It's Official: Japanese Whalers Lost $20.5 Million Thanks to Sea Shepherd

For quite some time now, Japan has been trying to make sure Sea Shepherd's Captain Paul Watson will no longer interfere with its whaling agenda.

Thus, two red notices were issued by the Interpol, the first following Costa Rica's plea and the second coming as a result of Japan's explicitly asking for this to happen.

Commenting on these clashes with Japan, green-oriented organization Sea Shepherd stated loud and clear that the only reason for which this country was so determined to make sure Captain Paul Watson could no longer carry on with his work was that his and his crew's anti-whaling campaign had cost the Japanese government quite a lot of money.

Recent news on this topic informs us that the Sea Shepherd organization was very much right in making these statements.

Thus, it seems that the Institute for Cetacean Research, which is in charge of managing the Japanese Whaling fleet, made it public news that $20.5 million (€15.82 million) were lost in the 2010-2011 whaling season alone thanks to the Sea Shepherd's interfering with their working agenda.

More precisely, they kept them from hunting these marine mammals in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, and the Japanese whalers ended up catching only 26% of their quota.

Interestingly enough, they suffered even more severe losses in the season before, when they only managed to catch 17% of their quota.

Commenting on these figures, Sea Shepherd's Captain Paul Watson made a case of how, “I believe that this confirms our effectiveness in stopping whaling operations and actually saving whales. The numbers speak for themselves.”

Furthermore, “We have been very successful in pursuing our two primary objectives: first to save the lives of as many whales as possible, and second to sink the Japanese whaling fleet economically.”

Apparently, the Sea Shepherd organization has even greater plans for the coming season: they wish to make sure the Japanese whaling fleet will be forced to go home without catching anything.