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In early 2008 a Sea Shepherd crew of 33 volunteers travelled to the bottom of the world to confront the Japanese whaling fleet in Antarctic waters. The campaign was a huge success with five hundred whales saved from cruel death by harpoon. In the audio slideshows above ship photographer Noah Hannibal has documented the voyage, the confrontations with the whaling fleet and members of the Japanese military, and some of the wildlife and scenery encountered. ACTION: (Feb 23) After chasing the illegal whale killing boat Yushin Maru through frozen seas the Sea Shepherd launched a boarding party to issue a warrant ordering the fleet to surrender to the nearest Australian port. The boarding was called off due to a sudden snowstorm. The Sea Shepherd crew then found themselves pursued by the Fukuyoshi, a vessel carrying armed members of the Japanese military. The Fukuyoshi fled to a safe distance after the Sea Shepherd launched a zodiac to encounter the pursuers. (Feb 23) Later in the day the Sea Shepherd documented a longliner hauling in endangered Patagonian toothfish. The longliners unreel up to a hundred kilometres of fishing line, containing hundreds of thousands of baited hooks, into the depths of the ocean. When the lines are pulled back into the boat those fish that have not suffered an excruciatingly painful death by decompression are hacked to death. As well as killing their intended targets, longlines also commonly kill sharks, turtles, albatrosses and other sea animals. (March 3) After a long chase the Sea Shepherd caught the factory ship Nisshin Maru (described by Captain Paul Watson as the 'Cetacean Death Star' because it is the mother ship to all the smaller killing boats in the fleet). During several passes of the ship Sea Shepherd Crew threw numerous containers of butyric acid (a foul smelling but safe, non toxic, organic substance) onto the decks of the Nisshin Maru to prevent the whalers from carrying out their grisly task of hacking up whales. Afterwards the Sea Shepherd continued the full speed pursuit, the whole time preventing any whales from being violently murdered. (March 8) The second encounter with the Nisshin Maru saw Sea Shepherd crew again pelting the Nisshin Maru with butyric acid. This time the Japanese military on board fired back with stun grenades. During five passes the Sea Shepherd and Nisshin Maru traded non-violent stink bombs with incapacitation grenades. At the end of the confrontation Captain Paul Watson was struck by a bullet in the chest, his life saved only by the Kevlar vest.
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