium.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This time the town of <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Churchill</st1:place></st1:city> rallied against the captures.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The whale watching companies were no longer intimidated by the big man in town who was in charge of the capture team--he had moved away.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Even the mayor of Churchill was opposed to the capture based upon the potential negative effects on the whale watching industry.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">We readied ourselves to take action all over again, but to our delight, our efforts were not needed.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The Biodome avoided the controversy and chose to get their Belugas from Russian waters.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It was a partial victory, but there was one more place in our world that whales were left to live their lives without fear of human exploitation.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Our actions helped to stop Beluga Whale captures since 1992!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Our proximate failure had become a long term success.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We had generated enough media attention on the issue and had swayed government policy.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The local community had overcome intimidation and become advocates for the whales.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">In 1999 I had the chance to stop in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chicago</st1:place></st1:city> and visit the Shedd Aquarium.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I wanted to see those whales again, face-to-face.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I watched the two remaining whales through the glass while they swam around what was most likely their final home.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Standing among the gawking, noisy tourists I quietly apologized to the whales.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>David Nickarzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07597605432375477068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329784465416511490.post-22293569783833477532011-02-07T13:04:00.001-08:002011-02-07T13:04:56.689-08:00Egyptian Revolution<p class="MsoNormal">The revolution in Egypt has been capturing my attention lately.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It’s new and exciting to think of what can happen for the people of a country who have lived under a US-backed dictator for 30 years.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The protests have been quite well attended and fairly peaceful--at least from the side of the anti-government people.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The police and hired thugs have no problem maiming and killing people to further their aims.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I have mixed feelings of hope and confusion about this.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The hope is that the less violent side wins and helps form a new government that reflects the needs of the people first.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This would lead to more peaceful relations with the surrounding countries.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>That’s the hope.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">My confusion arises from how you can let someone like Mubarak breathe the same air as you knowing he tortured and killed your loved ones.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He’s doing it right now to some of the protesters that were arrested two weeks ago.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Given the chance he would have everyone in Tahrir square put to death.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The million plus protest on Tuesday, February 1 could have marched to Mubarak’s home and made his wish of dying on Egyptian soil come true.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I guess we’ll see if my hope or confusion prevails.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>David Nickarzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07597605432375477068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329784465416511490.post-45319618436173788302011-01-16T08:51:00.000-08:002011-01-16T09:21:12.739-08:00<span style="font-size:130%;">Ask a Sea Shepherd Crew Member </span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Part II - Animal Planet</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">By David Nickarz</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Tenth Engineer</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">This is the second instalment of my article on what it’s like being a Sea Shepherd crew member.<span style=""> </span>I’ve spent twelve years volunteering for the Sea Shepherds.<span style=""> </span>I’ve been on 8 campaigns in total, four of which have been Antarctic Campaigns.<span style=""> </span>The first Antarctic Campaign had someone filming on board, but since we didn’t find the whaling fleet, nothing came of it.<span style=""> </span>The second one I joined was the 2006-07 campaign Operation Leviathan where we had two confrontations with the whalers.<span style=""> </span>There was a documentary film team on board that campaign which produced the film At the Edge of the World.<span style=""> </span>It is the most accurate and beautiful depiction of our campaigns I have ever seen.<span style=""> </span>I highly recommend seeing it.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs478.ash1/26180_368190801465_581761465_4190966_1645808_n.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 193px; height: 128px;" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs478.ash1/26180_368190801465_581761465_4190966_1645808_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">I was on board for both Operation Musashi (2008-09) and Operation Waltzing Matilda (2009-10), both of which had Animal Planet film teams on board.<span style=""> </span>This corresponds to Whale Wars season 2 and 3.<span style=""> </span>This blog entry was inspired by the following question in the comments section of the first blog entry.<span style=""> </span>(see archives). <span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt 1cm;">“I'd like to know if you've noticed any change in atmosphere onboard since Animal Planet film crews started coming along. <span style=""> </span>Is it intrusive at all?”<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">I think the second part of the question can be answered easily.<span style=""> </span>Yes, it was intrusive.<span style=""> </span>It’s not that we haven’t had any other media on board—every campaign involves some form of filming.<span style=""> </span>Animal Planet sends about 8-10<span style=""> </span>crew on board who film every aspect of ship life.<span style=""> </span>They set up cameras and microphones in key places around the ship including the bridge, mess and deck.<span style=""> </span>You can assume everything you say or do in these common areas is going to be recorded.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">It’s not like we aren’t warned about this ahead of time.<span style=""> </span>I want to be clear about this up front.<span style=""> </span>You have a choice as a crew member—stay or go.<span style=""> </span>It’s really that simple.<span style=""> </span>We are told before the campaign starts about Animal Planet and their work.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">They have a job to do.<span style=""> </span>Their job is to film the campaign for their parent company and make money through advertising.<span style=""> </span>We accept this arrangement because our organisation gets the exposure of being on a popular and award winning reality TV show.<span style=""> </span>More importantly the whaling issue gets out to millions of people around the world.<span style=""> </span>This has helped to put pressure on the government of Japan and the corporations that are involved in poaching whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Many of the crew come from activist backgrounds.<span style=""> </span>I can speak for a few of them when I say we are not used to having our actions portrayed as they are on what is referred to as ‘reality TV’.<span style=""> </span>After the first season of Whale Wars, one of the high ranking crew members was not impressed with how the show portrayed our ship and crew.<span style=""> </span>He expected it to be more of a documentary film. <span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">I could go on and on about ‘reality TV’ but I won’t.<span style=""> </span>If you’ve seen it, you know what it’s about.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">I had a bit of a “do-you-know-who-I-am?” moment the first time I was asked a question by the AP crew on Opera<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v154/100/121/581761465/n581761465_417647_6758.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 185px; height: 123px;" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v154/100/121/581761465/n581761465_417647_6758.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>tion Musashi.<span style=""> </span>There was an inane argument about modifying the bridge wing bulk head to allow for easier filming of the deck crew.<span style=""> </span>There were strong opinions about it from everyone partly because the question was asked by the producer along with a cameraman recording the answer.<span style=""> </span>When it got to me I was pissed off.<span style=""> </span>I said it was a non-issue and cut the interview short.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">I don’t know what I expected.<span style=""> </span>I was a veteran crew member with years of experience and I (wrongly) assumed that I would be treated differently.<span style=""> </span>Maybe I had visions of long conversations about my previous exploits on past campaigns, with the appropriate music in the background and everyone hanging on my every word.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Like I said, it was a “do-you-know-who-I-am?” moment.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Animal Planet filmed the action on board and interviewed the crew about it afterwards.<span style=""> </span>The deck crew got most of the attention since they drove the small boats into battle with the whalers.<span style=""> </span>The bridge crew were the next most TV-worthy.<span style=""> </span>The galley and engine room were the least filmed.<span style=""> </span>They would come down to the engine room (usually off-limits to everyone but engine room crew) only when there was a mechanical or electrical problem.<span style=""> </span>Then we would have the added burden of fixing the problem in front of cameras.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">As you may have seen from the show, some of the crew were filmed in their cabin as they are waking up.<span style=""> </span>That’s pretty intrusive.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Atmosphere</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Unlike campaigns in the past where there was media on board, the difference is the fact that you know this is all going to be on TV in a few months.<span style=""> </span>Every mistake, misspoken word and argument will be out there for millions of people to see.<span style=""> </span>You try to be on your best behaviour, but things happen that you can’t take back.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">I think my only appearances on the show was when I was commenting on the ice scraping against the hull at the first few episodes of season 2.<span style=""> </span>We were stuck in the ice with the Steve Irwin, which did not have an ice class hull.<span style=""> </span>There was the very real possibility of having a hull breach and the ship sinking.<span style=""> </span>One of my scenes was me speaking calmly about the predicament.