The Esperanza will take us through four oceans over 14 months,
all thewhile mapping and demonstrating the emergency need for a
global networkof marine reserves - comprising 40 percent of our
planets oceans. These marinereserves would act like national parks
at sea, giving the oceans afighting chance of survival. "Only
through establishing and enforcing avast network of marine reserves
can we reverse the decline andguarantee our children's right to
inherit healthy seas," saidShane Rattenbury, head of Greenpeace's
Oceans Campaign.
Cutting-edge technology
The Esperanza has been fitted out with cutting-edge
communicationstechnology. We will be online 24/7 with blogs,
chats, videoblogs, podcasts, webcams and much more. We're pulling
together amillion people to become "Ocean Defenders" with us, to
help save theoceans and be a part of the action. It's your chance
to really getinvolved in the action wherever we are -- from
wherever you are.
The start of an incredible journey: Southern Ocean Whale
Sanctuary
Heading south from Cape town, South Africa, the Esperanza will
beaccompanied by the Arctic Sunrise on the first leg of this
expedition.We are returning to the internationally recognised
waters of theSouthern Ocean Whale Sanctuary to defend the whales
and call for animmediate end to the annual hunt referred to as
"scientific whaling".
This year the Fisheries Agency of Japan intends to more than
double itscatch of minke whales to 935. Adding insult to injury
this year 10 finwhales will also be caught in the harpooner's
sights. Next year 40 morefin whales will be added along with 50
humpback whales. Both arerecognised as endangered species. These
actions defy internationalprotests and repeated calls from the
International Whaling Commissionto stop the annual hunt.
We're not going to stand by. We're heading out in search of
thehunters to take a non-violent stand against them, and calling
upon theglobal community to help us hunt the hunters. The law of
sixdegrees of separation means that you, dear reader, know somebody
whoknows somebody who knows somebody who knows precisely where the
whalerswill be hunting this year.
Hunt the hunters
We have our own methods of locating them, but this is always
avery difficult task. If you know someone who works in
maritimetracking, satellite imagery, the Japanese fishing
industry,cetacean research, who's doing an ocean crossing in the
Pacificor working in some other field that might have first hand
knowledge ofwhere the fleet will be, pass the message along - they
may be holdinginformation which could save the lives of whales.
The ship we areseeking is named the Nisshin Maru, gross tonnage
8,030, length 130metres, radio call sign JJCJ. She is the factory
ship and will beaccompanied by three catchers, Kyo Maru No. 1 with
radio call signJKNG, the Yushin Maru call sign JLZS and Yushin Maru
No. 2, call signJPPV. These ships left Shimonoseki, Southern Japan,
at 10am local timeon the 8th of November 2005.
You can send information to hunt-the-hunters@greenpeace.org
All information in strictest confidence.
The story of the oceans
"Even though the ban on commercial whaling has been agreed,
theinternational community has failed stop the hunt. Starting with
theeasiest whales to catch, vast whaling fleets have pushed one
speciesafter another to the brink of extinction." said Rattenbury.
"Thepersecution of the great whales is a tragic echo of what is
happeningthroughout our oceans," Rattenbury added.
From the Southern ocean we will continue the expedition along
the coastof Africa, through the Mediterranean, across Asia and the
Pacific anddown the west coast of the Americas, returning to
Antarctic waters in2007, exposing the threats and providing
solutions to the crisis facingour oceans today.
We will tell the story of the oceans, from the life forms that
call ithome, to the people whose lives depend on it. The oceans
cover twothirds of our planet, hold 85 percent of all life and
provide half theair we breathe. It's time to stand up and start
defending our oceansnow. Be one in a million - become an Ocean
Defender.
You can be one in a million - become an
Ocean Defender now.
Sign up as an Ocean Defender!
Sign up now to join us on our journey and take action to save our oceans.