Before the collision, the Ady Gil harassed Japanese whaling vessels during their operations. The crew had towed ropes in an attempt to foul the propellers of the Japanese ships, and permanently disabling them in dangerous and isolated seas. They pointed newly acquired photonic disruptors at the crew of the Shōnan Maru 2 while using a projectile launcher to fire capsules of foul-smelling butyric acid created from rotten butter.

The Ady Gil was originally known as â??The Earthrace Vesselâ?? was originally created as part of a project to break the world record for circumnavigating the globe in a powerboat. It featured several environmentally friendly features, could run on both regular diesel fuel and bio-diesel, and was constructed of â??greenâ?? building materials. This wasnâ??t the ships first controversial accident in 2007 was ill-fated. The boat several times encountered mechanical problems, and collided with a Guatemalan fishing boat, killing one of the other boatâ??s crew.

The injury of the Sea Shepperd Crew member is no big surprise. The SSCS has a long history of placing their volunteer members at risk through their lack of maritime knowledge and incompetence. During trips to the Southern Ocean in a non-ice grade vessel, Captain Paul Watson ordered inexperienced and inadequately equipped deckhands down below into a near inescapable rope locker in an attempt to control any flood waters that may rush in if the ship were to be punctured by ice. During the previous anti-whaling mission the captain ordered the launch of the inflatable craft while traveling in rough whether at full speed, where the launching cable snapped causing the craft to flip over, tossing the crew against the ship and into the frigid antarctic waters. Captain Watson is also to blame by Nyles Bauer, former crew member for not compensating him injuries sustained while on a hunger strike.

This is not the Sea Shepherds first collision at sea. The Sea Shepperdâ??s claim responsibility for the sinking of several Icelandic and Nordic whaling vessels. heir previous ship, the Farley Mowat was involved in a collision with the Canadian Coast Guard, who threatened legal action if they entered Canadian waters. The crew of course returned and was arrested in the Canadian Gulf of St. Lawrence while claiming they were in international waters. They were fined $100,000 and had their vessel impounded and then sold for a mere $5000 as a garbage scow. Their flagship vessel the Steve Irwin was previously involved in a collision with another Japanese Vessel, however no severe damage or injuries were sustained.

Links:
3news – http://www.3news.co.nz/Experts-Ady-Gil-tried-to-cross-Japanese-ships-bow/tabid/417/articleID/136461/Default.aspx
3news video – http://www.3news.co.nz/Experts-Ady-Gil-tried-to-cross-Japanese-ships-bow/tabid/313/articleID/136461/Default.aspx
Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ady_Gil
Official Earthrace website – http://www.earthrace.net/

(Click images to enlarge)

Despite what animal rights organizations and radical activists would have you believe, the harp seal is not an endangered animal nor is it’s population on the decline. Since the 1970’s the population of harp seals in the North Atlantic has not only increased, it has tripled. The last survey conducted by the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans reported the harp seal population at a record high 5.8 million animals.

With worldwide attention being brought to the collapse of the North Atlantic fish stocks by the media and by documentaries such as ‘The End of the Line” , it is crucial to identify one of the largest consumers and threats to the recovery of the stocks. Each harp seal consumes between 1 and 1.4 metric tonnes of fish each year, and with the exploding population of 5.8 million animals that translates to a consumption of at least 6 million metric tonnes of fish each year. This means that now while the fish stocks are in crisis, the record breaking seal population is consuming more fish than ever before in recorded history, and is not only a threat to the fish, but to its own sustainability.

To put this into perspective, Canada, a world leader in the management, consumption, and export of fish stocks only harvests 0.9 million metric tonnes annually, which includes both coasts (Atlantic and Pacific). The European Union, which has criticized the seal hunt and recently banned the import of  seal products, was identified by the World Wildlife Fund to be the main offender in a 70% increase of destructive cod by-catch. At the 2007 annual meeting of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization the WWF pushed for a cod recovery strategy that included setting a bycatch reduction target of 40 per cent for southern Grand Banks cod. The 40 per cent target was equivalent to a fishing mortality of 420 tonnes, which is estimated to be the maximum the population could withstand to still have some chance of recovery. Unfortunately, a total of 713 tonnes of bycatch was taken in 2008. Of that amount, the EU was responsible for 444 tonnes. These statistics do not account misreporting and illegal activity, which the EU, particularly Spain, has been accused of multiple times in the last 3 decades. Once again, to put this in perspective, â??lowâ? numbers for cod-consumption by harp seals suggest that this species makes up 4% of their diet â?? at the numbers provided, this comes out to 240,000 MT of cod consumed.

The World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) recognize the sustainable use of wild animal populations to be a cornerstone of their health and conservation. They have placed the harp seal on their list of “Least Concern”. Despite accusations of being cruel and inhumane, the hunting methods Eastern Canadian sealers employ are effective and humane, as shown in veterinary studies carried out by members of Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (2002), the Independent Veterinary Working Group (2005), and the European Union’s own Food Safety Authority (2007). In the latest study on the effectiveness of the methods used in the seal hunt, the methods used were proven to be around 95% and 96% efficient, higher than any other harvest of animals in the world.

Seals provide essential income and wild food to rural people, such as fishermen, to diversify their living at a time of year when employment opportunities are extremely limited. Sealers have stated that their income from sealing can represent from 25-35% of their total income.

Seals are used for their fat, meat and organs as well as their hides. With heart disease being the number one killer in North America, there has been promising research done by scientists using the valves from seal hearts. This research which is aiming towards repairing damaged human hearts using seal heart valves has the potential to save millions of lives.

Links:

Wikipedia -Harp Seal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harp_Seal

Wikipedia -Seal Hunting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_hunting

Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans – Seal FAQ http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/seal-phoque/faq-eng.htm

Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans – Seal Facts http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/seal-phoque/reports-rapports/facts-faits/facts-faits2008-eng.htm

Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans – Seal Myths Debunked http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/seal-phoque/myth-eng.htm

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) – European Union Main Offender in Overfishing Cod http://wwf.ca/newsroom/?3600

IUCN Redlist â?? Harp Seal listing, species â??of least concernâ? http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/41671/0

What can you do?

- Sign the Petition for a Universal Declaration on the Ethical Harvest of Seals www.sealsonline.org

- Go to Facebook and join the group “I Support the Seal Hunt“