<span style=""> </span>The other one was me exclaiming “Who the fuck is driving this thing?” as I went to check for damage.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"> I wish I had chosen my words more carefully.<a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v154/100/121/581761465/n581761465_417652_8076.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 177px; height: 117px;" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v154/100/121/581761465/n581761465_417652_8076.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"> Even though it felt like it was too intense at times, I understand the role of AP on board.<span style=""> </span>Over the last three years they are the reason why we have reached so many people.<span style=""> </span>Our campaigns are stronger because of the donations and volunteer work of thousands of people who would not have known about us if they had not watched us on TV.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Everyone understands what it means to have them on board.<span style=""> </span>Individually, some of the Animal Planet crew were quite a chore.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><i style="">To be continued…</i></p>David Nickarzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07597605432375477068noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329784465416511490.post-56055144357833891012010-03-17T10:56:00.000-07:002010-03-17T11:03:55.473-07:00<span style="font-size:180%;">Operation Waltzing Matilda</span><br />Rewritten by David Nickarz<br />With apologies to Eric Bogle<br /><br />When I was a young man, I carried my pack<br />And I lived the free life of a rover<br />From the Murray’s green basin to the dusty outback<br />I waltzed my Matilda all over<br /><br />Then in 2009 my captain said son<br />It’s time to stop whaling--there’s work to be done<br />So he gave me an LRAD and a big t-shirt gun<br />And sent me away to the war;<br /><br />Operation Waltzing Matilda<br />As we sailed away from the quay<br />And amidst all the tears and the shouts and the cheers<br />We sailed off towards the Ross Sea<br /><br />---------------------------------------<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs485.snc3/26542_352294080876_557670876_4176814_7949525_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 305px; height: 196px;" src="http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs485.snc3/26542_352294080876_557670876_4176814_7949525_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Now those who weren’t sea sick<br />Did their best to survive<br />In that mad world of ice, wind and gyre<br />And for several long days I kept myself alive<br />While the water around us got higher<br /><br />Then a big ocean swell knocked me arse over tit<br />And then I turned green and went to my bed<br />I was sea sick as hell, Christ, I wished I was dead<br />Never knew there were worse things than dying<br /><br />Operation waltzing Matilda<br />To the green bushes so far away<br />For to mop floors and heads, a man needs sea legs<br />No more waltzing Matilda for me<br /><br />------------------------<br /><br />How well I remember last summer’s campaign<br />the blood stained my mind and the water<br />We fought for those Minkes, all of six days<br />They were butchered like lambs at the slaughter<br /><br />The whalers was ready, they primed themselves well<br />They hit us with LRADS, and they sprayed us as well<br />And with five whales killed, they’d sent us all to hell<br />Nearly sent us right back to Australia..<br /><br />That was operation Musashi<br />We didn’t stop to mourn the slain<br />Our ship hit theirs and the whalers got scared<br />They thought twice about doing that again<br /><br />----------------------------<br /><br />It was early new year and we had a new ship,<br />The Bob Barker came down from Maritius<br />She was an old whaler, now heavy with fuel<br />Her hull in the ice it would keep us.<br /><br />The day we revealed her, the Ady was struck<br />No body was hurt in a stroke of good luck<br />With two million lost, ah, who gives a fuck?<br />Life is worth more than possessions<br /><br />Operation Waltzing Matilda<br />It’s a wonder the crew wasn’t killed<br />The world stopped and read of this violent attack<br />Captain Pete would deliver the bill<br /><br />-----------------------------------------------<br /><br />So we collected the seasick, the wounded and shamed<br />And shipped them back home to Australia<br />The weary, the saddened, the partly insane<br />Three months on the water will do ya<br /><br />And as our ship pulled into Macquarry quay<br />I looked at the place where right whales used to be<br />And sadly, there weren’t any waiting for me<br />I grieve, I mourn and I pity.<br /><br />Operation Waltzing Matilda<br />As we stepped down the gangway<br />The campaign was done, but the whales had no fun<br />And most of the crew went away.<br /><br />----------------------------------------------------<br /><br />And now every June I sit on my couch<br />And I watch the Whale Wars on the ‘telly<br />I see my old comrades, how proudly they fought<br />Re-edited dreams of reality<br /><br />I see me old friends, all twisted and torn<br />The unpaid heroes of a biocentric war<br />And the young people ask, what are they working for?<br />And I ask myself the same question<br /><br />Operation Waltzing Matilda<br />And the new crew still answer the call<br />But year after year whale numbers get fewer<br />Might be none left to fight for at all<br /><br />Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda<br />Who’ll go a-waltzing Matilda with me?David Nickarzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07597605432375477068noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329784465416511490.post-14105374398242201782010-03-14T18:26:00.000-07:002010-03-14T18:31:24.929-07:00Back Home After Operation Waltzing Matilda<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6wuy1CUWKfhsEJHLk8t5aDTx5FOzKCGg9V88Mgi69oQI1df3XRTgDCHs_oLWngYk0d_iMI2idcOZnlzdj7OvN9qg8-3fkPniWBe3r4YkSM9vOPsmctiTR01PhojD7Sd5ZB7ebzqkKyFw/s1600-h/091219_MW_DavidNickarz_001_9004.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6wuy1CUWKfhsEJHLk8t5aDTx5FOzKCGg9V88Mgi69oQI1df3XRTgDCHs_oLWngYk0d_iMI2idcOZnlzdj7OvN9qg8-3fkPniWBe3r4YkSM9vOPsmctiTR01PhojD7Sd5ZB7ebzqkKyFw/s320/091219_MW_DavidNickarz_001_9004.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448666931742372082" border="0" /></a>I just sat down and viewed the video of the destruction of the Ady Gil by the whale poaching vessel Shonan Maru 2. I’m quite surprised nobody was killed after such a violent collision. The Ady Gil crew must have thought their life was in serious danger.<br /><br />I know--I should have been writing this more than two months ago, but I was on the crew of the Sea Shepherd ships Steve Irwin and Bob Barker until March 6th. After vegetating at some friends home in Hobart (thanks guys) I did not pay attention to any news. My goal was to change my flight to get me home earlier. I flew home on Friday and spent the weekend with my wife.<br /><br />It’s only now that I checked out one of the most popular videos on the internet.<br /><br />The destruction of the Ady Gil demonstrates that governments do not care about whales or their protectors. If we had sunk a whaling ship then we’d be all in jail right now. Maybe we should do that next year to see if they have the same reaction.<br /><br />After 90 days at sea, I’m rather worn down. There is a demonstration against the Canadian seal slaughter, who’s sales barely broke one million dollars last season. We spent more than that on fuel for our ships this year. The government subsidises the slaughter to the tune of 12 million per year--which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. This seal slaughter is fighting it’s inevitable death as we put the final nail in it’s coffin.<br /><br />I’ve been to the hunt twice and I don’t know if I can handle another season. I’ll do my part at the protest tomorrow.<br /><br />I want to thank all of the crew members of the Ady Gil, Bob Barker and Steve Irwin for taking the time to defend the whales this year. I think we may have saved more than five hundred from the harpoon. There’s not a better group of rag-tag sailors I’d rather spend 90 days with in the Southern Indian ocean. You guys are in my heart forever.<br /><br />David Nickarz<br />March 14, 2010David Nickarzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07597605432375477068noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329784465416511490.post-37922460249150540802009-12-05T13:52:00.000-08:002009-12-05T14:07:34.567-08:00Speach at Fremantle Town Hall<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwwKK1CBp_5yEx65e3xOgAYAjyBqPNGFKJKlwSYRpffsxVNIX35EZBZclZv5l30hy3FCE-BvxbXRgqYUjgFPc9yQt6y7Pzq6bx9hOGFkiD5bBl55Q1ZeRSGdr7vv8LDAGyzVgFUfYPWdw/s1600-h/091202_MW_DavidNickarzTalks_005_7280.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwwKK1CBp_5yEx65e3xOgAYAjyBqPNGFKJKlwSYRpffsxVNIX35EZBZclZv5l30hy3FCE-BvxbXRgqYUjgFPc9yQt6y7Pzq6bx9hOGFkiD5bBl55Q1ZeRSGdr7vv8LDAGyzVgFUfYPWdw/s320/091202_MW_DavidNickarzTalks_005_7280.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411876240642606626" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">I did a short speach about being a cr</span><span style="font-style: italic;">ew member at the Fremantle Town Hall, December 1, 2009. Fremantle, Western Australia. afterwards I answered a few questions from the audience. By far the most endearing question was from a little girl who asked "What is your favourite animal that you have saved?"</span><br /><br /><br />Hi, my name is David Nickarz and I've been a Sea Shepherd crew member for nearly 12 years. This will be my eighth campaign--my fourth journey to the Antarctic waters to stop the Pirate whalers.<br /><br />I've been asked to tell you what it's like being a crew member and share stories of my experiences.<br /><br />I was on the first SEa Shepherd Antarctic campaign in 2002 where we spent 47 days searching for whalers.<br /><br />I was unable to help out with the 2005 Antarctic Campaign due to an illness. I got better for Operation Leviathan in 2007. My most vivid memory from that campaign was the collision between our ship and the Kaiko Maru. After searching for several long weeks, we finally found the whalers.<br /><br />We were chasing this ship for some time and I had just offered to relieve the cheif engineer so that he could get up on deck and watch the action.<br /><br />I was on the bottom deck of the engine room, in the cave--called that for it's low deck head. As I was hunched over when we collided with the whaler and I was almost thrown into the large, spinning propeller shaft. After the initial jolt and surprise, the ship healed over for several seconds.<br /><br />I crawled my way out of the cave and joined the other crew in the search for breeches in the hull.<br /><br />During last year's campaign, we spent six days straight chasing whalers and doing actions. I had very little sleep--and I'm someone who needs my sleep.<br /><br />I had just retired to my bunk to get some much needed rest. I was jolted awake by a major collision with the Yushin Maru #3. As our ship scraped along their hull, I frantically got dressed and went out to help search for damage.<br /><br />My point is that being a crew member can be very stressful. We put up with long hours, dirty work, and fifty foot swells. You volunteer for months at a time, far away from home and loved ones.<br /><br />I leave my lovely wife Laura at home in Canada over Christmas and new years to do this work.<br /><br />There are advantages, however. First of all you get to meet some of the most fascinating and dedicated people from all over the world. My fellow crew are the best people to go into battle with for the whales. I've made many life-long friends.<br /><br />Secondly, there is the vast Antarctic Wilderness you get to see and spend your time defending.<br /><br />I've had the pleasure of seeing Adelie penguins, Sooty albatross; Minke, Blue, Orca and Fin whales; Leopard, Crabeater and weddell seals. Brilliant Blue and white ice; from small growlers to ice bergs kilometers long.