GREENPEACE USES 'WALL OF WATER' TO STOP ILLEGAL ANTARCTIC WHALING

9 January 2000

SOUTHERN OCEAN/AMSTERDAM -- Greenpeace today used a 'wall of water' to prevent the harpoonist from shooting whales on Day 20 of its campaign to stop illegal Japanese whaling in Antarctica.

Using a water pump mounted on the stern of an inflatable boat, activists sprayed an eight metre wall of water directly in front of the harpoon of the catcher vessel Toshi Maru No.25, blocking the line of sight and preventing the killing of whales.

For 20 days Greenpeace has taken all possible peaceful action to stop Japan’s illegal whaling and force them to live up to their international legal obligations. "It is high time that the governments of the world took diplomatic action to force Japan to obey international law and stop illegal whaling in Antarctica," John Bowler, campaigner on board the Greenpeace vessel MV Arctic Sunrise, said today.

Greenpeace has repeatedly called on national governments to demand that the Japanese Government cancel its illegal Antarctic whaling program. However only Britain, the US, Australia and New Zealand have made soft diplomatic moves to pressure Japan to abandon the whaling programme.

Japan’s Antarctic whaling programme is in violation of articles 65 and 120 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas, (UNCLOS – adopted in 1982) which requires all states to cooperate with the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in the matter of whale protection. Each year the IWC passes a resolution condemning Japan for whaling in the Sanctuary and calls on it to stop its whaling programme.

The Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary was declared in 1994, and the area has been off limits to commercial whaling ever since. However Japan has a target to kill 440 Minke whales inside the Sanctuary this year. The whale meat produced during the hunt will be sold on the open market in Japan.

Greenpeace has been tracking the fleet since December 20, 1999 and has since then successfully disrupted illegal whaling on eight occasions. The activists currently inside the inflatable are Curtis Barnett, (Australia) Aaron Barbetti (Australia) Richard Pearson (Australia).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

- MV Arctic Sunrise: John Bowler on +873 624 453 210[satellite rates]
- Australia: Dima Litvinov +61 408 869 788 or Kate Johnston +61 411 874 819


Visit Greenpeace's whaling campaign website: www.greenpeace.org/~oceans/whales/