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ICELANDIC REPORT CONDEMNS ICELANDIC WHALING OPERATIONS

ICELANDIC REPORT CONDEMNS ICELANDIC WHALING OPERATIONS

June 19, 2023 “The expert council on animal welfare has come to the conclusion that the fishing method used for hunting large whales does not comply with the provisions of Act no. 55/2013 on animal welfare.” NOT ONLY IS ICELANDIC WHALING A VIOLATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL WHALING COMMISSION’S GLOBAL MORATORIUM ON COMMERCIAL WHALING, IT IS ALSO IN VIOLATION OF ICELANDIC ANIMAL WELFARE LAWS. The professional council on animal welfare says that whaling does not comply with the law.  Hólmfríður Gísladóttir…

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HARPOONS HAVE BEEN FITTED TO VESSELS HVALUR 8 AND 9: ICELAND WHALING TO START WITHIN DAYS.

HARPOONS HAVE BEEN FITTED TO VESSELS HVALUR 8 AND 9: ICELAND WHALING TO START WITHIN DAYS.

June 18, 2023 Kristjan Loftsson’s whaling company, Hvalur hf., is getting ready to begin whaling as final preparations are being made to Iceland’s whaling fleet. The harpoons that have been recently fitted are produced by Kongsberg Gruppen, a Norwegian weapons manufacturer.  This modern-day whaling harpoon cannon (pictured) is based on the Bofors 40mm cannon used extensively by both the Allies and Axis forces in the Second World War. Early guns had a 70 mm bore and launched a 22 kilogram harpoon…

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Closing In On Iceland

Closing In On Iceland

June 16, 2023 The John Paul DeJoria is closing in on Iceland. We have been moving slow because the Whalers have been delayed. We are confident that we will be on station when they send out the first harpoon vessel Loftsson has refitted both his ships and installed new harpoons. He has no intention of stopping whaling next year. He intends to kill up to 200 endangered fin whales: we intend to stop him. So far our passage from New York…

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ORCAS AND ICEBERGS

ORCAS AND ICEBERGS

June 14, 2023 Yesterday, while moving through the wonderfully calm waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, we passed a pod of Orcas and an iceberg. We decided to transit through the Gulf of St. Lawrence from Cabot Strait to the Strait of Belle Isle to save time and to avoid bad weather east of Newfoundland. It was not without hassle.  The Canadian Coast Guard harassed us, demanding certificates that we are not required to have and insisting that we…

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OPERATION PAIAKAN

OPERATION PAIAKAN

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…

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OPERATION PAIAKAN

OPERATION PAIAKAN

June 10, 2023 0600 Hours: 48 Hours since our Departure from New York City Harbor What a wonderful beginning for the voyage of the John Paul DeJoria and Operation Paiakan. We passed a majestic Fin whale, the very whale that we are intending to save in the waters between Iceland and Greenland. We deployed a drone to capture its movement through the sea. We also noticed the many obstacles (fishing gear) that these whales need to avoid to prevent entanglement….

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OPERATION PAIAKAN

OPERATION PAIAKAN

Noon June 10th, 2023 Numerous Sunfish sighted. These huge lazy fish seem undisturbed by the passing of ship.. Today the seas remain calm and glassy, more like a peaceful lake than the sea.

Operation Paiakan

Operation Paiakan

June 9, 2023 Day One: 16 hours since departure from NYC. The sea is calm, glassy flat. Saw two whales this morning and a pod of dolphins. The air is still heavy with smoke and it looks like the smoke from the Canadian fires will stay with us offshore at least until past Nova Scotia. All systems are running smoothly. It has been wonderful to smell the sea breeze again, despite the smoke. Did the 8 to 12 watch and…

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Loyalty and Dedication

Loyalty and Dedication

June 5, 2023 Last summer when Sea Shepherd France President Lamya Essemlali told Sea Shepherd Global director Alex Cornelissen that I was forming the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, Alex laughed and said, “Right, who’s going to organize that? Omar Todd? Good luck with that!!” Alex told Lamya that I was no longer the face of Sea Shepherd, that he and Peter Hammarstedt were the new face of Sea Shepherd. “When we go to events, no one knows who Paul Watson is…

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ALL SYSTEMS ARE GO FOR ICELAND

ALL SYSTEMS ARE GO FOR ICELAND

June 1, 2023 The crew of the John Paul DeJoria II along with Captain Paul Watson, will depart from New York City on June 3rd, bound for the waters between Iceland and Greenland, where a modern-day Captain Ahab, an Icelander named Kristján Loftsson plans to kill between 145 and 200 endangered Fin whales. We plan to stop him. Loftsson is an 80-year-old businessman and one of the wealthiest men in Iceland. He does not need to kill whales, but he openly boasts that…

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