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS4i-YY2S6XfFWj_sXrQSlaQen2hIV-M2_tuIu9YMxjsvL6DwXG-Sv13flCrgZNg84R8XSuMe9TQKb-EnT5K8iz7gh8WJje51hulmeRKWRdpIwz3nN1x1BwCZ6fuXQxHE1TviNkG_-xSo/s1600-h/7284.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS4i-YY2S6XfFWj_sXrQSlaQen2hIV-M2_tuIu9YMxjsvL6DwXG-Sv13flCrgZNg84R8XSuMe9TQKb-EnT5K8iz7gh8WJje51hulmeRKWRdpIwz3nN1x1BwCZ6fuXQxHE1TviNkG_-xSo/s320/7284.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411876724440252082" border="0" /></a><br /><br />All the hardships and sacrifice of personal time is worth it when you get the results we get. We've saved hundreds of whales in the last few years. That makes it all worth while.<br /><br />I'd like to end with this.<br /><br />I've been to ports all over North America and Europe with the Sea Shepherds, and I can say that we've recieved the most support from Australians.<br /><br />In the United States we were eating food from dumpsters and collecting scrap metal off the docks to keep our ship together.<br /><br />In Canada, our welcome is much less warm--we get boarded and arrested by armed police and have our ship confiscated for taking pictures of the seal slaughter without a permit.<br /><br />but in Australia, we've recieved so many donations of money, food, medical supplies,<br />volunteer labour, and materials. We eat like kings and we're treated like royalty here.<br /><br />Thanks to you, our ship has everything we need to stop the whale killers in the Southern Ocean this year.<br /><br />On behalf of the crew I want to thank you for your generous support.David Nickarzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07597605432375477068noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329784465416511490.post-32197082210651308692009-10-18T18:22:00.000-07:002009-10-19T20:22:24.653-07:00Raising Funds to get to AustraliaI was talking with a friend of mine who lives across the street. I told him I was returning to Australia to join the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin. We're going to travel to the waters off Antarctica to stop illegal whaling by physically intervening. This will be my fourth trip to the Antarctic with the Sea Shepherds. I usually spend about three and a half months away from home, and it's all volunteer. <br /><br />He was surprised that I was able to save enough money to go away. I admitted that I usually go into debt and work it off the next year. After a few days he came up with the idea of a fundraiser. <br /><br />After only a few days he was able to get a location--the Lo Pub on Ellice and a date set-- the 22nd of November. There's going to be live music and door prizes. I'm liking the idea of a pirate theme. <br /><br />I invite you all to come to the fundraiser, but if you can't attend and still want to help me pay for my trip then please click the Paypal button below. <br /><br />Thanks<br /><br />David Nickarz<br /><br /><form action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post"><br /><input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_donations"><br /><input type="hidden" name="business" value="YC5HQK2QA4EE8"><br /><input type="hidden" name="lc" value="CA"><br /><input type="hidden" name="item_name" value="David Nickarz"><br /><input type="hidden" name="currency_code" value="CAD"><br /><input type="hidden" name="bn" value="PP-DonationsBF:btn_donateCC_LG.gif:NonHosted"><br /><input type="image" src="https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_donateCC_LG.gif" border="0" name="submit" alt="PayPal - The safer, easier way to pay online!"><br /><img alt="" border="0" src="https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif" width="1" height="1"><br /></form>David Nickarzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07597605432375477068noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329784465416511490.post-33292647615420879002009-04-02T06:22:00.000-07:002009-04-02T06:41:39.660-07:00Harp Seal Hunt - Canada’s Annual Spring Slaughter<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidxruuRcdm1U0WPdrEiLtPOxwjKEtZSBItPFvHyHukRV96LUu_iBlKXouuaaimWZ-8tXGX18p3716TNMHbkXwy6SaOE8yGu7pVloVfzrCgujCJMrWJJqjBdZOeHWDi2Tdn1VWJ4ZG9gjk/s1600-h/DSCF2340.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidxruuRcdm1U0WPdrEiLtPOxwjKEtZSBItPFvHyHukRV96LUu_iBlKXouuaaimWZ-8tXGX18p3716TNMHbkXwy6SaOE8yGu7pVloVfzrCgujCJMrWJJqjBdZOeHWDi2Tdn1VWJ4ZG9gjk/s320/DSCF2340.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320087616166594114" /></a><br />By David Nickarz<br /><br />In Winnipeg, the snow is melting and the roads are getting sandy and dirty in the process. At this time last year I was in the Gulf of St. Lawrence on the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship the Farley Mowat. We took our ship from warm Bermuda to the ice to observe the Canadian seal hunt. <br /><br />Every year, Canada allows the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of seal pups under three months old to be brutally killed for the fur trade. The seals in the first part of the hunt are as young as three weeks old—they cannot swim and haven’t eaten solid food yet. <br /><br />Thousands of off season fishermen come out to bash their heads in with long poles with hooks on the end. Sometimes they don’t waste their effort and just hook the seal in the head and drag it across the ice. The two times that I’ve seen the hunt first hand, there were seals skinned alive. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6dJSAlR_AMshQVAGH9BH2hpCYooDBMzyG5nr0FdbyB6hhzRGaNzAYOxdwUxg1-gYGi4iT3krWuDa0nxPFU_Zqo-MWwBi5Th_PL9DtDOkQenRVzIi8t1I2KERCrlViZzM83hnyKvygQwU/s1600-h/DSCF2379.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6dJSAlR_AMshQVAGH9BH2hpCYooDBMzyG5nr0FdbyB6hhzRGaNzAYOxdwUxg1-gYGi4iT3krWuDa0nxPFU_Zqo-MWwBi5Th_PL9DtDOkQenRVzIi8t1I2KERCrlViZzM83hnyKvygQwU/s320/DSCF2379.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320088601584159810" /></a><br />The anger that I feel towards the sealers is sometimes overwhelming. That anger can be kept inside, but that’s really not good for you. After witnessing the seal hunt in 2005, I came home with a mild case of post-traumatic stress. I couldn’t talk about what I saw. I would burst into tears when my lover asked me why I was acting strange. <br /><br />Later that year I had to deal with cancer. Now before you accuse me of saying ‘the seal hunt gave me cancer’—it didn’t. There are many factors which caused my cancer, including my sedentary lifestyle and environmental toxins like pesticides. I’m happy to say that I’m getting to the gym a few times a week and I no longer chase pesticide-spewing trucks around anymore. <br /><br />I was on the seal hunt with the Sea Shepherds again last spring. We watched a sealer calmly slice open a seal pup while it struggled its best to get away. Those of us on the bridge of the Mowat were shocked into silence. The seal hunt is much worse than any picture that I can show you, any video or any statistics could ever tell. <br /><br />We then learned that four sealers had died while being towed by the Canadian Coast Guard. The crew was genuinely shocked at the news. Our shock was then tempered by the memory of watching that seal suffer a horrible, torturous death at the hands of those same men who died. <br /><br />How do you have sympathy for men who spent their lives practicing such cruelty? I certainly wouldn’t like to die like they did, but that’s where our compassion for the dead sealers ended. <br /><br />The media and sealers asked Paul to stop our protests to respect the sealers who died. Paul said that the seal hunt wasn’t stopping for their deaths, and that the deaths of the sealers was tragic, but the deaths of hundreds of thousands of baby seals was more tragic. He also called the sealers ‘cigarette smoking, club wielding thugs’. <br /><br />Those comments came out while the ship was parked in St. Pierre, a French island just south of Newfoundland. The fishermen there didn’t take kindly to those comments and came out to cut our ship adrift. The Gendarmarie watched as one of their citizens hacked our mooring lines off with an axe. We scrambled to get the engine started and left St. Pierre, minus our gangplank. <br /><br />----------------------------------<br /><br />This year I’m not getting involved much in the seal hunt issue. The European Union are about to enact a ban on all seal products. The sealers themselves have said that a ban would shut down their industry. This is very good news. <br /><br />The seal hunt won’t be stopped with kind words or compassion towards the fishermen who wield clubs. History has shown that you have to make the hunt economically unfeasible with boycotts and bans. The hunt is already being subsidized by twice as much as it’s worth in sales. The Canadian government will be stubborn, but we’re much more numerous and stubborn ourselves. <br /><br />Let me be clear about how I feel about the sealers that will be impacted by the hunt ending. I don’t care where you get your one or two thousand dollars of blood money every year. I don’t care if ten generations of your family have slaughtered seals. You can cry foul and accuse us of cultural prejudice all you like. <br /><br />My compassion lies solely with the Harp Seal. When that community doesn’t have to deal with the ice being bloodied with their young every year then I will celebrate. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdmWWEfP8xs1AqDPa0cf_AOM9H0xCirJlin4HH2a3v4OR4d8slYOPxf3QMGyWXfn-C1tO2JK50h4b4PJdTIzoFR0ovJh3NVUgPFPaOLS47ROOHEK7tnXoQLFY7lhst6TaKr6bn14G1h90/s1600-h/SV305951.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdmWWEfP8xs1AqDPa0cf_AOM9H0xCirJlin4HH2a3v4OR4d8slYOPxf3QMGyWXfn-C1tO2JK50h4b4PJdTIzoFR0ovJh3NVUgPFPaOLS47ROOHEK7tnXoQLFY7lhst6TaKr6bn14G1h90/s320/SV305951.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320086902344383778" /></a>David Nickarzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07597605432375477068noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329784465416511490.post-63502819058751056432009-02-09T15:42:00.000-08:002009-02-09T15:43:20.637-08:00Whales are not foreverEngineer’s Blog<br />David Nickarz, tenth engineer<br />Monday, February 9, 2009<br /><br />The engineer’s lot is to sit in the engine room during a confrontation. We have to keep a close eye on the gauges and engines while the rest of the crew are on deck and the bridge watching the action. If there is a collision, we have the added fear of a possible hull breach where icy cold water from the Ross Sea could shower down on us in the engine room. <br /><br />After our collision with the Yushin Maru 3 on February 6th we did have a hull breach. Our crew scrambled around below decks looking for any water coming in, but luckily it was well above the water line. Our ship suffered a hole in the anchor well that spanned two decks. After the fine work of our best welders, it was fixed in no time. <br /><br />I know I wasn’t alone in losing sleep over this last week. We started the month with finding the fleet and confronting them over their illegal and immoral whaling. Our crew suffered minor injuries from objects thrown at them, powerful blasts from water cannons and unknown effects from the new weapons in the whaler’s arsenal—the Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) and its unknown effects to our health. <br /><br />We are in the most remote waters on Earth. We are here to do the job of unwilling governments to stop wilful lawbreakers and it’s not easy. Most of us are not professionals and some are first time sailors. We do our best and none of us regret a minute of our time defending the whales. <br /><br />I want to make special mention of the five Minke whales that were slaughtered on our watch. Usually the whalers run from us when we show up, but this time they didn’t. We all feel deep sorrow for the loss of these gentle creatures. We tried our best and did everything we could, but we simply weren’t fast enough to stop the cruel harpoon boats before they got to you. This failure will remain in our hearts forever.David Nickarzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07597605432375477068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329784465416511490.post-9725650295250862542009-02-05T18:12:00.000-08:002009-02-05T18:13:55.443-08:00Back in the chaseEngine Room Blog<br />By David Nickarz, Tenth Engineer<br />Wednesday, February 04, 2009<br /><br />We are now in our fourth day of chasing the Nisshin Maru—the factory whaling ship that has no business being in the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary. We’re all pretty glad their running from us because that means no whales can be killed. The engineers have some more work to do with the increased speed of the chase, and we have to deal with the increased air pollution as well. <br /><br />This is all worth the price if fewer whales are killed this season. During my shift in the engine room I make the time to take brief visits to the bridge. Sometimes the Nisshin Maru is a mile away and obscured by fog, and other times it is only tens of meters away with their water cannons on full bore. It kind of looks like they are wetting themselves with fear. <br /><br />I hope the whalers feel even a small fraction of the fear that the whales have to endure. Hundreds of Minke whales and tens of Fin whales will have exploding harpoons enter their bodies and shards of metal thrust into their internal organs. These whales will never know why they are being slaughtered—for commercial gain, false science and national pride. <br /><br />We had the privilege of watching Fin and Minke whales swim along side us as we chased their killers from the Ross Sea. It really is the least we can do.David Nickarzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07597605432375477068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329784465416511490.post-82864840016972672002009-01-30T17:03:00.000-08:002009-01-30T17:04:32.164-08:00Old Maui - redux a la Sea ShepherdOld Ross Sea<br />Sung to the tune of ‘Old Maui’ by Stan Rogers<br /><br />It’s a damn tough life<br />Full of toil and strife<br />We whale saviors undergo<br /><br />And we won’t give a damn<br />When the gale is done<br />How hard the winds did blow<br /><br />‘Cause we’re southward bound<br />To the Antarctic grounds<br />With a good ship taut and free<br /><br />And we won’t give a damn <br />When we drink our rum <br />With the whales of old Ross Sea<br /><br />Chorus<br /><br />Rollin’ down to old Ross Sea, me boys<br />Rollin’ down to old Ross Sea,<br />We’re southward bound<br />To the Antarctic grounds<br />Rollin’ down to old Ross Sea<br /><br />Once more we sail <br />With the Southerly gail<br />Through the ice and wind and rain<br /><br />Them Fin back whales<br />Them Minke tails<br />We soon shall see again<br /><br />Six hellish weeks <br />We’ll passed away <br />On the cold Antarctic Sea<br /><br />‘Cause we’re southward bound<br />To the Antarctic ground<br />Rollin’ down to old Ross Sea<br /><br />Chorus<br /><br />How soft the breeze <br />Through the island trees<br />Now the sun is far astern<br /><br />Our rope traps sprung<br />Those whalers done<br />No more will they return<br /><br />May all the whales<br />Be safe and sound<br />From the cold harpooner’s steel<br /><br />So that whales abound<br />In the Antarctic ground<br />Rollin’ down to old Ross Sea<br /><br />ChorusDavid Nickarzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07597605432375477068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329784465416511490.post-43309503692068006222009-01-28T15:59:00.000-08:002009-01-28T16:00:26.862-08:00Book inspired thoughtsEngineer’s Blog<br />By David Nickarz - Tenth Engineer<br />January 27, 2009<br /><br />It’s now 54 days into our mission to stop the pirate whaling of the Japanese government in the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary. We left Hobart about 6 days ago now, after a short break to refuel and re-provision. <br /><br />We have now returned to the whale sanctuary. This refuge had been established by several nations in the early 1990’s as a place whales could live and feed, unmolested by humanity. Whalers ignored the establishment of this sanctuary and continued their commercial slaughter under the lie of scientific whaling. They resorted to this lie because a moratorium on commercial whaling, established in 1986. <br /><br />After almost finishing Andrew Darby’s book Harpoon, I’m given a sense of history of the holocaust that humanity has inflicted upon the great whales of the world. Whalers have started with the largest of the whales—the Blue Whale and chased it to the ends of the earth, and to the edge of extinction. The Right Whale was the ‘right’ whale to kill, not because of their size, but because they happen to float when you kill them. There is no great mystery to the names given to the great whales--in fact some of them are down right ignorant. <br /><br />The Sperm Whale was given it’s name because, as Farley Mowat puts it in his book Sea of Slaughter, “because some idiot thought that the large sack of oil in its head was full of sperm.” (I’m paraphrasing). <br /><br />The Minke Whale was named after a German named Mincke, who accompanied Svend Foyn, a 19th century sealer, often called the father of industrial whaling. He developed both a ship fast enough to catch the quicker whales and the grenade-tipped harpoon, which is still used today. The other name for a Minke whale is Piked whale—not much better. <br /><br />I propose we change the name to something vastly more dignified than after a seal clubber or the method of slaughter. <br /><br />All this history brings me back to my role on this ship. I sit here day after day in this engine room—watching dials, cleaning up and feeding oil into engines. After 53 days and more than 100, four hour shifts, I can say that it’s wearing me down. <br /><br />I am encouraged to know that I am part of an effort that could see the end to Antarctic whaling—just as the generation before me saw the end of whaling in Australia and the introduction of a ban on commercial whaling world-wide. <br /><br />As we approach the fleet of whale killers, I have a greater sense of history and my place in it thanks in part to Andrew Darby’s book Harpoon.David Nickarzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07597605432375477068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329784465416511490.post-2286173876805552112009-01-25T20:54:00.000-08:002009-01-25T20:57:40.030-08:00Dave's Antarctic musingsEngineer’s Blog<br />By David Nickarz - Tenth Engineer<br /><br />We are underway the second time this season to find and stop the criminal whaling fleet from Japan. This is my third Antarctic whaling campaign with the Sea Shepherds and I hope it will be my last. Putting up with the rough seas and time away from my loved ones takes its toll on us volunteers. <br /><br />We can’t just walk off the ship and go to the nearest pub for a beer, or to the nearest park for a dose of terrestrial wilderness. We are stuck in this noisy metal box for the next several weeks. Of course, it’s nothing compared to what the Minke and Fin whales have to endure. <br /><br />Our purpose and the vast ocean wilderness keep us going. We’ve seen a number of sea birds including the Albatross which seems to hover without beating its wings. They fly around the ship, perhaps hoping to find discarded food scraps. Maybe the Albatross thinks we are a fishing vessel and is waiting for the discarded portion of the catch. Who knows?<br /><br />Our engine room watch has been uneventful and routine. I hope it stays that way.David Nickarzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07597605432375477068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329784465416511490.post-14890459783184304362008-11-26T05:41:00.000-08:002008-11-26T05:45:47.429-08:00A Ban on Parks Logging in Manitoba<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link style="font-weight: bold;" rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5COwner%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceType"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceName"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="State"></o:smarttagtype></span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; 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font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></h2> <h2 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-weight: bold;"><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5COwner%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><span style="font-size:85%;"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceType"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceName"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="State"></o:smarttagtype></span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} h2 {mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0in; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; mso-outline-level:2; font-size:18.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> </h2><h2 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">A Ban on Logging in Parks<o:p></o:p></span></span></h2> <h2 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">By David Nickarz<o:p></o:p></span></span></h2> <h2 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></h2> <h2 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">The </span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Province</span></st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"> of </span><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Manitoba</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"> has decided to ban logging from all provincial parks (except </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Duck</span></st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Mountain</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">) by April 1 of 2009.<span style=""> </span>This is good news.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></h2> <h2 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></h2> <h2 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">It’s about time that our Provincial Parks were saved from logging.<span style=""> </span>People have been working for 18 years to accomplish this goal.<span style=""> </span>It’s a credit to people such as Pat and Russ Popp, Eric Reder and Billy Granger of the Wilderness Committee, Ron Thiessen of CPAWS and numerous park users who spoke out successfully for our Wilderness.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></h2> <h2 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></h2> <h2 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">The late Alice Chambers worked for years to preserve our parks before anyone thought of even asking for logging to be removed from parks.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></h2> <h2 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></h2> <h2 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">I’ve been working on this issue since about 1990.<span style=""> </span>Tembec (Then Abitibi-Price), the newsprint mill in </span><st1:place><st1:city><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Pine Falls</span></st1:city><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">, </span><st1:state><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Manitoba</span></st1:state></st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"> was renewing their logging licence and had successfully lobbied the provincial government to allow them to log in parks.<span style=""> </span>They raised the spectre of job losses due to the mere 5% of their wood sources that came from parks.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></h2> <h2 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></h2> <h2 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">In 1993 the Parks Act was amended to allow logging in parks all over </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Manitoba</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">.<span style=""> </span>By 1997 parks had been carved up into land use categories, allowing for resource extraction in the oldest stands of trees.<span style=""> </span>The older trees (meaning more volume of wood for the mill) in parks were targeted first—perhaps in an effort to avoid any new conservation measure that would get logging out of the parks.