Greenpeace finds and engages the whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean

While the Greenpeace ships were relaying their message, two 'catcher ships' arrived on the scene with dead minke whales hung from their hulls, ready to be transferred to the fleet's factory ship, the Nisshin Maru. However, the Esperanza was blocking access to the Nisshim Maru's stern ramp and one 'catcher', the Kyo Maru Number One, twice tried to push the Esperanza out of the way, in the interest of safety the Esperanza pulled back.

"This whale hunt is unnecessary, unjustified, and unwanted," said Greenpeace Expedition leader Shane Rattenbury. In a radio call to the whaling vessels, from the bridge of the Arctic Sunrise, Yuko Hirono, of Greenpeace Japan called upon the whalers to stop killing whales "and leave the internationally recognised Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary."

Flying in the face of international protest and repeated calls from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to stop its annual 'scientific' whale hunt, this year the Fisheries Agency of Japan has more than double its planned catch of minke whales to 935 and added 10 endangered fin whales. Over the next 2 years 40 more fin whales will be added to the annual kill along with 50 humpback whales. Fin whales are the second largest creatures on earth, after blue whales.

 "No one is fooled by the giant new "RESEARCH" sign which has been painted on the side of the fleet's factory ship, the Nisshin Maru. Once the whales are have been measured and weighed by the 'scientists' the onboard butchers get to work and the whales are cut up and boxed for market," said Rattenbury. "This is all about money and not science!"

Greenpeace is using every available means to bring the hunt to an early end and make it the last time the Sanctuary is breached by the whalers. This includes tracking the money behind the fleet.

Greenpeace, the Environmental Investigations Agency and the Humane Society of the US, have been tracking the money behind the whaling fleets. Greenpeace is currently focussing its attention on the US sea food giant Gorton's, the US frozen seafood market leader. US consumers are familiar with its 'friendly family business' image, but they are not so whale friendly. Gorton's is owned by Nissui USA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nissui, Japan's second-largest marine products company, and one third of owner of Kyodo Senpaku, the company that operates the whaling fleet. Greenpeace is calling on Gorton's to use its influence to convince Nissui to bring an end to whaling.

"In a world were international public opinion is ignored and where high level diplomatic pressure has failed, Greenpeace hopes that consumers can once and for all demonstrate that there is no profit in whaling," said Rattenbury.

For more information on the campaign to defend the whales go to: http://oceans.greenpeace.org

Video and stills of whales being harpooned today and being transferred from the catcher ships to the factory ship and being cut open on board the factory ship are being transmitted from the Greenpeace ships and will be available within the next few hours.