Before Sea Shepherd went off to save the whalesin the Antarctic Reserve, they made a quick stop in Wellington to raise awareness, gather support and stock up on supplies. We had a chance to check out the ship and meet some of the crew, as well as watch a documentary about their work.
First off- their ship is huge!! Had the chance to go onboard and see the helipad, the control room and check out the crew's area. The ship we were on, called the 'Steve Irwin' will be out on the waters in Antarctica from this coming Tuesday for about the next 3 months without coming ashore.
It is an 8 day trip down to Antarctic waters and then they will be looking for the illegal Japanese whaling ships. I didn't really know what it was they did before yesterday. They are pretty amazing. They work to save whales as well as dolphins and sharks and they work all over the world. Paul Watson, the Captain, started out working with Greenpeace and decided to take a more aggressive tactic back in the 70s and began Sea Shepherd. The work they do puts them in direct conflict with the poachers, placing themselves between a whale and a whaling ship for instance. Fairly recently they began work off the Galapagos to stop the trade of shark fins which claim the lives of tens of thousands of sharks per year. If you want more information here is their website: http://www.seashepherd.org/
Perhaps it is growing up on the water around boats, or my recently found love of scuba diving, but I find myself caring more and more about the oceans and conservation efforts. The creatures they are working to save have been around a lot longer than we have- perhaps they have something to teach us.
That is all for now, it is a blustery, beautiful day here in Wellington, perfect for sipping tea and watching the clouds roll by.
xoxo
Kaitlyn
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