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></h2> <h2 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></h2> <h2 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">The once lush forests near </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Bird</span></st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Lake</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">, </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Cat</span></st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Lake</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"> and </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Long</span></st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Lake</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"> have been permanently degraded for their private profits.<span style=""> </span>Tembec’s legacy is marked by clear cuts, degraded soils and displaced wildlife.<span style=""> </span>If you look at a ‘forest inventory’ (what an awful term for a living ecosystem) map of Nopiming Park, you see that most of the areas off limits for logging are recent burn sites, which have younger trees not suitable for the mill.<span style=""> </span>The other places are too close to cabins and campgrounds.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></h2> <h2 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></h2> <h2 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">The province will pay Tembec more than three million dollars to get out of </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Nopiming</span></st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Park</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">.<span style=""> </span>This is as a ransom for our public heritage.<span style=""> </span>Tembec has profited off the destruction and degradation of Nopiming ever since it was a park established in the late 1960’s.<span style=""> </span>They’ve roaded it, clear cut it and left it a shell of its former self.<span style=""> </span>Over the years, they have also been charged for violating numerous conservation laws.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></h2> <h2 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></h2> <h2 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">They’ve made their clear cuts too big, logged right up to rivers and streams, logged too close to bald eagle’s nests, clear cut in threatened Woodland Caribou habitat and spray toxic pesticides.<span style=""> </span>They spill oil in the forest, leave garbage behind and lie about it all through their front man Vince Keenan.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></h2> <h2 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></h2> <p style="font-weight: normal;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Tembec should be held accountable for these crimes against nature.<span style=""> </span>They should be paying three million dollars to start reforestation work in the park.<span style=""> </span>Their assets need to be seized and the mill needs to shut down.<span style=""> </span>They pollute the mouth of the <st1:place>Winnipeg River</st1:place> to the tune of thirty million gallons per day.<span style=""> </span>They burn coal to fuel their mill and don’t even use recycled paper anymore.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p style="font-weight: normal;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-weight: normal;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">The mill buildings should be torn down and the land reforested.<span style=""> </span>The name of the town should be changed to Pine Stands, <st1:state><st1:place>Manitoba</st1:place></st1:state>.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p style="font-weight: normal;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Does this all sound too unrealistic to you? So did asking for a parks logging ban 18 years ago. </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style=""></span><o:p></o:p></span></p> David Nickarzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07597605432375477068noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329784465416511490.post-81327469140916062012008-09-18T19:33:00.000-07:002008-09-18T19:37:04.675-07:00ListeriosisI imagine the best way not to get Listeriosis is to stop eating pre-packaged, pre-cut sandwich meat. That stuff is really not good for you in the first place, and now can kill you. I haven't eaten meat or any animal products for 16 years. Do I know that it has done me any good? Yes. I don't have Listeriosis.David Nickarzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07597605432375477068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329784465416511490.post-14496137413440518632008-08-12T08:07:00.000-07:002008-08-12T08:12:10.269-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFs9wDFUW4S7xnUwMJSNVdIBCEEsxrrE_Tc2p6cxeJKv4LdGhe-yUiI_YYG5OMeQsmqzGNNWx7hj_DAGII7hEcv9pBZQII4yd8JuM9xIi3_bq5lPbMwdP7rttLb_zahFdvYZdc5sqN0Xw/s1600-h/helideck_icebergs0056+copy.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFs9wDFUW4S7xnUwMJSNVdIBCEEsxrrE_Tc2p6cxeJKv4LdGhe-yUiI_YYG5OMeQsmqzGNNWx7hj_DAGII7hEcv9pBZQII4yd8JuM9xIi3_bq5lPbMwdP7rttLb_zahFdvYZdc5sqN0Xw/s400/helideck_icebergs0056+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5233649044129511730" border="0" /></a><br /> <p class="MsoNormal">I Need to Start Writing Again</p> <p class="MsoNormal">By David Nickarz</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I haven’t written anything in my blog for a while.<span style=""> </span>I want to update you on what I’m up to and what I’m about to do.<span style=""> </span><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I just spent a week at the Youth Activist Retreat in <st1:place><st1:city>Clearwater</st1:city>, <st1:state>Manitoba</st1:state></st1:place>.<span style=""> </span>The retreat is for youth between the ages of 16 and 18 to learn and share stories about activism.<span style=""> </span>I ran a workshop about Direct Action which covered quite a bit of ground.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">There was some theory about non-violence, civil disobedience, media work and the dangers of activism.<span style=""> </span>I used many of the actions that I’ve participated in as working examples of the theory.<span style=""> </span>I offered the same workshop for three days and after the third one we did a mock action.<span style=""> </span><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I thoroughly enjoyed the work and also helped with dishes and cleaning up.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">There was one workshop that needs mentioning.<span style=""> </span>It was the Sustainable Action workshop ran by Lindsay.<span style=""> </span>Ironically, it was rushed because it started late and the bus was waiting for us, so it was cut short.<span style=""> </span>It was also the workshop that the organizers and mentors needed the most.<span style=""> </span>Activists are the most self-destructive folk out there—sad to say.<span style=""> </span><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Next year I want to make an effort to incorporate this theme in all the workshops, maybe culminating in a final talk that ties it all together.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p>Operation Musashi</p> <p class="MsoNormal">In June the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society officially announced plans to return to the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary to once again oppose illegal Japanese whaling activities.<span style=""> </span>This will be the Sea Shepherd's fifth campaign to Antarctic waters, my third, and will be called Operation Musashi.<span style=""> </span>Miyamoto Musashi is the legendary Japanese strategist who wrote the <em>Book of Five Rings</em>.<span style=""> </span>For more information on this campaign, please go to <a href="http://www.seashepherd.org/">www.seashepherd.org</a>.<span style=""> </span><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This could be the most important campaign for the whales.<span style=""> </span>For the last two years, we have been able to prevent hundreds of whales from being slaughtered.<span style=""> </span>This might be the year that we shut it down for good.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I’m heading to <st1:country-region><st1:place>Australia</st1:place></st1:country-region> in November to meet the ship.<span style=""> </span>I will be meeting with several veteran crew members and then spending several weeks in a metal box, out on the ocean with cameras in our face the whole time to film the drama.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I think Animal Planet will be filming the action again.<span style=""> </span><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">As you may have guessed, life on the ship can be extreme—joy and pain at the same time.<span style=""> </span>Nothing compares to the beauty of the Antarctic waters, the wildlife and the remoteness of that wilderness.<span style=""> </span>I’m looking forward to it.</p>David Nickarzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07597605432375477068noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329784465416511490.post-73916738458382023442007-12-18T09:28:00.000-08:002007-12-18T09:30:10.955-08:00My Buy Nothing Christmas<p class="MsoNormal">By David Nickarz</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>My feelings around christmas are mixed.<span style=""> </span>I was raised in the Anglican church and was never indoctrinated into the Christian faith.<span style=""> </span>I left the church when I was 17.<span style=""> </span><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In our family, chrismas was about getting together with family and buying copious quantities of gifts.<span style=""> </span>I appreciated the family gathering but the gift side of things was a chore.<span style=""> </span>When I became old enough to start buying gifts I began to feel the anxiety.<span style=""> </span>I was worried about who to buy for.<span style=""> </span>My immediate family was a given.<span style=""> </span>What about cousins, or close friends?<span style=""> </span>How much money did I have to spend?<span style=""> </span><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I certainly didn’t have any money left over after the big day. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">It took me a number of years, but I have come to not participate in the commercial aspect of Christmas.<span style=""> </span>I will not buy any gifts and will not accept any.<span style=""> </span>If I do get any then I will donate them to an appropriate charity.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">What’s your plan for this Christmas?</p>David Nickarzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07597605432375477068noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329784465416511490.post-40979422693915028732007-12-18T07:38:00.000-08:002007-12-18T07:41:35.918-08:00Statement from an Elder<div style="margin: 1ex;"> <div> <p style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;"><b>The following is a statement from an Elder from the East Side of Lake Winnipeg. The forests on the East Side of Lake Winnipeg are of global importance as they are part of the largest intact region of forest left in the world. Pressures to cut down the trees and build hydro-electric lines are threatening this beautiful forest. - Dave</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:180%;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:180%;"><b>Eastside Elder Statement:</b></span><br /></p> <p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;">As an Anishinaabe Elder and a pipe carrier the lands on the Eastside of Lake Winnipeg is sacred. It is the place where - Manidoo Abi - the Creator sits, where we get our teachings, where our ancestors dwell, where we hold our ceremonies, have our sweat lodges, a place where we pick our sacred medicines and where we still hunt, fish, gather wild rice and trap for food.</span><br /></p> <p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;">For those of us who maintain and still practice our traditional ways it is our duty, given to us by the Creator, to respect, honour and protect Mother Earth and all things that give and sustain all life. Simply put, for us this land is part of who we are as a people, as a nation and as a country.