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Watson is considered a criminal in both Iceland and Norway. If he returns they will jail him.
Watson has been jailed in Iran, Seattle, Quebec, Iceland, Newfoundland, Germany, and the Netherlands. Norway has an Interpol warrant out for Watson's arrest.
Other crew members have been jailed in Norway, Germany, Holland, Japan and Canada, plus arrest warrants have been issued in Costa Rica.
It would be exceedingly difficult for him to pull off any of his stunts here in Alaska. The whaling seasons are before the ice goes out in the spring and just before freeze up in the fall. Hence his yacht cannot get here in the spring and would almost certainly not be able to leave in the fall.
There is also perhaps the fact that the North Slope is a very remote location with a small population that does know it well... and would not tolerate him at all.
Watson's actions have little to do with helping whales in any way, they are designed to bring in donations. That funds his yearly cruises in a mighty nice yacht...
Really he has a yacht? They leave that off of whale wars.
Thanks, I thought they left the Norwegians and Icelandic folks alone because they are less docile than the Japanese and will actually fight back(I could be wrong on that one, not sure where I heard it). I suppose they dont bother the natives because it would be bad PR to hassle the "poor indigenous people" in the country that gives them a lot of money (from private donations.)
Watson's crew sank a boat in Norway, and rammed a Norwegian cutter. And several crew members, including Watson, have been arrested in other countries on Norwegian arrest warrants. Norway lets them sit in jail and then doesn't waste time and money on extradition. Watson was convicted by a Norwegian court in absentia.
You are right about bad PR if he goes after Alaskan whaling. It's one thing to stir up racism in Port Angeles WN, where they have easy access and the Makah tribe is very small, very poor and are a small minority. Try that in Alaska, where their access is technically extremely difficult and they would be fighting with the wealth of North Slope Oil. The North Slope Borough (where the Inupiat people are a majority), the various tribal organizations, and the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (one of the biggest corporations in the US) would all go after him with a vengeance. They would win and he would lose, and he knows it.
Greenpeace has been here, and found it to not be productive. They had to virtually pull in their horns entirely, and admit that Alaska Native people have it right. That doesn't help funding a bit, so they left and have not returned.
Never considered them yachts. I guess because I've been on nice yachts before , and the sea shepard boats don't compare. I just considered them old converted boats not something I would attend a race on.
He registers them as yachts so they don't need a qualified captain or crew, because he's not qualified as a captain nor are his crew remotely qualified.
Well, fall whaling really has begun! The weather this morning has been relatively calm, with winds reported as dead calm at 6 AM, SSW 05 at 7 AM, and SW at 07 at 8 and 9 AM. The marine band VHF radio has been crackling all morning as "Rescue Base" (Search and Rescue) checks boats out as they are launched.
At about 9:40 AM a cease fire for the day was declared, "Three strikes, three whales... bring 'em home!"
Three per day is the limit that the Barrow Whaling Captains Association has decided on to avoid stretching the resources too thin. I'm not sure how far out they are, so I don't know how long it will take to tow them in. I'll try to get pictures of at least some of the activity.
He registers them as yachts so they don't need a qualified captain or crew, because he's not qualified as a captain nor are his crew remotely qualified.
I have a mates license on a 300 ton vessel and from my persective you don't know what you are talking about.
The Coast Guard wouldn't allow that boat to leave the dock without proper crew and documentation.
Just keeping it real. Oh well, as Peter Green once said.
I've seen whales a few times but I never wanted to kill them.
I have a mates license on a 300 ton vessel and from my persective you don't know what you are talking about.
The Coast Guard wouldn't allow that boat to leave the dock without proper crew and documentation.
Just keeping it real. Oh well, as Peter Green once said.
I've seen whales a few times but I never wanted to kill them.
They're not registered in the U.S.
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