As an organisation full of like-minded people, our employees feel very strongly about the protection of the environment and the positive impact we can make when we work together.
Landserv’s Geelong team recently attended a screening of ‘Defend. Conserve. Protect’, a Sea Shepherd documentary showcasing the battle between Sea Shepherd vessels and the Japanese whaling fleet to defend Minke whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary (Antarctica).
The Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary is an area of 50 million square kilometres surrounding the entire continent of Antarctica where the International Whaling Commission (IWC) has banned all types of commercial whaling. Despite a ban on all whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, Japan’s Whale Research Program continues to hunt Minke whales in the Sanctuary.
Research has proven that deep diving marine animals are an essential part of the marine eco system by fertilising feeding grounds with enough nutrients to sustain krill population growth. Krill play an important part in exporting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The research also noted that past global declines in marine ecosystems occurred about the same time as whale stocks were decreasing during the industrial whaling era.
This Sea Shepherd documentary focuses not just on the amazing work Sea Shepherd do to protect these endangered whales but also reflects on the change humans can have in protecting the environment if they work together.