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| -Lurid Crime Tales- |
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| 2008-04-05 |
| OTTAWA -- The federal government has laid charges against the anti-sealing vessel Farley Mowat, which was involved in a confrontation with sealers near Cape Breton last weekend. Fisheries and Oceans announced Sunday an investigation into a high-seas confrontation between the Farley Mowat and sealers on Mar. 30 has ended in charges laid against the vessel's captain, Alexander Cornelissen, and first officer, Peter Hammarstedt. "The seal hunt is a humane, sustainable, and legal activity, and our government is committed to protecting the safety and security of sealers," said Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Loyola Hearn. "This guides our decisions on the ground and Canadians can rest assured that we will pursue the charges against these individuals vigorously." Sealer Shane Briand said the Farley Mowat, operated by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, endangered the lives of his crew when it came close to them Mar. 30 about 60 kilometres off Cape Breton. Speaking from Port aux Basques, N.L. on Thursday, Mr. Briand said the much larger Mowat chased down his 14-metre boat throughout the day, stopping only when a Canadian Coast Guard vessel arrived and put itself between them. "She started harassing us right away. She almost took the stabilizer off, she was that close. And we had a guy on the ice and she broke the ice up under his feet," he said. Both men have been charged with approaching within one-half nautical mile of a seal hunt, a violation of the Marine Mammal Regulations. Captain Cornelissen faces an additional charge under the Fisheries Act of obstructing a fisheries officer or inspector. Mr. Briand, who says he gave a statement to fisheries officers on Thursday, said they feared for their lives when the Mowat came within 30 metres, several times, of his boat, the Cathy Erlene. "The coast guard was keeping us safe . . . If they hadn't arrived, we would have had to get in our speed boats to escape," Mr. Briand said. The coast guard and the Sea Shepherd Society have given differing accounts of the incident, with the crew of the conservation group's ship insisting the icebreaker Des Groseilliers intentionally rammed them twice. Mr. Hearn denies that happened. He says the two vessels merely "grazed," but when the Mowat ignored warnings to stay away from sealers, it broke the law, he added. "They have endangered our sealers. We are aware of that. We have these facts documented," he told radio station VOCM in St. John's Wednesday. On the society's Web site, Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson said the crew of the Mowat have video proving they did nothing wrong. Briand, of Dingwall, N.S., said his crew also took pictures, showing the 54-metre steel-hulled Mowat looming over them. He said fisheries officers now have the photos. News of the charges came as hundreds of mourners packed a church in Cap Aux Meules, Que., in the Magdalen Islands, to say goodbye to three seal hunters killed in last weekend's maritime tragedy. The annual seal hunt got off to a tragic start when the 12-metre Magdalen Islands sealer L'Acadien II sank while under tow by a coast guard ship March 29. Only two men survived. In his comments Wednesday, Mr. Hearn said if the Mowat won't obey orders to return to a Canadian port the only option will be to board the ship at sea, which he called an extremely dangerous operation. On Friday the Mowat was docked at the French island of Miquelon, off Newfoundland's south coast, while waiting for the hunt to resume next week. The Farley Mowat was forced out of the harbour at Miquelon's neighbouring French island of St-Pierre Friday when angry fishermen cut its mooring lines with axes, Mr. Watson said. "They cut away at our mooring lines, threw a bicycle in the water, threw our gangplank in the water and attacked one of our cameramen," he said. The confrontation was in protest of comments Mr. Watson made the day before when he said the Magdalen Islands sealers' deaths were a tragedy, but the slaughter of young seals is a "greater tragedy." "Our anger was stronger than anything else and we didn't wait for the authorities to react," St-Pierre fisherman Carl Beaupertuis told Radio-Canada, the French arm of CBC. On Friday, Mr. Watson stood by his words. "I said the sealers who died, it was a tragedy and the Canadian government's incompetence led to the deaths." He added: "Killing 325,000 seals is a far greater tragedy . . . and I stand by that comment." These are the same pirates who have been harrassing Japanese whalers. This is really about class warfare, arrogant eco-dilletantes asserting their dominance over ordinary working folk. It appears that governments are finally getting the message, though we can count on media elitists to continue their unstinting support for their allies, collaborators and elitist soul-mates in the eco-wackie shadow government. |
| Posted by:Atomic Conspiracy |
| #7 I wish those sealers would come to San Diego. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2008-04-05 20:24 |
| #6 "I'm surprised they let the eco-terrorists anchor there. I was kinda hoping for a Rainbow Warrior replay." |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2008-04-05 18:43 |
| #5 thanks, Vanc, news to me.... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-04-05 18:28 |
| #4 France has two crappy little islands just off Newfoundland. They used to support the cod fishery, until it was shut down. Ironically, the shutdown destroyed the economy of the 5-6000 people there, and the seal cull will help fish stocks rebound. I'm surprised they let the eco-terrorists anchor there. I was kinda hoping for a Rainbow Warrior replay. |
| Posted by: Vanc 2008-04-05 17:51 |
| #3 at the French island of Miquelon, off Newfoundland's south coast, while waiting for the hunt to resume next week. The Farley Mowat was forced out of the harbour at Miquelon's neighbouring French island of St-Pierre Friday when angry fishermen cut its mooring lines with axes, Mr. Watson said French? Whut??? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-04-05 17:30 |
| #2 'Bout time to test one of those Canadian submarines... |
| Posted by: Skunky Glins5285 2008-04-05 17:23 |
| #1 Yummy, Whale steaks. The clowns go looking for confrontation, on the high seas that is piracy. They ought to have their vessel seized and be put under arrest with no bail. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2008-04-05 17:02 |