Forostar
Ancient Mariner
Interesting news.(video: click on "sealing showdown", 12 April) As we all know Canada kills tons of seals. Here some photos of this job.
The Canadian seal season began at the end of March. An estimated 2,500 hunters have permission to kill 275,000 seals. Apperently some ship wanted to photograph how this is being done, something which wasn't very appreciated. By the way, that federal fisheries minister talks like some uneducated nitwit.
Anti-sealing ship operated by environmental crusader seized by federal officers
13 hours ago
HALIFAX — An RCMP tactical squad stormed and seized the anti-sealing vessel Farley Mowat on Saturday, in a provocative move the federal fisheries minister said would prevent "a bunch of money-sucking manipulators" from interfering with the annual hunt.
Paul Watson, head of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, said the seizure of his ship and the arrests of two senior officers amounted to an "act of war" because the vessel is registered in the Netherlands.
Watson, speaking from New York, said armed officers from two coast guard vessels scrambled aboard the Mowat at around 11 a.m. ADT in the Cabot Strait - the body of water between Cape Breton and Newfoundland.
"(They) took command of the vessel, and .... they were screaming at people to lie down on the deck."
The environmental crusader said a communications officer aboard the ship was relaying details of the boarding via satellite phone when the connection was suddenly lost.
Later in the day, Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn said the ship's captain and chief officer were arrested for allegedly violating Canada's marine mammal regulations and the Fisheries Act.
He said those charges were related to a high-seas confrontation in the Gulf of St. Lawrence between the Farley Mowat and a coast guard icebreaker two weeks ago.
"We did the right thing," Hearn told a news conference in Ottawa. "I'd rather act when nobody is hurt, rather than react when somebody got killed."
The minister bristled at Watson's suggestion that the seizure represents a public relations coup for his movement as the European Union contemplates a ban on the importation of all seal products.
"These are a bunch of money-sucking manipulators," Hearn said. "They're sole aim is to try to suck as much money out of the pockets of people who really don't know what's going on," he said.
Last week, the department brought forward charges alleging the Farley Mowat's captain, Alexander Cornelissen, and First Officer Peter Hammarstedt broke rules that prohibit anyone without a valid observation licence from coming within 900 metres of the hunt.
Cornelissen is also charged under the Fisheries Act with obstruction or hindrance of a Fishery Officer or inspector.
However, Watson maintains the Farley Mowat doesn't have to submit to Canadian regulations.
Hearn rejected that claim, saying the Mowat was seized legally in Canada's "internal waters," without providing the specific location of the seizure.
Watson has argued that his vessel never entered Canada's 12-nautical-mile territorial limit, but Hearn said the Fisheries Act gave him the authority to take action beyond that line.
"This is just more mouthy talk by people who want to use this to their advantage," Hearn said. "Paul Watson is quarterbacking from his nice, posh hotel room in New York somewhere."
Still, the Fisheries Department later confirmed that on March 29 the Foreign Affairs Department issued a diplomatic note to the Netherlands requesting assistance to deter unlawful activities by the Mowat "as it is flying a Dutch flag."
A spokesman for the Dutch ministry of foreign affairs at The Hague, Netherlands, said his government was attempting to learn more about the incident.
"For the moment, we are still verifying the facts, and seeking the opinion of the Canadian authorities and how they justify their acts of today," said Ahmed Dadou.
In Ottawa, Hearn noted the crew of the Mowat were "safe and unharmed" following the boarding, and their vessel would be taken to Sydney, N.S., by early Sunday.
Those charged were expected to appear in a Sydney court.
Watson said his group has plenty of graphic footage of seals being slaughtered and he believes the pictures will be damaging to Canada's reputation.
"I think we've embarrassed the hell out of the Canadian government and they're desperate," he said.
Hearn said the seizure had nothing to do with censorship and insisted the move was not aimed at boosting the federal Conservatives' flagging fortunes in his home province of Newfoundland.
"It is time something was done and something has been done and it has nothing to do with Newfoundland or what kind of shape we're in. This won't affect me politically one way or another," he said.
Meanwhile, the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, is awaiting a second report on the seal hunt before making its recommendation to the European Parliament, likely this summer.
