OUR BOW IS FIRMLY POINTED TOWARD ICELAND

June 11, 2023

This is the third day since our departure from New York City. 

We have had three days of calm and pleasant seas complimented by numerous sightings of whales and sun fish. Everything is moving smoothly. We have an excellent international crew of volunteers, the meals are fantastic and the watches are enjoyable.

The sighting of a Fin whale yesterday has given the crew much encouragement. Seeing the object of our quest, alive and swimming gracefully through the sea underscores our commitment to this important cause, lifting our spirits and boosting our determination.

Some of my former colleagues have been trolling about how this campaign is counter-productive and a waste of time and money. According to some of our critics who have forgotten just who we are and what we have done, Iceland intends to not grant permits in 2024 to Icelandic serial whale killer Kristján Loftsson. According to them, whaling in Iceland is over. The group Hard to Port messaged me to tell me that our campaign will simply anger Icelanders and will make them more supportive of whaling.

I reject all these arguments because the evidence is very clear that Kristján Loftsson has every intention of continuing to kill whales after this year.

This is the evidence:

He has publicly declared that he will continue to kill whales for as long as he has a market in Japan to sell Fin Whale meat.

Over the last year he has refitted and repainted his two whaling ships at great cost. This is not something he would do if this summer is to be the last Icelandic whaling season.

He has ordered brand new and expensive harpoons which he is presently fitting to his two ships. Not something he would do if this is to be his last summer of whaling.

Yes, the Icelandic government has stated that Loftsson’s permits will not be renewed for 2024 yet they have consistently refused to confirm this.

Kristján Loftsson is one of the wealthiest men in Iceland and has great influence within the Icelandic government.

There continues to be a demand by tourists to have whale steaks served in Icelandic restaurants.

I have not seen any indication that Iceland intends to end whaling, despite the fact that the majority of Icelanders are opposed to killing whales.

There is also one more very important reason for us to do everything we can to intervene against this summer’s murder of Fin whales. These are 160+ souls that deserve to live, to thrive and to reproduce. These highly intelligent self-aware sentient beings must have the right to live and swim freely and peacefully in the sea.

The killing of these whales is also illegal. It is a violation of the International Whaling Commission’s global moratorium on commercial whaling. It is a crime against international conservation law, and it is a crime against nature.

Would we say to a serial killer of humans who has said he will no longer kill people in 2024 if he is allowed to kill people in 2023?

Yesterday the sighting of a beautiful Fin whale swimming freely and majestically in the sea within the protected waters of North America filled my heart with wonder and love. What an awesome sight, what an extraordinary stunning incredible being, both in size and movement.

The very idea that this monstrous octogenarian Icelandic whale killer intends to once again fire horrific, deadly explosive harpoons into the backside of such a being is abhorrent on so many levels. Not only is it a crime, but it is also a stain on the escutcheon of the entire human species if we allow him to commit such a bloody-minded atrocity without doing all we can to intervene and to interfere.

To our critics including my former colleagues in SSCS and to any other group upset about what we are doing, who disagree with our tactics and are opposing this campaign, all I can say is I don’t care. We are not heading to Iceland to compromise, to meekly protest or to show the flag and take pictures. We are not heading to Iceland because of how you feel about it.

We are heading to Iceland to save lives, to defend and protect whales from deadly harpoons and if every single person in Iceland or anywhere else on the planet opposes us, it is of little concern to us. We are going there for the whales. The whales are our clients, and we are their champions, and I don’t think that there is a single Fin whale anywhere on the planet that would be against what we are doing.

My only question to them, especially to my former SS colleagues is this: Where are you and why are your ships (previously my ships) not here with me? I built our once awesome conservation Navy for the primary purpose of saving whales and dolphins, seals and sharks and the living diversity of life in the sea, and now only the Brazilians, the British, the Hungarians, the Icelanders and the French are standing with us. Where are the Germans, the Italians, the Spanish, the Australians, the New Zealanders, the Belgiums, the Portuguese, the Netherlanders and Greeks? Not a whisper of support from any of them.

We are ready to undertake the risks of standing firm to stop the harpoons. The least they could do is to keep their criticisms to themselves and go about doing whatever it is you’re doing these days.