</span><br /></p> <p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;">The four scared elements; Air, Water, Earth and Fire are all being heavily impacted globally by our relentless pursuit to wastefully consume natural resources. Yet, we have forgotten where all this natural wealth comes from – Mother Earth. What we do to her we do to ourselves.</span><br /></p> <p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;">I and many others have gathered over the years to smoke our pipes, hold our shaking tent ceremonies and to discuss the fait of the Eastside of Lake Winnipeg and it must be said that Mother Earth does not belong to us, but that we have to care for and maintain the delicate balance of nature for the sake of the well being of our children and of all future generations.</span><br /></p> <p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;">It is our sacred duty as humans to preserve Mother Earth and to honour the intentions of the Creator. For if we respect the gifts given to us by the Creator, these gifts will last forever. But if we disrespect these gifts and if we destroy them then they will end and we will end.</span><br /></p> <p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;">There are many people who have forgotten these teachings and the responsibilities to honour and protect - that which is sacred - Mother Earth. Many have gotten lost on the wrong path - a path that has lead to destruction.</span><br /></p> <p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;">For those of us who are traditional elders, pipe carriers and keepers of our traditional knowledge it is our duty to speak the truth and teach people these responsibilities.</span><br /></p> <p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;">What is needed now more then ever is for humanity to walk the path of reconstruction. We must become more then caretakers of Mother Earth, we must become caregivers - it is time for healing.</span><br /></p> <p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;"><b>Gary Raven</b></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:100%;"><b>Morning Star - Good Thunder Voice</b></span></p> </div> </div>David Nickarzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07597605432375477068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329784465416511490.post-32340399902111268602007-11-08T05:25:00.000-08:002007-11-08T05:27:42.620-08:00Tembec’s Green Laundering Corporation RespondsTembec has paid Smartwood to certify its forestry operations as ‘green’ and ‘well-managed’, and they got every penny’s worth.<span style=""> </span>On <st1:date year="2007" day="11" month="10">October 11, 2007</st1:date> Tembec was certified under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) by Smartwood.<span style=""> </span>They held and open house for their 2008-09 logging plans and let everyone know about it.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>After spending 17 years as a forest activist, I was naturally skeptical.<span style=""> </span>True to form, Tembec confirmed every fear.<span style=""> </span>Vince Keenan, divisional forester for the Tembec mill in <st1:place><st1:placename>Pine</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placetype>Falls</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>, took me aside and showed me how he was going to cut down half of the lowland Black Spruce on his 9000 square kilometer logging area.<span style=""> </span>Black Spruce is the majority species needed to feed their aging newsprint mill.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>After frantically scribbling down my concerns with their plan on several of the ‘questions and concerns’ papers left on the tables, I went home and contacted the company responsible for this green-washing.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>Smartwood is a company that is paid to certify logging companies under the FSC principles.<span style=""> </span>I knew I was in for a ride down the techno-babble black hole when Alex Boursier, Regional Manager of Smartwood informed me that he was treating my concerns as a formal complaint under FSC complaints and appeals process.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>For those of you who are not familiar with the black hole, it’s when a company wants to obscure and confuse an issue they respond with several pages of technical and double-speak.<span style=""> </span>It’s designed to bore you out of your skull and hopefully you will just go away and let them destroy the planet.<span style=""> </span>FSC and Smartwood has now become another layer of obstacles for conservationists to overcome in their efforts to protect forests.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>I made it known that I was not to be treated with a ‘process’ and that I wanted answers to my very real and pressing concerns regarding Tembec’s logging operations.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>Smartwood’s five page response was very telling.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>Apparently clear cut logging is an acceptable practice for managing the Boreal Forest.<span style=""> </span>Logging in Provincial Parks does not contravene FSC standards—and he backs that up by citing other atypical uses of <st1:state><st1:place>Manitoba</st1:place></st1:State>’s parks such as mining and hydro-electric development.<span style=""> </span>I am to assume that FSC supports mining and hydro developments in <st1:state><st1:place>Manitoba</st1:place></st1:State>’s Provincial Parks?<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>Logging is still allowed in the habitat of the endangered Owl Lake Woodland Caribou herd.<span style=""> </span>My questions about herbicide spraying were not answered.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>The worst of his response was in about Tembec’s efforts to weaken guidelines that protect wildlife. <span style=""> </span>Tembec has been in contravention of the Wildlife Guidelines several times over the past years.<span style=""> </span>Manitoba Conservation has overlooked several of these violations until citizens started seeing them—and making noise.<span style=""> </span>After that, Tembec started to complain that the guidelines were ‘not clear or flexible’.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>One example is the line-of-site across a clear cut must not exceed 400 meters.<span style=""> </span>This already weak rule is to allow for deer to escape from predators out in an open clear cut.<span style=""> </span>The 400 meters allows for a maximum of 200 meters to the nearest cover.<span style=""> </span>Tembec is trying to weaken this rule so that they can cut down more trees and make larger clear cuts.<span style=""> </span>Quoted directly from Mr. Boursier’s e-mail to me, <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>“Tembec has been discussing with MC the possibility of removing these conditions from the work permit as it will continue to generate non-compliances because of a lack of clarity and flexibility in the work permit condition interpretation and a lack of clarity in how the condition will be enforced. <b style="">Stakeholder interviews indicated that they believed the line of sight requirement is clear and that Tembec is not following the rules.</b> MC does afford some flexibility over the line of sight and wildlife guideline implementation. Despite the difficulty in the work permit “line of sight” wording, the audit team feels that the concept has merit, and the compliance standard can be made more precise through discussion with MC, Tembec and stakeholder groups. “<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>Not only does Smartwood take money to certify Tembec under FSC principles, but they are actively supporting Tembec’s efforts to weaken the laws that protect wildlife, and in clear opposition from stakeholders.<span style=""> </span>Logging companies like Tembec have a new ally in their efforts to destroy our forests, and it’s the Forest Stewardship Council.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>Mr. Boursier’s response finished with insults to my intelligence.<span style=""> </span>After denying me and others the preconditions for Tembec’s certification, he wrote “We are very proud of the transparency of our process.”<span style=""> </span>He also apologized for not getting back to me within the timeframe of the certification and that they had ignored my concerns from as far back as 2005.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>My response to his e-mail was finished within three hours.<span style=""> </span>I really let him have it.<span style=""> </span>If I could have yelled in an e-mail, I would have.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>This also brings up a more pressing issue for the conservation movement.<span style=""> </span>Greenpeace, World Wildlife Fund and the Rainforest Action network are a few of the groups that support FSC.<span style=""> </span>They need to pull out of the process altogether.<span style=""> </span>FSC condones the destruction of old growth forests, pesticide use, logging in parks and, now lobbies to weaken existing laws.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>I must give credit to the Rainforest Action Network for posting the debate about FSC on their website.<span style=""> </span>They talk about reforming FSC, which I strongly disagree with, but at least they are talking about it.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p><a href="http://understory.ran.org/2007/10/31/forest-stewardship-council-credibility-on-thin-ice/">http://understory.ran.org/2007/10/31/forest-stewardship-council-credibility-on-thin-ice/</a><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>I strongly believe that FSC has been completely co-opted by the logging industry.<span style=""> </span>Conservation measures are watered down and made meaningless by qualified language.<span style=""> </span>Conservation groups must now pull out of the FSC process because they are lending legitimacy to this dead effort.<span style=""> </span>There have already been efforts to lobby Greenpeace and Rainforest Action Network to do something to improve FSC.<span style=""> </span>We have already come to the day that we have to lobby large conservation groups to protect forests on a grass-roots level.<span style=""> </span>What a sad day.<span style=""> </span></p>David Nickarzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07597605432375477068noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329784465416511490.post-34580520128724691012007-11-04T09:31:00.000-08:002007-11-04T10:12:23.397-08:00Ask a Sea Shepherd Crew Member<p class="MsoNormal">Many people ask me what its like to be a Sea Shepherd crew member.<span style=""> </span>I've been on five separate trips with the Sea Shepherds and spent a total of two years on board, so I feel that I have enough experience to speak on the matter.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>This is not a very easy question to answer.<span style=""> </span>There are times on the ship when I've desperately wanted to go home and never return.<span style=""> </span>There are also times when there is no place that I'd rather be.<span style=""> </span>And there's everything in between.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>The first time you get on board can set the tone for the whole campaign.<span style=""> </span>I hate to say it but if there are too many young people on the crew, then morale is poor.<span style=""> </span>I believe that it's because 19 and 20 year olds don't know themselves enough to handle the stress of being a sailor.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>Let me also clear.<span style=""> </span>Much of what we do on board—in port or at sea—is the same things sailors all over the world do.<span style=""> </span>You have to live communally with room mates that you haven't chosen.<span style=""> </span>You have to deal with the ferocity of the ocean on the ocean's terms.<span style=""> </span>Dealing with nature on it's own terms is enough to turn most people off.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLEflh7y4Mn6kBfllHykyQz2etAvUD1I_AulSh7jMVT9R02IaaPYhQ8seD07bYcEZTyyZMpNOlczEDqX_N_rOGzUa0C7lXheaSGwuuA6OWmTU4h5Wf8rBJlR6GQ9uDU-nMB4FRE-OVgz4/s1600-h/DSC_0317.