Whale Wars
Encyclopedia
Whale Wars is a weekly American documentary-style reality television series that premiered on November 7, 2008 on the Animal Planet
cable channel. The program follows Paul Watson
, founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, as he and his crew aboard their various vessels
harass Japanese whalers
off the coast of Antarctica. Animal Planet renewed the series for a fourth season which premiered on June 3, 2011.
to make a reality show about the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's campaign against Japanese whaling
in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary
off the coast of Antarctica. The Japanese claim that their whaling is legally accepted research, which Sea Shepherd and others contend is a cover for banned commercial whaling. Sea Shepherd has been both criticized and praised for tactics of direct action
sabotage which include throwing stink bombs of butyric acid
as well as ramming, boarding, and otherwise attempting to disable the Japanese vessels.
The program premiered on November 7, 2008, on the Animal Planet cable channel and follows events on the vessel Steve Irwin as the group attempts to deter the hunting of Minke
and Fin
whales in the Southern Ocean
. The show came at a time when Animal Planet was being rebranded to attract broader audiences and compete with non-animal-centric programming.
The 2007-08 Antarctic campaign was named Operation Migaloo, after the only known albino humpback in the world. This campaign was the focus of the first season of Whale Wars, which premiered on November 7, 2008.
On January 15, 2008, after attempting to entangle the whaling vessel's propeller and throwing containers of butyric acid
onto the decks, two Sea Shepherd members, Benjamin Potts and Giles Lane, from the Sea Shepherd vessel MV Steve Irwin
boarded the Japanese whaling vessel Yushin Maru No. 2
from a rigid-hulled inflatable boat. The pair were delivering a letter advising the Japanese that they were "whaling illegally" with the hope of creating an international incident. The Japanese responded by saying that the men would be held until Sea Shepherd stopped what they called "dangerous and illegal activities."
The crew of the Yushin Maru No. 2 detained the men for two days, before turning them over to the Australian customs vessel MV Oceanic Viking
on the orders of Japanese authorities; subsequently, the Steve Irwin rendezvoused with the Oceanic Viking and the two crewmembers were returned to Sea Shepherd. On April 9, first mate Peter Brown was described in a newspaper article as saying that the incident only became a hostage situation because the Sea Shepherd vessel left the scene, so the Japanese would be forced to hold the two crewmen longer. He was quoted as saying, "It's all giant street theater."
On March 3, Sea Shepherd members threw bottles of butyric acid and packages of slippery methyl cellulose powder onto the Japanese vessel Nisshin Maru
. Australian foreign minister Stephen Smith
condemned Sea Shepherd's actions for potentially causing injury The Japanese Government called in the Australian and Dutch ambassadors to protest the actions and urge those countries to prevent any violence. Watson said: "They are so full of crap. We filmed and photographed the entire thing. Not a single thing landed anywhere near their crew ... It is their way of trying to get sympathy."
The International Whaling Commission issued a statement on March 8, 2008 that "called upon the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society to refrain from dangerous actions that jeopardise safety at sea, and on vessels and crews concerned to exercise restraint." The statement also reiterated earlier IWC resolutions from May and July 2007 that read in part, "The commission and its contracting governments do not condone and in fact condemn any actions that are a risk to human life and property in relation to the activities of vessels at sea." The Australian Government also called for all parties to "exercise restraint" and "responsible behaviour" in the Southern Ocean.
