Jamie toured the Sea Shepherd ship MY Bob Barker, currently docked at White Bay in preparation for its next expedition into the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary where it will seek to again disrupt illegal whaling by the Japanese whaling fleet.
The Bob Barker was rammed by a Japanese whaling boat in the Southern Ocean in February 2010, causing significant damage.
Earlier this month the Australian government rejected a request from the Japanese government to take action against the Sea Shepherd fleet.
Jamie called on the federal government to significantly expand marine sanctuaries and take stronger action to stop Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.
Sea Shepherd Australia director Jeff Hansen has criticised the Australian government's recent proposal for new marine sanctuaries in Australia's South West region, saying the plan fails our whales and other marine life: "Critical feeding areas for the endangered blue whale, the largest creature to have ever lived, are proposed to be left unprotected and subject to oil drilling and sonar blasting. In fact, of ten critical hotspots for whales, sharks, and other marine life in the region, only two are proposed for protection."
Other prominent Australians including Clean Up Australia Chairman Ian Kiernan AO, Professor Tim Flannery, businessman and environmentalist Dick Smith AO and Western Australian Dr Fiona Wood AM have also expressed concerns that the plans do not adequately safeguard unique marine life. In a letter to the Prime Minister, the four former Australians of the Year wrote: “Protection of our oceans is the new frontier for conservation. Rarely in a nation’s history has there been such an opportunity to make a contribution to the conservation of our natural resources.”
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