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLEflh7y4Mn6kBfllHykyQz2etAvUD1I_AulSh7jMVT9R02IaaPYhQ8seD07bYcEZTyyZMpNOlczEDqX_N_rOGzUa0C7lXheaSGwuuA6OWmTU4h5Wf8rBJlR6GQ9uDU-nMB4FRE-OVgz4/s320/DSC_0317.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5129040724974898178" border="0" /></a><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>During the 2007 Antarctic Whaling campaign we came through a force 11 storm with the <i style="">Robert Hunter</i>.<span style=""> </span>For all of you land lubbers a force 11 storm means winds at more than 100 kilometers per hour and waves 37 feet high.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>Just brushing my teeth was one of the most physically difficult things I've ever done.<span style=""> </span>I had one hand against the wall and both legs spread as much as I could to keep my balance.<span style=""> </span>I was still thrown off my feet.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>Dealing with the elements is one thing.<span style=""> </span>Dealing with the closed-in conditions can send people over the edge.<span style=""> </span>The Sea Shepherd ship <i style="">Farley Mowat</i> is a very small ship.<span style=""> </span>173 feet long and 33 feet wide sounds large for some of you who've been on smaller boats on inland waters, but it gets real small when you are away from land for more than six weeks.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>My first Antarctic campaign was in 2002.<span style=""> </span>We left in December and came back 46 days later in January 2003.<span style=""> </span>Not only was the trip long, we also didn't find the whalers.<span style=""> </span>We spent all that time getting on each other's nerves.<span style=""> </span>There were a few punches thrown, feelings hurt and love made.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Some of my fellow crew members are able to stay with the ship for years at a time.<span style=""> </span>I don't know how they can do it.<span style=""> </span>You see so many people come and go that you become desensitized to new friendships.<span style=""> </span>In 2000, I spent 7 months on board and saw the ship go from <st1:city><st1:place>Seattle</st1:place></st1:city> to the <st1:place>Galapagos Islands</st1:place>, <st1:country-region><st1:place>Panama</st1:place></st1:country-region> to <st1:city><st1:place>Miami</st1:place></st1:city> to <st1:place>Europe</st1:place> and the <st1:place>North Sea</st1:place>.<span style=""> </span>I met 80 different crew members.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>Please don't ask me all of their names.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYkPTEvQSfh79yI4djO7ouKesPrQ5_bH-2MxWeS-ck0tuE0st4Saj6pfq2iu-A2QiTvkhVwC0y0VM0sQ_ZMNfrk-7UsvvaWrhm-Wg_5QNS_4IrJ66yqXOg2rGU6NSfYEVLdqlJICrZPdA/s1600-h/IMG_3205.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYkPTEvQSfh79yI4djO7ouKesPrQ5_bH-2MxWeS-ck0tuE0st4Saj6pfq2iu-A2QiTvkhVwC0y0VM0sQ_ZMNfrk-7UsvvaWrhm-Wg_5QNS_4IrJ66yqXOg2rGU6NSfYEVLdqlJICrZPdA/s200/IMG_3205.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5129049271959817250" border="0" /></a><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>If you get into a disagreement with another crew member—maybe you are a bit jealous of someone, or you just don't get along—you need to deal with it, directly.<span style=""> </span>If you let it fester then it will quickly get out of control.<span style=""> </span>In the normal world you can let problems go because you may never see that person again.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>On a ship you will not only see that person again, but you will be sitting across from them at every meal.<span style=""> </span>You might even be working with them for eight ours every day.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>If you disagree with how the ship runs, then you're really screwed.<span style=""> </span>Only the captain decides where the ship goes and what is done when it gets there.<span style=""> </span>Although the captain has the last word on things, the ship is run by small anarchies.<span style=""> </span>Rarely does the official chain of command get followed.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>It's easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission. <span style=""> </span>Do-it-yourself is the motto of the crew.<span style=""> </span>This can and does work very well.<span style=""> </span>Sometimes people drop the ball.<span style=""> </span></p> <o:p></o:p><i style="">More later….</i>David Nickarzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07597605432375477068noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329784465416511490.post-87862394953853084132007-10-25T06:09:00.000-07:002007-10-27T13:21:49.060-07:00Sea Shepherd Activists Protect Whales in Antarctic Waters<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZUs4_JpGAKjWY6B4UM1wY3I5cbfUgQfsI3k_5727k42tz_wWGJXuv0oJ1x2Pm6zjVrsZbu0sd4g73dtSr7j4CIWpfYy77tvHxHmE9TLoRUSpGR45is07nXOd4un49o0gk6AT4Uea9rKY/s1600-h/Kaiko+Collision+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZUs4_JpGAKjWY6B4UM1wY3I5cbfUgQfsI3k_5727k42tz_wWGJXuv0oJ1x2Pm6zjVrsZbu0sd4g73dtSr7j4CIWpfYy77tvHxHmE9TLoRUSpGR45is07nXOd4un49o0gk6AT4Uea9rKY/s400/Kaiko+Collision+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5126114177209076722" border="0" /></a>By David Nickarz<o:p></o:p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I felt a large jolt as the <i style="">Kaiko Maru</i> collided with our ship, the <i style="">Robert Hunter</i>.<span style=""> </span>I was almost thrown into the large, spinning propeller shaft while doing my rounds in the deepest part of the engine room of the <i style="">Robert Hunter</i>.<span style=""> </span>As the ship heaved to port I pulled my way along the railing that protected me from the propeller shaft.<span style=""> </span>I was surprised at this turn of events because only a few minutes earlier Captain Cornelissen had told me that we were not going to ram any whaling ships this year.<span style=""> </span>Only after I came up on deck did I realize that the whaling ship had rammed us in an attempt to get away from the <i style="">Farley Mowat</i>—the second ship in the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s fleet patrolling the Antarctic waters for Japanese whalers.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We had left <st1:place><st1:city>Melbourne</st1:city>, <st1:country-region>Australia</st1:country-region></st1:place> 42 days earlier to search for the outlaw whaling fleet. Our goal was to find the whaling fleet and shut it down.<span style=""> </span>The Sea Shepherd’s mission is to sail the oceans to enforce international marine conservation law—not to protest or to document illegal whaling, but to stop it.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“In the last 30 years, we have never actually seen a whale being killed because when we show up the whalers run away,” said Captain Paul Watson at a recent fundraiser in <st1:city><st1:place>Melbourne</st1:place></st1:city>.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“No, we aren’t Greenpeace,” is what I’ve had to tell most people who ask about us.<span style=""> </span>Paul Watson was one of the founders of Greenpeace but left to start the Sea Shepherds in the late ‘70s due to a difference of opinion about tactics.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Rather than protest and bear witness like Greenpeace, the Sea Shepherds get physical and sink whaling vessels and ram illegal fishing ships on the high seas.<span style=""> </span>Although they’ve never hurt anyone their actions are at the very edge of non-violence.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Paul Watson has been the captain of the Farley Mowat for almost every campaign the Sea Shepherds have launched over the last 30 years.<span style=""> </span>This year was different because the Sea Shepherds had two large ships on the same campaign—The <i style="">Farley Mowat</i> skippered by Paul Watson and the new ship the <i style="">Robert Hunter</i> skippered by Alex Cornelissen.<span style=""> </span>Famous Canadian author Farley Mowat is the International Chair of the organization and the late Robert Hunter was a respected Canadian conservation leader.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This was my fifth mission with the Sea Shepherds.<span style=""> </span>I spent most of my time on the Farley Mowat, sailing to the Antarctic in 2002, to the Galapagos Islands in 2000 to establish protection for the marine park reserve, to the North sea to protect Pilot whales, to the East coast of Canada to stop the Seal Hunt in 2005 and to the Washington coast in 1998 to protect Grey Whales.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Y1jSfBJFYXAKaXXePulnBzQR3gzBSdeVn74PAbhHFAqGMWJORUjKqArbEwDebAzJ7Naru6IPoLVkrE-YyBYMRk3c5Mf9Afk4KmmMDTKYefDI8ydkjX1XB5Zdu-FUzJuvacIGNxI6nGc/s1600-h/IMG_6099.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Y1jSfBJFYXAKaXXePulnBzQR3gzBSdeVn74PAbhHFAqGMWJORUjKqArbEwDebAzJ7Naru6IPoLVkrE-YyBYMRk3c5Mf9Afk4KmmMDTKYefDI8ydkjX1XB5Zdu-FUzJuvacIGNxI6nGc/s400/IMG_6099.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5126113704762674146" border="0" /></a><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I spent all of my time in the engine room of the Farley Mowat but this time I was transferred to the Robert Hunter and was excited at the prospect of learning about a new ship.<span style=""> </span>Although the Robert Hunter was built in 1975, it seemed brand new compared to the Farley Mowat which was launched in the late 1950’s.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdO9tPJKhp0mVXnUniJUV9TkzihlnPOFSywk2aFnUxAzg2HOsti-bskwhjbp7KNohdF-Us2A6kPPj9xuMhEXVrFaGPyYLP8fZLm8d9Ts2d_MFwka3KknJASHqHWz-kPy8XIjAqCEE_gUQ/s1600-h/Robert+Hunter+ship+shot.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdO9tPJKhp0mVXnUniJUV9TkzihlnPOFSywk2aFnUxAzg2HOsti-bskwhjbp7KNohdF-Us2A6kPPj9xuMhEXVrFaGPyYLP8fZLm8d9Ts2d_MFwka3KknJASHqHWz-kPy8XIjAqCEE_gUQ/s400/Robert+Hunter+ship+shot.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5126113236611238866" border="0" /></a><br /><span style=""> </span>The Japanese whaling fleet, wholly owned by the Japanese government, is killing whales in the Antarctic whale sanctuary.<span style=""> </span>The Southern Ocean Sanctuary was established in 1994 by the International Whaling Commission to provide protection to whales from commercial whaling.<span style=""> </span>This year, in addition to their ‘quota’ of Piked Whales, for the first time Japan will be targeting endangered Humpback and Fin whales, which is in contravention of the Convention in Trade in Endangered Species (CITIES).<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Japanese authorities say that they are doing scientific whaling—that is, taking DNA samples as well as establishing the age and stomach contents of the whales they kill.<span style=""> </span>The information that they gather in the name of science can easily be obtained by non-lethal methods.<span style=""> </span>The façade of science disappears when they sell the whale meat in markets back home.<span style=""> </span>This is expressly forbidden by the rules of the IWC, and has been condemned by many nations around the world.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Most of the condemnations are not backed up with any real economic sanctions.<span style=""> </span>There is simply no political will to actually stop the whaling by the governments of <st1:country-region><st1:place>Australia</st1:place></st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region><st1:place>New Zealand</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This is where the Sea Shepherds come in.<span style=""> </span>After our collision with the <i style="">Kaiko Maru</i> we made conservation history—we actually apprehended a whaling ship.<span style=""> </span>The <i style="">Kaiko Maru </i>had trouble with their engines after the chase and stopped running.<span style=""> </span>With the two Sea Shepherd ships to either side the <i style="">Kaiko Maru</i> sent out a distress call. Our two ships immediately responded, offering assistance,<span style=""> </span>as is our responsibility under marine law.