Jan. 30, 2007
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=2834036&page=1Jan. 30, 2007 — A U.S.-based conservation society patrolling the waters of the Ross Sea off Antarctica is offering a $25,000 reward for the coordinates of Japanese whaling ships.
The Sea Shepherd Society announced the reward during its "Operation Leviathan" mission to stop illegal whaling in the Southern Ocean. Two Sea Shepherd ships, the Farley Mowat and the Robert Hunter, are in the Antarctic with 70 volunteers from 14 countries. They believe they are within 500 miles of the Japanese whaling ships.
The reward comes days after Japan called a special meeting of members of the International Whaling Commission next month to help lift a global moratorium on hunting of whales. Several countries opposed to whaling have said they may boycott the assembly.
The $25,000 reward is not unheard of, but it is one of the largest amounts the group has offered for information. Cornelissen said they would save that much money in gas for the ship if they knew where to go. He believes the New Zealand government knows exactly where the Japanese ships are because its air force filmed the fleet with a reconnaissance aircraft. The footage, showing the fleet slaughtering whales, was released to the media and has been aired around the world.