I saw many whales during my recent trip to Antarctica. They are awesome creatures—mammals in fact, and smart ones. Although whales were hunted almost to extinction by the USA, England, and many, many other countries in the 19th and early 20th century, all countries except Japan, Norway, and Iceland have ceased commercial whaling activities.

The 1991 Environmental Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty protects whales from being killed in the Southern Ocean of Antarctica. Japan, however, illegally whales in those waters under the ruse of doing “scientific research,” which is allowed under a loop hole in the treaty. Apparently if you paint “Research” on your ship, you can kill Minke whales. The Japanese have killed over 6,800 under this ruse. After the “research” is over, the Japanese can sell and eat the meat commercially.

Japan has not produced any scientific data on these 6,800 whales that were murdered in the Southern Ocean sanctuary over the past 18 years. Let’s be truthful here—the Japanese like to eat whale meat and they will do anything—illegal or not—to continue this practice.

Sea Shepherd is the only organization taking any direct action against Japanese whaling ships. Their actions result in saving whales by caused the ships to turn back before reaching their killing quota. Watch the video, donate money, and do whatever you can to get Japan to stop whaling in the Southern Ocean sanctuary.

Australia is close to the whaling activity but surprisingly they are not taking action. What about Greenpeace? They are a protest group, not a direct action group. They can protest all they want, but the whalers just go on killing in front of them.

This is serious stuff. Just this week one of Sea Shepherd’s ships was rammed and sunk by a Japanese whaler ship when it was just sitting in the water. Fortunately, there was another ship in the area to rescue the crew, because the Japanese whaling ship would not respond to the distress call.

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Until a few months ago, I thought the Earth had four oceans: Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic and Indian. Then I found out about the Southern Ocean—the sea that surrounds the continent of Antarctica. You could claim that the waters in the area belong to the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. But there is a boundary that separates the Southern ocean from its northern siblings—the Antarctic convergence. On my recent trip to Antarctica, I not only saw the Southern ocean but I stepped into it each time I took a Zodiac to the shore.

The Antarctic convergence is the place where cold water from Antarctica meets the warmer northern waters. Unlike a land boundary, the convergence zone fluctuates somewhat throughout the year. The icy cold water moves towards the bottom of the sea, sliding under the warmer water. It’s at this point where the climate changes and along with it the marine and bird life. Although I couldn’t see the exact point at which the Southern ocean began, it was obvious I was in a new ocean after our ship (M/V Polar Star) had entered it. The outside temperature was noticeably colder. Albatrosses and petrels followed the ship. Icebergs began to show on the horizon. We spotted fin whales.

When you look at the map of the Southern ocean, you’ll notice that the band of water circles the globe. Because the ocean is unconstrained by land, the waves can get quite wild. The open ocean and temperature differences create intense cyclones that travel eastward around the continent. Fortunately I didn’t encounter any cyclones during my trip.

The Southern Ocean

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