The annual hunt started March 28 in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, then expanded last week to include a portion of the gulf west of Newfoundland. The main hunt, in an area north of Newfoundland known as the Front, started Saturday.
On March 30, some seal hunters called for assistance from the coast guard, complaining that the Farley Mowat was getting to close to them on the ice floes about 60 kilometres north of Cape Breton.
The Fisheries Department later said its 98-metre icebreaker Des Groseilliers responded to the scene and was "grazed" twice by the 54-metre Farley Mowat.
But the conservation group said its ship was rammed twice by the icebreaker.
The crew aboard the Mowat said they were told not to approach an ice-covered area where seals were being slaughtered, but the crew did not comply with the order.
On April 5, Hearn said charges had been laid, but he did not say how or when the summonses would be served.
The charges, brought forward in Nova Scotia, could result in fines of up to $100,000 or up to one year in prison, or both.
The captain of the Cape Breton sealing vessel who called for help said the arrests were long overdue.
"It's time, it's high time, it's past time that they did something with them," said Pat Briand of Dingwall, N.S., the 55-year-old skipper of the Cathy Erlene.
Watson has denied the Farley Mowat got too close to the hunt and has released a video that shows the two vessels travelling briefly in a parallel course and then colliding twice.
The Sea Shepherd Society and previous incarnations have long used militant tactics to stop hunters from killing seals, whales and other marine wildlife.
The group claims to have sunk six whaling ships since 1979, saying no one was hurt in those actions.
During the 1980s, Watson harassed Russian whaling ships and Japanese dolphin hunters. In the mid-80s, he was tear gassed off the Faroe Islands when he tried to stop the sport kill of pilot whales.
In 1995, he scuffled with an angry mob of angry sealers on Iles-de-la-Madeleine when he went there to stage a protest with actor Martin Sheen.
To be sure, the Canadian Coast Guard and the Fisheries Department are no strangers to confrontation on the water.
On March 9, 1995, as Spain and Canada were locked in an emotional battle over the overfishing of turbot just beyond Canadian waters, the coast guard patrol vessel Cape Roger intercepted the Spanish trawler Estai, which cut its nets and fled.
After a lengthy pursuit, the crew of the Cape Roger fired four bursts from .50-calibre machine gun across the bow of the Estai, which then stopped and was seized by RCMP and Fisheries officers.
Seal Hunt Chronology
HALIFAX - The federal Fisheries Department has arrested the senior officers of the anti-sealing vessel Farley Mowat for alleged violations of the Fisheries Act.
Here's a chronology of the vessel's encounters with federal officials, sealers and Canadian patrol boats.
March 20 - Transport Canada directed the Farley Mowat not to enter Canadian waters until it complied with international marine safety conventions.
March 24 - The Farley Mowat left Bermuda.
March 28 - It reached the Canadian exclusive economic zone, the area where Canada claims exclusive rights to the economic benefits from the ocean, including fish and seals.
March 29 - Canadian authorities attempted to communicate with the Farley Mowat south of St. Paul's Island, but say there was no reply.
March 29 - The Department of Foreign Affairs issued a diplomatic note to the Netherlands requesting their assistance to deter and prevent unlawful activities by the master and crew of the Farley Mowat, which flies a Dutch flag.
March 30 - Ottawa alleges the Farley Mowat engaged in illegal activities by approaching sealing vessels. The Farley Mowat and the Coast Guard ship Des Groseilliers collide on two occasions approximately 40 kilometres east of Ingonish, Cape Breton.
April 2 - The Farley Mowat docks at the French islands of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon.
April 4 - The Farley Mowat leaves Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon after local fishermen cut its mooring lines.
April 5 - The captain and first officer of the Farley Mowat are charged with violating the Marine Mammal Regulations under the Fisheries Act. The captain is also charged with obstruction under the Fisheries Act.
April 9 - The Department of Transport say that the Farley Mowat entered Canadian waters. Transport Canada directed the Farley Mowat to depart and remain outside Canadian waters based on security concerns.
April 10 - Canadian authorities say they documented an incursion into the 12 nautical miles territorial limit by the Farley Mowat. A Transport Canada ministerial order to proceed to Sydney, N.S., was sent to the vessel Farley Mowat via the Canadian Coast Guard Marine Communications and Traffic Services.
