New Opportunities

First off, I'd like to start this blog post with news of a Sea Shepherd event coming to Seattle on April 30th from 7-11pm. The event is a fundraiser for the purpose of introducing the new Sea Shepherd Seattle chapter. Ryan and I will be traveling to Seattle on Friday, April 29th to gear up for the event.

Many Cove Guardians will be present including myself, Ryan, Scott West, Elora Malama, Libby Miller, Rob Lorkiewicz, David Blanchard & family, Bob Timmons and more. This will be the first reunion for many of us, to visit with those who became Cove Guardians on the past campaign in Taiji. We're very much looking forward to meeting everyone and bonding again with fellow activists who also witnessed the atrocities in Taiji, Japan.

There will be many items to auction, both silent and live. The event will also feature a slide show, dessert bar, raffle, and a photo booth. If you live in the Seattle area please come out to support SSCS at this fantastic evening event! You can purchase tickets here.

On another note, Ryan and I were recently asked if we would like to participate in the upcoming campaign in Palau. We, of course are very interested in the campaign and will have details available soon. Palau boasts a shark sanctuary, the only one we currently have on this planet. Sea Shepherd recently signed an agreement that allows the conservation society to enforce shark protection laws in the sanctuary. For more information visit http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/news-110331-1.html

Japan has recently issued a statement that you can find here claiming that Palau should reconsider this decision. Japan has also stated that they will send a vessel (at their own cost) to Palau to assist with the shark sanctuary. But wait a minute....Isn't Japan facing a nuclear crisis? Should the country not be more concerned with the danger faced by its citizens in wake of the devastating tsunami and Nuclear disaster? One would think that Japan has larger issues to tackle, instead of competing with Sea Shepherd over protecting sharks. Considering Japan once contributed to the decimation of over 10 million sharks per year for the shark finning industry in Kesen'numa, a city that was destroyed by the tsunami, it would not seem that protecting these creatures is high on their list of priorities. It seems to me that Japan may be attempting to turn this into a pissing contest, one to declare who is better suited to save sharks. This shouldn't be a difficult decision. Sea Shepherd has more than proven its ability to protect ocean wildlife wordwide. It is time for the Japanese Government to understand where their responsibility lies. Where, you ask? Their responsibility lies in protecting their people who are facing homelessness, lack of food, fresh water, and the possibility of widespread nuclear disaster.

Stay tuned for more news soon!

For the Oceans,
Tarah