On March 17, 2008 Paul Watson claimed that he was shot by the Japanese crew or coast guard personnel during the campaign. The incident is heavily documented during the show in the final episode, and the first six episodes are covered as a buildup to what is portrayed as the major incident during the campaign. The footage in Whale Wars shows Watson standing on the deck of the Steve Irwin while Sea Shepherd crew throws glass bottles filled with butyric acid
at the Nisshin Maru whaling vessel. The Japanese respond by throwing flashbang devices. Watson is then shown reaching inside his jacket and bullet-proof vest and remarking "I've been hit." Back inside the bridge of the Steve Irwin, a metal fragment is found inside the vest. The Institute of Cetacean Research
has dismissed Sea Shepherd's statements as lies. The Institute and Coast Guard said that they used seven flashbang devices designed to flash and make noise in the air without causing harm. Neither of the two conflicting accounts have been independently verified. The Australian Foreign Affairs Department had condemned "actions by crew members of any vessel that cause injury". Two media releases were made on the same day from the office. One said that the Australian Embassy in Tokyo had been informed by the Japanese that the whalers had "fired warning shots" while the updated version used the phrase "'warning balls' – also known as 'flashbangs' – had been fired", and that no gunshots had occurred.
. On December 4, 2008, actress Daryl Hannah
joined Sea Shepherd's crew aboard the Steve Irwin to take part in this season's operation.
On February 6, 2009, Watson reported that the Steve Irwin had collided with the Yushin Maru 2 as the Steve Irwin tried to block its attempt to prevent the transfer of a dead whale up the slipway of the factory ship Nisshin Maru. As Watson explained the incident, "We were in the process of blocking the transfer from the Yushin Maru 2 when the Yushin Maru 1 moved directly in front of the bow to block us. I could not turn to starboard without hitting the Yushin Maru 1. I tried to back down but the movement of the Yushin Maru 2 made the collision unavoidable." The Japanese whalers blamed Sea Shepherd for the crash, characterizing the incident as a "deliberate ramming." The collision was filmed by cameramen for the Whale Wars reality series, and formed part of a multi-day conflict during which Sea Shepherd attempted to prevent the Japanese fleet from harpooning whales, respectively tried to block whales from being transferred to the factory ship for processing by blockading the Japanese' vessel's slipway
. The Japanese made extensive use of LRAD
s to deter Sea Shepherd. They were also accused of aiming the device at the Steve Irwin's helicopter while in flight, something the group especially condemned, seeing that the helicopter was only engaged in filming, and could have crashed if the pilot had lost control.
In June 2009, Sea Shepherd announced its 2009-10 Antarctic campaign, called Operation Waltzing Matilda
. The campaign would include the record-breaking Earthrace
vessel, now renamed Ady Gil in honor of the benefactor who helped acquire the vessel for Sea Shepherd. The Ady Gil was a futuristic styled ship that held the world record for circumnavigation of the globe by a motorized vessel. The eco-friendly vessel usually ran on a low emission fuel "derived mainly from animal fat, soybeans or other forms of bio-diesel
" but was forced by operational reasons to switch to petroleum diesel. Pete Bethune
, the operator, said that an agreement was reached with Sea Shepherd for the boat to adopt a support role.
Paul Watson and his crew of 40 left with the Steve Irwin and Ady Gil from Fremantle, Australia, and from Hobart, Tasmania, respectively, last December. It was well publicized that the Sea Shepherds had added more vessel firepower to keep up with the larger, faster and more numerous whaling vessels. What they kept secret, however, was that Bob Barker
, famous for "The Price Is Right" and one of the best-known personalities in the world of animal activism, donated funds to purchase a third vessel to add to the Sea Shepherd's fleet. Ironically, the ship is a former Norwegian whaling vessel but has since been renamed and refitted. With a crew of 26 and led by Chuck Swift and first officer and Whale Wars veteran Peter Hammarstedt, the Bob Barker
was docked off the coast of Africa on the island nation of the Republic of Mauritius, until it was ready to join its Sea Shepherd colleagues and engage in a surprise "engagement" to stop whaling.
helicopter to replace his previous aircraft, a Sikorsky S-300.
has scored Whale Wars 71 out of 100 based on 6 reviews. Neil Genzlinger of the New York Times wrote: "Whale Wars splashes across the increasingly exhausted genre of people-at-work reality series like icy seawater, jolting you awake with a frothy, briny burst of — well, you get the idea. This is one spunky show."