<span style=""> </span>Not surprisingly, our offers were refused..<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Only three days earlier we had come upon the whaling fleet at <st1:time hour="2" minute="0">two am</st1:time> during a beautiful Antarctic sunrise.<span style=""> </span>The crew was very excited after weeks of searching and drudgery of the ship’s routine.<span style=""> </span>We sent out our helicopter to confirm that it was, in fact, the whalers.<span style=""> </span>We began the chase the <i style="">Nisshin Maru</i>, the factory ship where all the whales are taken to be butchered.<span style=""> </span>If we could disable this ship, then we would shut down the whole fleet.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“We strongly recommend that you return to your nearest port of call,” said Peter Hammarstedt, first officer of the <i style="">Robert Hunter</i> over the ship’s radio. “This is not a protest action, this is a law enforcement action.”.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Our recently purchased ship was able to keep up with the <i style="">Nisshin Maru</i>—something the <i style="">Farley Mowat</i> wasn’t able to do during last year’s hunt.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We quickly caught up with the <i style="">Nisshin Maru</i> and some of the crew heaved stink bombs and smoke canisters onto their decks.<span style=""> </span>This was done to ruin any whale meat on the deck and to contaminate the deck to stink for future whale butchering.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We drew a thick rope line behind our ship and ran it across the bow of the <i style="">Nisshin Maru</i> in an attempt to slow the ship down.<span style=""> </span>It was truly a David and Goliath effort as the 1,000 ton <i style="">Robert Hunter</i> struggled to slow down the 8,000 ton <i style="">Nisshin Maru</i>.<span style=""> </span>Our goal was to slow it enough to get the slower Farley Mowat close enough to ram it up the slipway and get it stuck there.<span style=""> </span>The pirate whaler would then have to return to port to get it removed.<span style=""> </span>We never got the Farley Mowat close enough to do this, due to its slow speed.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">There’s always next year.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>David Nickarzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07597605432375477068noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329784465416511490.post-37415934744464991702007-10-20T06:47:00.000-07:002007-10-20T06:58:59.208-07:00Tembec gets green logo in Manitoba<p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">On </span><st1:date month="10" day="11" year="2007"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">October 11 2007</span></st1:date><span style="font-size: 14pt;">, Tembec held an Open House seeking input into their 2009 to 2028 twenty year logging plan.<span style=""> </span>Just the day before, the Tembec mill in </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Pine</span></st1:PlaceName><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Falls</span></st1:PlaceType></st1:place><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> received its Forest Stewardship Council certification.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The Forest Stewardship Council bills itself as an international organization that brings people together to find solutions which promote responsible stewardship of the world’s forests.<span style=""> </span>It also accredits independent third party organizations who can certify forest managers and forest product producers to FSC standards.<span style=""> </span>Smartwood is one of those third parties that have certified Tembec in </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Pine</span></st1:PlaceName><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Falls</span></st1:PlaceType></st1:place><span style="font-size: 14pt;">.<span style=""> </span>FSC includes conservation groups like Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">There have been rumblings in the forest conservation movement about FSC—questions about if it’s really changing the way forestry is done in the world.<span style=""> </span>I’ve been involved in the forest conservation movement for 17 years and have seen way too many clear cuts in my time.<span style=""> </span>I must admit that I was hopeful at the prospect of the FSC being a way out of our current industrial forestry model that is doing so much damage to the boreal forest.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What I saw at the meeting was more of the same.<span style=""> </span>There was no indication of changing the way the plan to clear cut log, make paper or respect protected areas.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Tembec will continue to clear cut as its sole means of tree harvesting.<span style=""> </span>Tembec will still get its wood from protected areas like Nopiming and </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Duck</span></st1:PlaceName><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Mountain</span></st1:PlaceType></st1:place><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> provincial parks.<span style=""> </span>Tembec will continue to use pesticides like round-up to suppress the growth of hardwood trees after logging.<span style=""> </span>They will also continue to operate places that are critical habitat to endangered species like Woodland Caribou and rare species like the Green and Mink Frogs.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The only difference between what they are doing now and 10 years ago is that they can display a logo that says their operations are more ‘responsibly managed’.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Over the past several years Tembec</span> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">has been charged with violating the Wildlife Guidelines. This has resulted in repeated warnings and fines.<span style=""> </span>In 2006 Tembec was fined 10,000 for violated the Wildlife Guidelines for a clear cut in </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Nopiming</span></st1:PlaceName><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Provincial</span></st1:PlaceName><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Park</span></st1:PlaceType></st1:place><span style="font-size: 14pt;">. <span style=""></span>Instead of complying with the law, Tembec </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">is currently lobbying the province to weaken the guidelines. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I spent a lot of my time at the open house with Vince Keenan, Divisional Forester for the Tembec mill in </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Pine</span></st1:PlaceName><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Falls</span></st1:PlaceType></st1:place><span style="font-size: 14pt;">.<span style=""> </span>He eagerly told me about their plans to maintain levels of older forests through their computer modeling. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">He told me that Tembec has goals for maintaining older forest types on their licence area (Forest Management Licence 1 is 9000 square kilometers and is located East of the Southern </span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 14pt;">basin</span></st1:PlaceType><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> of </span><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Lake Winnipeg</span></st1:PlaceName></st1:place><span style="font-size: 14pt;">.)<span style=""> </span>One example is lowland Black Spruce forests; the ones with the deep sphagnum moss.<span style=""> </span>Tembec’s goal is to maintain 22% of lowland Black Spruce as old trees—meaning over 100 years in age.<span style=""> </span>That sounds great until you look at the forest inventory map and see that 43% of lowland Black Spruce trees are already classified as old.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">That means they plan to cut down half of the old Spruce trees, which happen to be the majority species required to make paper in their </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Pine</span></st1:PlaceName><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Falls</span></st1:PlaceType></st1:place><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> mill.<span style=""> </span>For all the conservation-speak of the FSC boreal standards, the forest will be carved up according to what the mill requires.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As far back as 2001, Nicole Freris and Klemens Laschefski were cautious about the environmental aspects of the FSC certification scheme.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: times new roman;"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“The environmental sector of FSC uses its pressure to progressively tighten the criteria for certification, reducing the volume of wood extracted. However for certified companies to be economically viable production quotas need to be maintained.”<span style="position: relative; top: -3pt;">1</span></span></i></p><p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Pat Popp is a deer hunter and outfitter who’s livelihood is affected by Tembec’s logging.<span style=""> </span>Popp was not impressed by Tembec’s plan.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“We're talking 20 years here. I was hoping to see a commitment to phasing out some of their more destructive practices, like clear cutting and spraying herbicides, but the only thing they seem intent on doing is to keep destroying as much wilderness as possible to feed their mill. How FSC can certify an operation that clear cuts massive areas, use herbicides, and is one of the worst polluters in the province, is beyond me,” said Popp.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">A New Authority<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The FSC has become a new authority in the forest.<span style=""> </span>I find myself asking questions of the certification company Smartwood as if they are a government agency.<span style=""> </span>I feel the need to lobby them to get my concerns addressed about what is happening in our forests.<span style=""> </span>I was refused a list of preconditions for Tembec’s certification by Alexandre Boursier, a regional manager of the certification company Smartwood.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I am not the first to question the legitimacy of the FSC.<span style=""> </span>Some forest activists now find themselves in the unenviable position of lobbying a large conservation group to protect old growth and primary forests.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In July 2007 the ‘e-activist’ network Ecological Internet had launched a letter-writing campaign aimed at Greenpeace, asking them to withdraw their support for FSC-certified 'ancient forest logging'. The campaign demanded that Greenpeace publish a report on questionable FSC certificates, which is believed to have been under investigation by the green group for many months, but has remained unreleased.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">If the FSC meant even a marginal benefit to forests then I could see the need to support the effort.<span style=""> </span>As to the legitimacy of the FSC, in terms of a true effort to protect forests, I assert that it has failed.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-size: 14pt;">1.<span style=""> </span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">SEEING THE WOOD FROM THE TREES, </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">By Nicole Freris and Klemens Laschefski. </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">An edited version of this article was published in „The Ecologist“ Vol. 31, No 6, July/August 2001</span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: times new roman;"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>David Nickarzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07597605432375477068noreply@blogger.com6