Last week one of Sea Shepherd’s boats, theSteve Irwin, was taking a short break here in Hong Kong.
The Steve Irwin hanging out in Hong Kong waters
Sea Shepherd is a non-profit organisation that tries to conserve marine wildlife. Its founder Paul Watson was one of the first few members of Greenpeace and broke away to start Sea Shepherd in 1977.
A lot of what Sea Shepherd does is confronting illegal activity on the high seas; due to the fact that nobody owns the water, it makes it easy for fisherman to use illegal methods to fish and get away with it. Many boats will be registered in one country, have a crew from another country and a captain from another country.
According to Sea Shepherd, this makes prosecution difficult, because no single country wants to do the paperwork.
Cool camouflage, bro. We nearly didn't see you there.
Sea Shepherd says that it tries to tackle this disconnection by confronting the illegal activity head on in what they call "innovative direct-action tactics". In the past, this has meant even sinking the boats that are misbehaving, but mostly it means chasing boats for as long as it takes them to stop conducting illicit activities.
While we may like to think that the Steve Irwincame to Hong Kong for innocuous reasons (like a spot of pink dolphin watching), the boat ended up in our waters after stalking some illegal Chinese fishing boats around the North and South Indian Ocean – as you do.
Miles of illegal driftnet pulled from the water by the Steve Irwin's crew
To summarise, Sea Shepherd said these boats were using an illegal form of fishing called driftnets. These nets were banned in 1992 because they entangle all life in them. According to the Captain Sid Chakravarty, who gave us the lowdown on Sea Shepherd and its recent endeavours, the boats using this method were killing a total of 1,500 sharks per day, not to mention other forms of marine life.
The Steve Irwin’s crew took the driftnets out of the water and chased down the last two of these boats back to Chinese waters, where the Chinese government has said via email that they will be dealt with. We suppose that’s some progress for getting the Chinese government to at least say that they’ll do something, even if nothing comes of it. And hey presto, they ended up floating just off the shore of Hong Kong, where we got to have a peek at what life is like on the Steve Irwin for the volunteers.
Cosy little living space
According to the crew, the Steve Irwin is actually one of the more homely boats that Sea Shepherd owns. Admittedly, sitting in the living room was like being in a very cosy little home. It was equipped with fireplace, pictures all over the walls, an extensive DVD and book collection and comfy armchairs -– the only thing missing was a token cup of tea. Not to mention that it had more space in it than most shoebox apartments in Hong Kong.
Reminders throughout the ship that they're saving the whales – in case it slipped their mind
It seems like occupying yourself on board whilst stalking boats around the globe isn’t too difficult. In between jobs, the crew can dive, settle into the living room with a good book or work out some stress on the punchbag on deck. So all in all, it’s not too bad an existence on board a boat that has set sail for at least a three-month mission.
The Steve Irwin's captain, Sid Chakravarty
After a pleasant little chat with Captain Sid, it seemed that Sea Shepherd face a lot of challenges because they’re a non-profit organisation. They’re using old ships and rely solely on donations. But, to Chakravarty, the difficulties are always outweighed by the fact he gets to see “immediate change” in what he does.
A radar on the Steve Irwin
The ship is entirely vegan, which makes sense because it would be a bit hypocritical to say that you save the whales and then sit and munch on a tuna sandwich. It also relies solely on donations for food and at the time was accepting a very tasty looking donation from NOOD food. Crew members said those that work in the galley manage to make whatever they’re given last for however many months they need, and they somehow always manage to make a different delicious meal a night.
A lot of the crewmembers are hired for their specific expertise. Some are vets, some are doctors, some are chefs – and some of them have snagged a place on board for no other reason than they are really passionate about saving sea life.
Hopefully the Steve Irwin and its crew had a pleasant stopover in Hong Kong. Thanks for letting us on board.
Words/Photos: Ella Watson
http://hongkong.coconuts.co/2016/04/13/marine-conservation-organisation-sea-shepherd-takes-quick-break-hong-kong