The show has also been criticized for being biased, and the Sea Shepherd crew has been ridiculed. Nancy Dewolf Smith of The Wall Street Journal
wrote: "What is shocking at first is how unprepared most of these people are for their self-appointed mission as planet savers. Although the word "deadly" is used often to underscore the risks the crew face, alone out in the wild Antarctic seas – their own incompetence can seem the most frightening." The satirists of South Park
spoofed the show and the Japanese whalers in the 11th episode of season 13, as "Whale Whores
." When one of the South Park characters takes command of the ship, a fake news headline states: "Whale Wars Gets Better: Things Actually Happen!" David Hinckley of the New York Daily News wrote: "Because the cameras obviously operate from the conservation ship – named the Sea Shepherd and, for this voyage, also called the Steve Irwin – we get all the drama on this side and virtually none on the other." Marjorie Kaplan, president and general manager of Animal Planet
, says that they have requested access to the Japanese ships for filming but have repeatedly been denied.
Animal Planet
Animal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...
cable channel. The program follows Paul Watson
Paul Watson
Paul Watson is a Canadian animal rights and environmental activist, who founded and is president of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a direct action group devoted to marine conservation....
, founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, as he and his crew aboard their various vessels
Neptune's Navy
Neptune's Navy is the name that the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society uses to refer to the ships it operates. Most of these vessels are used to hinder or antagonize what Sea Shepherd considers illegal fishing, whaling or sealing operations.- Past :...
harass Japanese whalers
Whaling in Japan
Whaling in Japan may have begun as early as the 12th century. During the 20th century, Japan was heavily involved in commercial whaling until the International Whaling Commission moratorium on commercial whaling went into effect in 1986...
off the coast of Antarctica. Animal Planet renewed the series for a fourth season which premiered on June 3, 2011.
History
In 2007, Paul Watson persuaded the Discovery ChannelDiscovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
to make a reality show about the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's campaign against Japanese whaling
Whaling in Japan
Whaling in Japan may have begun as early as the 12th century. During the 20th century, Japan was heavily involved in commercial whaling until the International Whaling Commission moratorium on commercial whaling went into effect in 1986...
in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary
Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary
The Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary is an area of 50 million square kilometres surrounding the continent of Antarctica where the International Whaling Commission has banned all types of commercial whaling...
off the coast of Antarctica. The Japanese claim that their whaling is legally accepted research, which Sea Shepherd and others contend is a cover for banned commercial whaling. Sea Shepherd has been both criticized and praised for tactics of direct action
Direct action
Direct action is activity undertaken by individuals, groups, or governments to achieve political, economic, or social goals outside of normal social/political channels. This can include nonviolent and violent activities which target persons, groups, or property deemed offensive to the direct action...
sabotage which include throwing stink bombs of butyric acid
Butyric acid
Butyric acid , also known under the systematic name butanoic acid, is a carboxylic acid with the structural formula CH3CH2CH2-COOH. Salts and esters of butyric acid are known as butyrates or butanoates...
as well as ramming, boarding, and otherwise attempting to disable the Japanese vessels.
The program premiered on November 7, 2008, on the Animal Planet cable channel and follows events on the vessel Steve Irwin as the group attempts to deter the hunting of Minke
Minke Whale
Minke whale , or lesser rorqual, is a name given to two species of marine mammal belonging to a clade within the suborder of baleen whales. The minke whale was given its official designation by Lacepède in 1804, who described a dwarf form of Balænoptera acuto-rostrata...
and Fin
Fin Whale
The fin whale , also called the finback whale, razorback, or common rorqual, is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder of baleen whales. It is the second longest whale and the sixth largest living animal after the blue whale, bowhead whale, and right whales, growing to nearly 27 metres long...
whales in the Southern Ocean
Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60°S latitude and encircling Antarctica. It is usually regarded as the fourth-largest of the five principal oceanic divisions...
