All a bunch of hype.
I went to the Sea Shepard sites, and visited other sites that report on their activities.
The captain's a sharp cookie. He goes after rogue whalers operating illegally in protected waters, vs. those with permissions to hunt.
As a conservationist at heart, I applaud his efforts, even though his methods are unorthodox.
He knows what he's doing, and has avoided being charged with piracy when he exposed certain governments' collusion in the illegal whaling trade. Note that I said the illegal whaling trade, vs. legitimate sanctioned whaling.
IOW, he's going after poachers, even scuttling a few.
He's accomplished more via harassing illegal whalers than years of UN legislation could ever do.
Nor is he doing it alone. I did a quick mental tally of his fleet, and his operations budget is by no means a small thing. He's getting funded, and by many different sources. One man's "terrorism" appears to be a good business for folks with a cause, and he's making the illegal whalers rock back on their heels as he exposes their actions to the world. To make an omelette, one must break a few eggs. He knows what he's doing is dangerous, and even explains why his Jolly Roger flag is flying on that ship.
They're not killing anybody, and I invite anybody here to find documentation to that effect. They're doing what the respective maritime fishing agencies of the involved sovereign bodies of water are incapable of - monitoring and stopping harvesting of whales outside of proper permissions, and exposing those who do. It ain't just whales, either. Our local fisheries on both American coasts are taking a big hit from illegal fishing by other countries, too. If there were enough money in it, I'm sure somebody would attempt harvesting of Florida manatees for a Japanese consumer with a predilection for that product...
