Comments about ‘Whaler, activist ship collide again off Antarctica’

I wish reporters would use the correct terms in these articles. A conservationist is someone who tries to manage a resource for continued use while a preservationist is someone who wants things left completely alone (generally for everyone but themselves).

Too bad the Bob Barker didn't go down! They Sea Shepherd group are pirates plain and simple. They are the criminals that need to be stopped.

These are neither conservationists nor preservationist. The correct term that should be used are eco-terrorists. They are causing the confrontation by attacking the Japanese ship. They throw butter-bombs at the ship and that takes even more risks. Our government should do something about these eco-terrorists before deaths result.

You are so wrong, Tim. Don't pirates rape, murder, and steal? How are they pirates? I totally support the Sea Shepherd crew! Japan's ruthless butchering of whales and dolphins needs to end.

More like dangerous goof balls. Whaling endangered species - bad; sustainable harvesting of non-endangered species - not bad.

These so called "activists" are nothing more than terrorists. It is ridiculous how Discovery and Animal Planet are championing such idiotic behavior as if the whole crew of the Bob Barker were heroes. I hope that they can ram her and sink her in the future. Depriving a Japanese vessel a legal access to whales by harassing them is nonsense. Bring the Bob Barker in, and try her crew for terrorism on the high seas. Nothing more than pirates.

What Japan is doing in these waters is illegal. They are the only country in the world hunting whales, and they should be punished. Send a message to Japan by not buying products produced by Japanese companies.

If any of you have not seen the South Park episode making fun of these Sea Shepard retards, def need to check it out. It is exactly how I feel about them. Especially the Cpt.

Apparently most of you think this is pretty simple, but it is a conundrum to me. No one here addresses Japan's whaling practice. Hundreds of them yearly for science? Why? Is there any demonstration of how these whales are used? (The author's statement that "much of the meat is eaten" is irrelevant; if the whales are indeed used for scientific purposes but the meat is not needed, then eating the meat is just good use, much better than throwing it away). If the Japanese really need all these whales for science, why doesn't anyone else?

So it looks to me like they are thumbing their noses at the rest of the world and defying the agreement. Why does no one address that? Non-lethal harassing techniques may not be so unreasonable if it's the only thing being done to address the Japanese violations.

Again, and I know it's obvious from what I've written: I don't have the answers. But no one seems to be addressing a few key questions.

Japan has been hunting whales long before your grandfathers grandfather was born. Japan doesn't look to worried. I don't exactly see the Navy out there enforcing this bogus law. These "activist" are arrogant imbelciles, find a real "CAUSE". People die starving in countries like Africa, Asia, Central and South America, India, and even here in the United States of America. I'm sure that vessel their ramming ships with doesn't run on good intentions. How many gallons of fuel do you think they have wasted with their little crusade? They should use that boat to carry food to impoverished people, that would be honorable. You say, "Save the Whales", I say, "Save Mankind."

during a commercial enterprise is terrorism and the use of deadly force. All civilized nations should encourage the Japanese to respond with deadly force (or our Navy should do it for them - good luck under the ObamabinBiden admin) and blow these pirates clean out of the water. Bob Barker should be sued in international court for aiding and abetting terrorism and all his stinking cash should be seized like we do to any other terrorist group.

Environmentalists want humans to become extinct. It's the purest form of hate.

I have a rule of thumb: Anything that South Park is against, must be good.

What Japan is doing is perfectly legal and they aren't the only country hunting whales. Both Iceland and Norway hunt whales and numerous other countries have aboriginal whaling quotas.

@ddpalmer 12:26

If you are right about countries like Iceland and Norway, how many whales do they take? Is their process for demonstrating that they are used for scientific purposes similar to Japan's or different in some way? And does Sea Shephard harass them, too?

@Joe Moe

Thanks for the question, sorry I didn't answer sooner. Iceland and Norway whale commercially not for research. They both objected to the IWC whaling ban, which basically means they can ignore the ban. Japan was blackmailed by the US into agree to the ban. The US said they would stop Japan from fishing in US waters if they didn't agree. Then once Japan agreed the US still cut them off from fishing in US waters. Iceland takes about 200 per year, Norway about 1000. Years ago Sea Shepherd harassed them. But their Navies intervened and the Sea Shepherds haven't been back since 1994. The Japanese navy is prohibitted by the Japanese constitution from leaving Japanese waters, so they can't go to the Antarctic to protect the whalers.