. The show came at a time when Animal Planet was being rebranded to attract broader audiences and compete with non-animal-centric programming.
Season one
On January 15, 2008, after attempting to entangle the whaling vessel's propeller and throwing containers of butyric acid
Butyric acid
Butyric acid , also known under the systematic name butanoic acid, is a carboxylic acid with the structural formula CH3CH2CH2-COOH. Salts and esters of butyric acid are known as butyrates or butanoates...
onto the decks, two Sea Shepherd members, Benjamin Potts and Giles Lane, from the Sea Shepherd vessel MV Steve Irwin
MV Steve Irwin
The MY Steve Irwin is the flagship of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, and used in their direct action campaigns against whaling and other activities the group opposes...
boarded the Japanese whaling vessel Yushin Maru No. 2
Yushin Maru No. 2
) is a Japanese registered whaling harpoon ship that undertakes whaling operations in the Southern Ocean.- Sea Shepherd confrontations :On January 15, 2008, two members of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, traveling on the MV Steve Irwin, boarded the Yushin Maru № 2 without permission...
from a rigid-hulled inflatable boat. The pair were delivering a letter advising the Japanese that they were "whaling illegally" with the hope of creating an international incident. The Japanese responded by saying that the men would be held until Sea Shepherd stopped what they called "dangerous and illegal activities."
The crew of the Yushin Maru No. 2 detained the men for two days, before turning them over to the Australian customs vessel MV Oceanic Viking
MV Oceanic Viking
The MV Oceanic Viking is an armed patrol vessel of the Australian Customs Service. Originally built in 1996 as the offshore supply vessel Viking Lady for Norwegian shipping company Eidesvik Shipping AS, the ship was converted into a cable layer in 2000 and renamed Oceanic Viking...
on the orders of Japanese authorities; subsequently, the Steve Irwin rendezvoused with the Oceanic Viking and the two crewmembers were returned to Sea Shepherd. On April 9, first mate Peter Brown was described in a newspaper article as saying that the incident only became a hostage situation because the Sea Shepherd vessel left the scene, so the Japanese would be forced to hold the two crewmen longer. He was quoted as saying, "It's all giant street theater."
On March 3, Sea Shepherd members threw bottles of butyric acid and packages of slippery methyl cellulose powder onto the Japanese vessel Nisshin Maru
Nisshin Maru
The 23-year-old, 8,030-ton vessel is the primary research vessel of the Japanese whaling fleet. It is a converted stern trawler and is the world's only whale factory ship. It is also the largest member, and flagship of the seven-member whaling fleet, headed by research leader Shigetoshi Nishiwaki,...
. Australian foreign minister Stephen Smith
Stephen Smith (Australian politician)
Stephen Francis Smith , is the Australian Minister for Defence. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since March 1993, representing the Division of Perth, Western Australia....
condemned Sea Shepherd's actions for potentially causing injury The Japanese Government called in the Australian and Dutch ambassadors to protest the actions and urge those countries to prevent any violence. Watson said: "They are so full of crap. We filmed and photographed the entire thing. Not a single thing landed anywhere near their crew ... It is their way of trying to get sympathy."
The International Whaling Commission issued a statement on March 8, 2008 that "called upon the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society to refrain from dangerous actions that jeopardise safety at sea, and on vessels and crews concerned to exercise restraint." The statement also reiterated earlier IWC resolutions from May and July 2007 that read in part, "The commission and its contracting governments do not condone and in fact condemn any actions that are a risk to human life and property in relation to the activities of vessels at sea." The Australian Government also called for all parties to "exercise restraint" and "responsible behaviour" in the Southern Ocean.