April 11 - The federal Fisheries Department alleges the Farley Mowat came within approximately 100 metres of a sealer, which is in contravention of the Marine Mammal Regulations.
April 12 - The vessel is seized and boarded by Canadian officials.
(Source: Transport Canada, federal Fisheries Department)
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+
Anti-seal hunt protesters decry Canada's 'act of war' in seizing their vessel
Organization head Paul Watson predicted the raid on the Dutch-registered would backfire on Canada, which is campaigning against a European ban on seal products.
Helen Morris, Canwest News Service / Published: Sunday, April 13, 2008
The captain and first officer of the anti-seal hunt vessel Farley Mowat are facing charges in a Sydney, N.S. court in connection with a confrontation with a coast guard ship on March 30.
The Mowat, operated by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, was seized by an armed RCMP team, working with fisheries and coast guard personnel, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence Saturday as it was monitoring the hunt.
The head of the Sea Shepherd Society, Paul Watson called it "an act of war," claiming the Dutch-registered vessel was outside Canadian jurisdiction.
"The Canadian Coast Guard seized a European-registered yacht in international waters which, technically, is an act of war," said Watson.
Canada's fisheries minister dismissed the claim, and in acid tones described the group as "money-sucking manipulators (whose) sole aim is to try to suck as much money out of the pockets of people who really don't know what's going on."
Loyola Hearn said the raid took place in Canadian waters and in accordance with Canadian fisheries legislation.
He said the Mowat was boarded and the captain, Alexander Cornelissen, and first officer Peter Hammarstedt arrested because the Farley Mowat had failed to comply with warnings to proceed immediately to Sydney, N.S., and continued to violate marine and fisheries regulations.
If convicted, the maximum penalty is six months in jail and a $100,000 fine. The vessel is due to arrive in Sydney on Sunday.
Watson, who was not on board either at the time of the arrest or the alleged confrontation with the coast guard vessel, predicted the raid would backfire on Canada, which is campaigning against a looming European Union ban on the import of seal products.
"By arresting us - a European-registered vessel, a European crew - in this way, that pretty much ensures the bill banning seal products in Europe will be passed," Watson told media.
"They did exactly what we thought they might do, but I didn't think would be stupid enough to do."
Saturday's arrests stemmed from an incident involving the Farley Mowat and sealers near Cape Breton on March 30. Nova Scotia sealer Shane Briand said the Mowat endangered the lives of his crew when it came close to them about 60 kilometres off Cape Breton.
He said at one point, the Mowat broke the ice up beneath a sealer as he stood on a floe.
Briand said the much larger Mowat harassed his ship and crew until a coast guard icebreaker arrived and put itself between the two ships.
The Fisheries Department says during the incident the icebreaker was "grazed" by the Mowat, while the Sea Shepherd Society says its ship was rammed.
The arrests drew praise from sealing activist Jim Winter in St. John's.
"If a man walks down the street with a two by four and threatens to hit you over the head, the police will arrest him. If a man takes a steel ship and threatens to run down a wooden ship, he should be arrested, (too)," Winter said.
But Watson said the arrests set a dangerous precedent and the Sea Shepherd Society would be registering protests with the embassies representing the 17 people on the ship, who come from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, Sweden, South Africa, Canada and the United States.
"We have the right of free passage through those waters and Canada was out of order in boarding us," he said, describing how he could hear the raid as it progressed through a phone line from Shannon Mann, the communications officer for the protest ship.
"Shannon said that the icebreaker the Des Groseilliers and the (offshore patrol ship) Sir Wilfrid Grenfell dispatched four small boats carrying officers and they swarmed the vessel and came on board. They seized everything," said Watson.
"While I was talking to her I could hear yelling in the background, telling people to lie down on the deck. The crew were forced down at gunpoint and then the line went dead. So they obviously cut the communications."
Hearn said he wanted the ship stopped before someone got killed.
"The action was taken because the Farley Mowat and its crew, acting under the direction of Mr. Paul Watson, contravened the marine mammal regulations and the Fisheries Act that govern the seal hunt," he said.
