123 Slovenia 8 November 2016 Volume LXV No. 4 In this issue: • Russian Roulette • Viva Vaquita • Frozen Preserves ECO • Meals That Kill Previous issues: International Whaling Commission Annual Meeting http://www.savedolphins.eii.org IWC66 Postscript: Beating the Drum By Paul Spong PhD been erected to keep demonstrators at were stopped by security, and bay. Everyone who arrived had to surrounded. After a protest by Howie Sidney Holt’s new book, Save pass by them, so they were noticed. about the cruelty of not letting an old the Whales! Memoirs of a Whale When their numbers swelled to three man in with a little help, they were Hugger, may not yet be a best seller (Bernhard), they set up another admitted and walked together across (it will be), but it encourages me to operation at the back of the hotel, the the lobby. Unnoticed at first by believe that we (the whales) will lower level where people went out to security because the evidence was on win. Win what? The privilege of lunch or take a walk. When that his back, Howie was wearing a Sea spending the next generation, happened, hotel security locked the Shepherd t-shirt. It was the only time hundreds, perhaps thousands of back entrance door. You had to Sea Shepherd breached the meeting, years swimming around in a too unlock it with a room key card. though their presence was felt, both warm ocean, deprived of Security was very tight at this in the Safety at Sea session and in sustenance, lonely for life? In my meeting, with the hotel lobby being one of the demo banners. darker moments that just about constantly patrolled and access to the One day there was even a sailboat sums up how I feel about the meeting requiring scanning an ID stationed offshore that had hoisted a outcome of IWC66 and what lies badge that displayed a photo. The Sea Shepherd sail. I’m not sure what ahead. I can’t say this out loud of only time it was breached was when happened to it, as it was only there course; it would depress others as Sidney Holt went out to visit the on that one day. Probably chased or well as myself. We must press on. demonstrators. Sidney is pretty towed away. Out of sight out, of The most encouraging thing mobile for a 90 year old but he uses mind. Ha. In the old and not so old about this meeting was the presence two sticks to walk and appreciates days, when there were dozens, of the demonstrators, who will not the occasional arm to hold on to. sometimes hundreds of let go. There were two of them. After his visit, Howie Cook, the demonstrators, even a giant inflatable Howie and Arno. They started at eternal IWC demonstrator offered his whale, the scene was the front of the hotel, hanging their arm to Sidney, and they walked back banners on the barricades that had to the hotel entrance together. They (Continued on Page Two) Morishita’s Crocodile Tears for Traditional Whaling Are A Joke By Captain Paul Watson The truth is that Morishita knows thousands of fish everyday plundered that this is a bogus argument. Japan from all the world’s oceans. The arrogant hypocrisy of Japan is simply using these communities as What does Morishita have to say knows absolutely no bounds. an excuse to keep killing whales, and about this? Now they are pleading for four the proof of this is the fact that the “I would not claim that my small Japanese coastal communities aboriginal people of Japan, the Ainu, government is always consistent,” to kill whales as part of their long have been prohibited from killing Joji Morishita, director for tradition and culture. whales for the past 150 years. When international negotiations for the Japanese whaling Commissioner it comes to the Ainu, Japan ignores Japanese government’s Fisheries Joji Morishita urged nations to look the arguments on culture, tradition Agency, said when asked about the beyond their “principled position and so-called “food culture”. discrepancy between how Japan against whaling under any And it is not just restricted to wants its whalers to be treated and circumstances. It’s not like one side whaling. The traditional salmon the restrictions it imposes on the is bad and one side is good. This is fishery by the Ainu has also been Ainu community. “You cannot be not a dichotomy or a black and prohibited, yet the Tokyo fish market white situation,” he said. displays the corpses of hundreds of (Continued on Page Four) 123 Lorem Ipsum 8 November 2016 ECO Page Two (Continued from front page IWC66 appear to be fair. somnolent room. Postscript: Beating the Drum) The Chair this time, Switzerland’s For decades, Norway has gotten Bruno Mainini also attempted to be clean away with killing more whales bigger, louder, rowdier, cars fair, and except for one glaring than anyone else. It has done so honking, voices raised, a battle exception for the most part again, by keeping its head down and joined. Where has all that passion accomplished that. The exception barely saying a word except No or gone? Truth be told, the whales came at the end of Day Four. Bruno Yes according to Japan’s script. Why have yet to be saved. had been instrumental in giving is not a puzzle. It’s because Norway I am pissed off (excuse the NGOs a voice, unheard of before him is rich and can thumb its nose at the language) mad about the outcome at the IWC though common in other world. It is a European country, but of this meeting, mad at the neglect, international fora such as CITES refuses to join the EU. Norway first mad at the lost opportunity, and (The Convention of International got rich off whale oil. That was way mad at the fake camaraderie. The Trade in Endangered Species). This before North Sea oil came along, whales lost every turn at this time, he allowed NGOs to speak making it even richer. Today, giant meeting, not exactly wholesale freely, time permitting, until almost blue whale jawbones stand as slaughter, more like death by small the end of Day Four. The topic was sentinels at the entrance to cuts. IWC communications with other Sandefjord’s richest estates Small cetaceans were the biggest international organizations. Whale (Sandefjord being Norway’s whaling losers. I know the Irawaddy dolphin and Dolphin Conservation’s (WDC) capital). Mute testaments to the past. will be gone before we blink; I Carolina Cassini started to read a No words need to be said. And that’s doubt the Maui dolphin will be prepared statement on behalf of what we’ve gotten from Norway at there to save next time we meet; numerous NGOs about Japan’s this meeting. No words. None and I doubt the vaquita will still violation of the CITES prohibition of needed. Just business as usual. exist, despite the desperate trade in whale products by referring Why is there no outrage? Not just measures finally agreed to at to sales of whale meat and other about Norway. There’s a long list, IWC66. I say agreed to but that whale bits by a Japanese online for me starting with the Maui wasn’t really so. When the retailer. You can have your order for dolphin. I think it must be because emergency vaquita resolution pretty much anything that comes I’m a New Zealander and still hold finally came to the floor on Friday, from whales killed for research great affection for my homeland, but the last of this grim affair, Japan shipped to you anywhere in the New Zealand’s treatment of the Maui read out a long list of countries world and paid for in Yen, US dolphin is, in a word, disgraceful. I besides itself that were so, so dollars, pounds or Euros. Probably realize that the New Zealand’s IWC sympathetic to the vaquita plight any currency will do. Commissioner is a first timer in this that they could not oppose the Caro’s statement produced forum, but she is reading from the resolution, but still would not consternation among Japan’s same script we heard last time, and participate in a collective effort to delegation, many of whom were the time before that. “We are save this beauty (see list pg. 3). clearly agitated, and Bruno cut her monitoring the situation.” Hanging the vaquita out to dry, off, telling her to keep her comments Deathspeak. Just 53 Maui dolphins dropping it off a high cliff with no short. Caro started again, but didn’t are left alive, proof that the parachute are images that come to get far before Bruno cut her off monitoring is precise. Outrageous. mind. What on Earth do Joji again. She had about 2 lines to go, Voices should be raised, solutions Morishita and his cronies not but that was it. Over. It was hard to demanded, but nothing by way of understand about the word know whether Bruno has responded protest is heard in the room: Just a extinction? I suppose I should use to a nonverbal Japanese complaint, polite, thank you New Zealand. I am Japan, not Morishita and it, not him, but everyone noticed what he had speechless. New Zealand, so good on but truth be told, he personifies the done. Given his tolerance of a so many issues that affect the welfare enemy. Politeness yes, but not previous very long intervention by an of whales, is blatantly hypocritical more.