On March 17, 2008 Paul Watson claimed that he was shot by the Japanese crew or coast guard personnel during the campaign. The incident is heavily documented during the show in the final episode, and the first six episodes are covered as a buildup to what is portrayed as the major incident during the campaign. The footage in Whale Wars shows Watson standing on the deck of the Steve Irwin while Sea Shepherd crew throws glass bottles filled with butyric acid
Butyric acid
Butyric acid , also known under the systematic name butanoic acid, is a carboxylic acid with the structural formula CH3CH2CH2-COOH. Salts and esters of butyric acid are known as butyrates or butanoates...
at the Nisshin Maru whaling vessel. The Japanese respond by throwing flashbang devices. Watson is then shown reaching inside his jacket and bullet-proof vest and remarking "I've been hit." Back inside the bridge of the Steve Irwin, a metal fragment is found inside the vest. The Institute of Cetacean Research
Institute of Cetacean Research
The is a Japanese government-sponsored institution. It took over from the Whale Research Institute , which grew out of the Nakabe Scientific Research Centre ....
has dismissed Sea Shepherd's statements as lies. The Institute and Coast Guard said that they used seven flashbang devices designed to flash and make noise in the air without causing harm. Neither of the two conflicting accounts have been independently verified. The Australian Foreign Affairs Department had condemned "actions by crew members of any vessel that cause injury". Two media releases were made on the same day from the office. One said that the Australian Embassy in Tokyo had been informed by the Japanese that the whalers had "fired warning shots" while the updated version used the phrase "'warning balls' – also known as 'flashbangs' – had been fired", and that no gunshots had occurred.
Season two
The 2008-2009 Antarctic campaign was named Operation Musashi after the 17th-century Japanese strategist Miyamoto MusashiMiyamoto Musashi
, also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke or, by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku, was a Japanese swordsman and rōnin. Musashi, as he was often simply known, became renowned through stories of his excellent swordsmanship in numerous duels, even from a very young age...
. On December 4, 2008, actress Daryl Hannah
Daryl Hannah
Daryl Christine Hannah is an American film actress. After making her screen debut in 1978, Hannah starred in a number of Hollywood films throughout the 1980s, notably Blade Runner, Splash, Wall Street and Roxanne and Kill Bill.-Early life:Hannah was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Susan...
joined Sea Shepherd's crew aboard the Steve Irwin to take part in this season's operation.
On February 6, 2009, Watson reported that the Steve Irwin had collided with the Yushin Maru 2 as the Steve Irwin tried to block its attempt to prevent the transfer of a dead whale up the slipway of the factory ship Nisshin Maru. As Watson explained the incident, "We were in the process of blocking the transfer from the Yushin Maru 2 when the Yushin Maru 1 moved directly in front of the bow to block us. I could not turn to starboard without hitting the Yushin Maru 1. I tried to back down but the movement of the Yushin Maru 2 made the collision unavoidable." The Japanese whalers blamed Sea Shepherd for the crash, characterizing the incident as a "deliberate ramming." The collision was filmed by cameramen for the Whale Wars reality series, and formed part of a multi-day conflict during which Sea Shepherd attempted to prevent the Japanese fleet from harpooning whales, respectively tried to block whales from being transferred to the factory ship for processing by blockading the Japanese' vessel's slipway
Slipway
A slipway, boat slip or just a slip, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats. They are also used for launching and retrieving small boats on trailers and flying boats on their undercarriage. The...
. The Japanese made extensive use of LRAD
Long range acoustic device
The Long Range Acoustic Device is a distance hailing device and non-lethal crowd control weapon developed by LRAD Corporation to send messages, warnings, and harmful, pain inducing tones over longer distances than normal loudspeakers....
s to deter Sea Shepherd. They were also accused of aiming the device at the Steve Irwin's helicopter while in flight, something the group especially condemned, seeing that the helicopter was only engaged in filming, and could have crashed if the pilot had lost control.
