6 February 20096 February 2009 Main Posts Whaling in the Southern Seas Rjurik Davidson At the Age there’s a report on the ongoing (and it seems yearly) stoush between Japanese whalers and Sea Shephard anti-whalers: Sea Shepherd leader Paul Watson said the 8000-tonne factory ship Nisshin Maru repeatedly tried to ram his vessel Steve Irwin, and three harpoon boats trailed ropes to entangle its propeller. In the five-hour conflict, Captain Watson said sonic devices were used against a Sea Shepherd helicopter, forcing it to retreat, and resulting in the injury of another activist. The fleet’s response came as the Japanese entered a fifth day under an increasingly tense pursuit by the Steve Irwin that was still under way last night. For those who are interested in knowing more about Watson and the Sea Sheperd, there was an interesting recent article in the New Yorker. It claims that: Watson believes in coercive conservation, and for several decades he has been using his private navy to ram whaling and fishing vessels on the high seas. Ramming is his signature tactic, and it is what he and his crew intended to do to the Japanese fleet, if they could find it. I wouldn’t claim to know much about Watson, the Sea Shepherd, or the accuracy of the New Yorker piece, but it seems to raise an interesting question about what are useful tactics in order to get an issue into the public sphere. Rjurik Davidson Rjurik Davidson is a writer, editor and speaker. Rjurik’s novel, The Stars Askew was released in 2016. Rjurik is a former associate editor of Overland magazine. He can be found at rjurik.com and tweets as @rjurikdavidson. More by Rjurik Davidson Overland is a not-for-profit magazine with a proud history of supporting writers, and publishing ideas and voices often excluded from other places. If you like this piece, or support Overland’s work in general, please subscribe or donate. Related articles & Essays First published in Overland Issue 228 11 November 202211 November 2022 Main Posts On the last day of Subscriberthon, our amazing online editor gives you one last (very good) reason to subscribe Editorial team What's in store for the last day of Subscriberthon? First published in Overland Issue 228 10 November 202210 November 2022 Main Posts On the second-last day of Subscriberthon, our favourite editor-duo give you reason #1002 to subscribe to Overland Editorial team What's in store for the second-last day of Subscriberthon?