Wake-up call for the world - Whales protection goes beyond IWC

Mike Townsley, Greenpeace International spokesperson and a recently released arrestee had this to say "The amount in fines we were given is nothing compared to the priceless diversity lost each year by whaling and continued ocean destruction. The irony is the St Kitts Government is open to 'vote-buying' as they received US$ 5,359,094 from Japan as aid for their marine industry days after last years IWC meeting. It is no longer acceptable for nations of the world to hide behind the IWC and pay lip service to this once a year event. "

The peaceful protest was carried out by activists and crew from the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise which had been barred from St Kitts waters when it arrived last weekend prior to the start of the IWC meeting. Attempting to create a symbolic "whale graveyard" display using 863 cardboard whale tails to represent each of the whales killed, the protestors were stopped and arrested by the police. (1)

The IWC concluded with debate still raging, but a clear outcome was Greenpeace vowing to continue protecting the worlds' whales outside of discussion forums and asking global citizens to join it on their journey and become an 'ocean defender' and work together to stop the slaughter. www.oceans.greenpeace.org   "Greenpeace is dedicated to protecting whales and the environment they live in and we will return to the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary later this year. Greenpeace will continue to defend and stop the killing of as many of the 935 minke whales and ten fin whales which will be the target of the Fisheries Agency of Japan's grenade tipped harpoons," concluded Townsley.

Greenpeace's campaign for an end to whaling is part of the most ambitious ship expedition ever undertaken by the environmental advocacy organisation. The 14-month long "Defending our Oceans" expedition is exposing the key threats to our oceans and offering real solutions, a global network of properly enforced marine reserves covering 40 percent of the worlds oceans: places that will be protected from industrial exploitation and destruction, from industrial fishing and hunting, and places from which our oceans can begin the process of repair and recovery.