Season three
At the start of the campaign, Marjorie Kaplan, president and general manager of Animal Planet, said in a news release: "The issues surrounding whaling in the southern ocean are important and complex. The majesty of these beautiful creatures and the lengths to which the Sea Shepherds will go in order to prevent whaling has made Whale Wars intense and vital television." She also said that Japan had denied requests to film on their vessels.In June 2009, Sea Shepherd announced its 2009-10 Antarctic campaign, called Operation Waltzing Matilda
Waltzing Matilda
"Waltzing Matilda" is Australia's most widely known bush ballad. A country folk song, the song has been referred to as "the unofficial national anthem of Australia"....
. The campaign would include the record-breaking Earthrace
Earthrace
MY Ady Gil was a , wave-piercing trimaran, which was originally created as part of a project to break the world record for circumnavigating the globe in a powerboat. The vessel was powered by biodiesel fuel, but was also capable of running on regular diesel fuel...
vessel, now renamed Ady Gil in honor of the benefactor who helped acquire the vessel for Sea Shepherd. The Ady Gil was a futuristic styled ship that held the world record for circumnavigation of the globe by a motorized vessel. The eco-friendly vessel usually ran on a low emission fuel "derived mainly from animal fat, soybeans or other forms of bio-diesel
Biodiesel
Biodiesel refers to a vegetable oil- or animal fat-based diesel fuel consisting of long-chain alkyl esters. Biodiesel is typically made by chemically reacting lipids with an alcohol....
" but was forced by operational reasons to switch to petroleum diesel. Pete Bethune
Peter James Bethune
Peter James "Pete" Bethune is a New Zealand promoter of bio-fuels and conservationist. He is the holder of the world record for the fastest trip around the world in a powerboat and was involved with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society...
, the operator, said that an agreement was reached with Sea Shepherd for the boat to adopt a support role.
Paul Watson and his crew of 40 left with the Steve Irwin and Ady Gil from Fremantle, Australia, and from Hobart, Tasmania, respectively, last December. It was well publicized that the Sea Shepherds had added more vessel firepower to keep up with the larger, faster and more numerous whaling vessels. What they kept secret, however, was that Bob Barker
Bob Barker
Robert William "Bob" Barker is a former American television game show host. He is best known for hosting CBS's The Price Is Right from 1972 to 2007, making it the longest-running daytime game show in North American television history, and for hosting Truth or Consequences from 1956 to 1975.Born...
, famous for "The Price Is Right" and one of the best-known personalities in the world of animal activism, donated funds to purchase a third vessel to add to the Sea Shepherd's fleet. Ironically, the ship is a former Norwegian whaling vessel but has since been renamed and refitted. With a crew of 26 and led by Chuck Swift and first officer and Whale Wars veteran Peter Hammarstedt, the Bob Barker
MY Bob Barker
The MY Bob Barker is a ship owned and operated by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, named for former television game show host Bob Barker, whose donation of $5 million to the society facilitated the purchase of the ship. It first started operating for the group in late 2009 / early 2010 in its...
was docked off the coast of Africa on the island nation of the Republic of Mauritius, until it was ready to join its Sea Shepherd colleagues and engage in a surprise "engagement" to stop whaling.
Season four
In season four, Sea Shepherd's "Operation No Compromise" started with the whaling season in early December 2010, and lasted through February 2011 at which point the Japanese ceased whaling operations. The episodes began airing on Animal Planet on June 3, 2011. The campaign included a new interceptor vessel joining the Sea Shepherd fleet - (or Godzilla) - replacing the role of the Ady Gil. Sea Shepherd pilot Chris Aultman also received a MD 500MD Helicopters MD 500
The MD Helicopters MD 500 series is an American family of light utility civilian and military helicopters. The MD 500 was developed from the Hughes 500, a civilian version of the US Army's OH-6A Cayuse/Loach...
helicopter to replace his previous aircraft, a Sikorsky S-300.
