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Two of the species Sea
Shepherd is fighting to protect, whales and dolphins (also
called porpoises) |
The most recent fight, Operation Milagro II, is occurring in Mexico's
Gulf of California, also known as the Sea of Cortez, home of the world's
smallest and rarest cetacean, the vaquita marina porpoise. There are
believed to be only about 97 of these mammals with only about 25
females.
The females give birth to one calf every two years so without drastic
action, they will soon be extinct.
The biggest threat to the porpoises are gillnets. They entrap the
poroiises preventing them from coming to the surface to breath and they
drown.
Mexican President Enrique Pe�a Nieto, has made a commitment to prevent
the extinction by enacting a two-year moratorium on gillnet fishing in
the porposie's habitat. They have invited Sea Shepherd to aid in the
effort. Their ship, Martin Sheen,
was the first Sea Shepherd vessel on the scene. As I write this, they
have been joined by the Farley
Mowat.
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The MV Farley Mowat docked in
Tampa |
On a recent visit to Tampa, I had the opportunity to tour the
MV Farley Mowat. I met Jose
Pablo Isaza Jaramillo, from Colombia who began the tour with the decks.
Jose has carpentry experience so when he signed on as a volunteer aboard
the Farley Mowat, he was able to put that skill to good use. The
Farley Mowat is a former
coast guard vessel Sea Shepherd refitted to patrol the Sea of Cortez and
try to save the vaquita marina porpoise from extinction. He explained
the features that make the Farley
Mowat such an important part of Sea Shepherd's mission. One item I
would have given little thought to was their anchoring system. "We
needed to delay or departure date to install this." Jose pointed to a
heavy black chain securely fastened to the deck. "Since we are at sea
for long periods of time, we can't go into port when the weather turns
bad. This allows us to anchor securely and is not likely to snap in a
storm."
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Jose giving a tour on the deck of
MV Farley Mowat |
Often it's the little things that count.
Speaking of little things, I was amazed when Jose led us down to
the sleeping area below deck. The bunks are stacked three on both sides.
It is close quarters. As Jose said, "We have to be really careful not to
step on a bunkmate getting down."
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One side of the bunk room on MV
Farley Mowat |
The rest of the ship is outfitted for efficiency rather than comfort.
The galley is small but well equipped. Incidentally since the Sea
Shepherd operates on donation, they welcome donations of vegan foods as
well as cash. They couldn't allow me to take pictures of the engine room
because of safety concerns but it looks like the most efficient part of
the ship.
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This is the part of the galley where
the crew dines. The cooking area is on the opposite side of the
dividing counter |
There is a crew of about 17 and they stay at sea for months at a time.
These men and women are really dedicated. They are volunteers, not paid
crew. Another crew member I met was Roy, the Communications Officer and
Deckhand, Roy is from Canada. The crew is international. One thing they
have in common is their dietary habits. Roy explained "Since we are on a
humanitarian mission to save ocean wildlife, it is only fitting that we
eat vegan while on board. Some of us are also vegans even when we are
not on board."
Roy's job is to get the Farley
Mowat where it belongs and keep it from getting into places it is
not supposed to be. In order to do that, it is equipped with state of
the art GPS system. He showed us that system in the bridge. It looks
like a laptop screen but is very exact. Roy explained, "There is even a
small unit, about the size of a cell phone that you can operate from on
deck when the weather is nice."
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Roy explains the workings of the
navigational system |
The GPS not only lets them navigate safely but can spot illegal vessels
in the vicinity. That could be a big help in doing the job once in the
Gulf of California.
To clear up a popular misconception about the Sea Shepherd, they are not
pirates operating illegally. As Jose pointed out, "Sea Shepherd
campaigns are guided by the United Nations World Charter for Nature.
This charter gives individuals not only the right but the duty to
enforce international conservation laws when the law officers of an area
either cannot or will not do so."
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Bridge and captain's seat on the MV
Farley Mowat |
Jose explained that it is unlikely the ship will ever return to Tampa
since they are sailing through the Panama Canal which is expensive and
time consuming to transverse. However, if you ever get a chance to tour
any of the Sea Shepherd's ships, I highly recommend it. You will come
away with a new knowledge and respect for these people who risk their
own lives to save our endangered marine wildlife.
Milagro means miracle in Spanish. If Sea Shepherd can save
these precious propoises, it will be a true miracle.
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