Cast
| Name | Nationality | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 Canada |
Captain Captain (nautical) A sea captain is a licensed mariner in ultimate command of the vessel. The captain is responsible for its safe and efficient operation, including cargo operations, navigation, crew management and ensuring that the vessel complies with local and international laws, as well as company and flag... of the Steve Irwin and Admiral Admiral Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"... of the fleet |
Founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. | |
 Sweden/ United Kingdom |
First Mate | ||
 United States |
Second Mate Second Mate A second mate or second officer is a licensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. The second mate is the third in command and a watchkeeping officer, customarily the ship's navigator. Other duties vary, but the second mate is often the medical officer and in charge of maintaining... |
Joined when Peter Hammarstedt moved up ranks. | |
| United States |
Communications Officer | ||
| United States |
Recon Helicopter Pilot | Former U.S. Marine Corps United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States... avionics technician. |
|
 Australia |
Quartermaster Quartermaster Quartermaster refers to two different military occupations depending on if the assigned unit is land based or naval.In land armies, especially US units, it is a term referring to either an individual soldier or a unit who specializes in distributing supplies and provisions to troops. The senior... |
||
| Canada |
Quartermaster | Daughter of Greenpeace Greenpeace Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands... co-founder Robert Hunter Robert Hunter (journalist) Robert Lorne Hunter was a Canadian environmentalist, journalist, author and politician. A member of the Don't Make a Wave Committee in 1969 with Dorothy and Irving Stowe, Marie and Jim Bohlen, and Ben and Dorothy Metcalfe... . |
|
| Canada |
Quartermaster | ||
 South Africa |
Quartermaster, Cook | ||
| Australia |
Quartermaster, Leading Deckhand & Coxswain Coxswain The coxswain is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives us a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from cox, a coxboat or other small vessel kept aboard a ship, and swain, which can be rendered as boy, in authority. ... |
Ministerial Head of Office Chief of Staff The title, chief of staff, identifies the leader of a complex organization, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a Principal Staff Officer , who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide to an important individual, such as a president.In general, a chief of... to Nick McKim, Leader of the Tasmanian Greens Tasmanian Greens The Tasmanian Greens are a political party in Australia which developed from numerous environmental campaigns in Tasmania, including the flooding of Lake Pedder and the Franklin Dam campaign... . |
|
 Bermuda |
Chief Cook | Former personal chef for Anthony Kiedis Anthony Kiedis Anthony Kiedis is an American vocalist/lyricist, and occasional actor best known as the lead vocalist of the Grammy-winning American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Kiedis spent his youth in Grand Rapids, Michigan with his mother before moving, shortly before his 12th birthday, to Hollywood,... of the Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock... . |
|
| Australia |
Chief Cook & Helicopter Assistant | One of the two crewmembers who boarded a Japanese whaling vessel Yūshin Maru № 2 Yushin Maru No. 2 ) is a Japanese registered whaling harpoon ship that undertakes whaling operations in the Southern Ocean.- Sea Shepherd confrontations :On January 15, 2008, two members of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, traveling on the MV Steve Irwin, boarded the Yushin Maru № 2 without permission... . |
|
| United Kingdom |
Helicopter assistant | One of the two crewmembers who boarded a Japanese whaling vessel Yushin Maru № 2. | |
| United Kingdom |
Bosun's Mate Boatswain A boatswain , bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun is an unlicensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. The boatswain supervises the other unlicensed members of the ship's deck department, and typically is not a watchstander, except on vessels with small crews... & Coxswain |
||
| Australia |
Bosun's Mate | ||
 Germany |
Deckhand | ||
 Netherlands |
Deckhand | Former Dutch police officer. One of the crew of six onboard the Ady Gil when it collided with the Japanese security vessel Shonan Maru #2. | |
| United States |
Deckhand | Retired Long Beach California police officer. | |
| Australia |
Deckhand | Married Andrew Perry at the end of Season 2 on Scott Island Scott Island Scott Island is a small uninhabited island of volcanic origin in the Ross Sea, Southern Ocean, northeast of Cape Adare, the northeastern extremity of Victoria Land, Antarctica. It is long north-south, and between and wide, reaching a height of and covering an area of... , Antarctica. |
|
| United Kingdom |
Deckhand | ||
| Australia |
Doctor Physician A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments... |
||
| Australia |
Doctor Physician A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments... |
||
| United Kingdom |
Chief engineer Engineer An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,... |
||
| United States |
Assistant engineer | ||
| United Kingdom |
Assistant engineer | ||
| Netherlands |
Ship's Carpenter | ||
 Hungary |
|||
| United States |
First Mate | Involved with Sea Shepherd since 1982. Left halfway through Season 2, resulting in Peter Hammarstedt, which was then Second Officer, to move up the First Officer, resulting in Pedro Monteiro, becoming Second Officer | |
| United States |
Communications Officer | ||
| United States |
Quartermaster | Executive Director of Sea Shepherd | |
| Netherlands |
Communications Officer | ||
| United States |
Navigation Officer | Former U.S. Navy Lieutenant | |
| United States |
Captain of the MY Bob Barker (2010) | Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Deputy CEO | |
 New Zealand |
Former Captain of the Ady Gil (2010) | Detained after boarding the Shonan Maru 2 to conduct a citizen's arrest on the Captain for the destruction of his vessel, the Ady Gil. | |
| Canada |
Deckhand | ||
| Netherlands |
Captain of the MY Bob Barker | Joined in 2002 and was Captain of the Farley Mowat, currently captain of the MY Bob Barker | |
 Early Modern France |
Captain of the Gojira | Former first mate of the Steve Irwin | |
 Japan |
Translator on board the Steve Irwin | Identity has been concealed due to fears of retribution towards her family in Japan. | |
| United States |
Helicopter Technician | Former USAF UH-1N Helicopter Crew Chief | |
| New Zealand |
Quartermaster | ||
| Australia |
Chief Engineer | ||
| United States |
Ship Manager | ||
| South Africa |
Deckhand | ||
| United States |
Photographer | ||
| Australia |
Deckhand | ||
 Ecuador |
Quartermaster | ||
| Australia |
Deckhand | ||
| Photographer |
Critical reception
Whale Wars became a hit for the channel and has received mostly positive reviews. While discussing the high ratings, the president and general manager of Animal Planet said that the show was a "great example of where we wanted to go into competitive adult TV." Review aggregation site MetaCriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
has scored Whale Wars 71 out of 100 based on 6 reviews. Neil Genzlinger of the New York Times wrote: "Whale Wars splashes across the increasingly exhausted genre of people-at-work reality series like icy seawater, jolting you awake with a frothy, briny burst of — well, you get the idea. This is one spunky show."
The show has also been criticized for being biased, and the Sea Shepherd crew has been ridiculed. Nancy Dewolf Smith of The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
wrote: "What is shocking at first is how unprepared most of these people are for their self-appointed mission as planet savers. Although the word "deadly" is used often to underscore the risks the crew face, alone out in the wild Antarctic seas – their own incompetence can seem the most frightening." The satirists of South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
spoofed the show and the Japanese whalers in the 11th episode of season 13, as "Whale Whores
Whale Whores
"Whale Whores" is the eleventh episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 192nd overall episode of the series. It aired on Comedy Central in the United States on October 28, 2009...
." When one of the South Park characters takes command of the ship, a fake news headline states: "Whale Wars Gets Better: Things Actually Happen!" David Hinckley of the New York Daily News wrote: "Because the cameras obviously operate from the conservation ship – named the Sea Shepherd and, for this voyage, also called the Steve Irwin – we get all the drama on this side and virtually none on the other." Marjorie Kaplan, president and general manager of Animal Planet
Animal Planet
Animal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...
, says that they have requested access to the Japanese ships for filming but have repeatedly been denied.
External links
by Animal PlanetAnimal Planet
Animal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...