The Farley Mowat will be kept in DFO custody until a court orders the release of the vessel upon posting of security, the Fisheries Department said.
The vessel will also be inspected by Transport Canada and police to ensure it and the crew pose no safety or security threat.
The Sea Shepherd Society said that the Farley Mowat had been gathering videotaped proof that seals were being killed in an inhumane manner. Watson said he assumed all the videotapes had been seized by the Canadian authorities.
Saturday's action comes as the seal hunt is underway in earnest off Newfoundland. But high fuel costs and low pelt prices have sharply reduced the number of boats taking part.
It also follows the tragic beginning of the hunt when four Magdelan Islands sealers died as their vessel capsized while under a coast guard tow.
That incident is the subject of three investigations.
The Canadian seal season began at the end of March. An estimated 2,500 hunters have permission to kill 275,000 seals. Apperently some ship wanted to photograph how this is being done, something which wasn't very appreciated. By the way, that federal fisheries minister talks like some uneducated nitwit.
Anti-sealing ship operated by environmental crusader seized by federal officers
13 hours ago
HALIFAX — An RCMP tactical squad stormed and seized the anti-sealing vessel Farley Mowat on Saturday, in a provocative move the federal fisheries minister said would prevent "a bunch of money-sucking manipulators" from interfering with the annual hunt.
Paul Watson, head of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, said the seizure of his ship and the arrests of two senior officers amounted to an "act of war" because the vessel is registered in the Netherlands.
Watson, speaking from New York, said armed officers from two coast guard vessels scrambled aboard the Mowat at around 11 a.m. ADT in the Cabot Strait - the body of water between Cape Breton and Newfoundland.
"(They) took command of the vessel, and .... they were screaming at people to lie down on the deck."
The environmental crusader said a communications officer aboard the ship was relaying details of the boarding via satellite phone when the connection was suddenly lost.
Later in the day, Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn said the ship's captain and chief officer were arrested for allegedly violating Canada's marine mammal regulations and the Fisheries Act.
He said those charges were related to a high-seas confrontation in the Gulf of St. Lawrence between the Farley Mowat and a coast guard icebreaker two weeks ago.
"We did the right thing," Hearn told a news conference in Ottawa. "I'd rather act when nobody is hurt, rather than react when somebody got killed."
The minister bristled at Watson's suggestion that the seizure represents a public relations coup for his movement as the European Union contemplates a ban on the importation of all seal products.
"These are a bunch of money-sucking manipulators," Hearn said. "They're sole aim is to try to suck as much money out of the pockets of people who really don't know what's going on," he said.
Last week, the department brought forward charges alleging the Farley Mowat's captain, Alexander Cornelissen, and First Officer Peter Hammarstedt broke rules that prohibit anyone without a valid observation licence from coming within 900 metres of the hunt.
Cornelissen is also charged under the Fisheries Act with obstruction or hindrance of a Fishery Officer or inspector.
However, Watson maintains the Farley Mowat doesn't have to submit to Canadian regulations.
Hearn rejected that claim, saying the Mowat was seized legally in Canada's "internal waters," without providing the specific location of the seizure.
Watson has argued that his vessel never entered Canada's 12-nautical-mile territorial limit, but Hearn said the Fisheries Act gave him the authority to take action beyond that line.
"This is just more mouthy talk by people who want to use this to their advantage," Hearn said. "Paul Watson is quarterbacking from his nice, posh hotel room in New York somewhere."
Still, the Fisheries Department later confirmed that on March 29 the Foreign Affairs Department issued a diplomatic note to the Netherlands requesting assistance to deter unlawful activities by the Mowat "as it is flying a Dutch flag."
A spokesman for the Dutch ministry of foreign affairs at The Hague, Netherlands, said his government was attempting to learn more about the incident.
"For the moment, we are still verifying the facts, and seeking the opinion of the Canadian authorities and how they justify their acts of today," said Ahmed Dadou.
In Ottawa, Hearn noted the crew of the Mowat were "safe and unharmed" following the boarding, and their vessel would be taken to Sydney, N.S., by early Sunday.
Those charged were expected to appear in a Sydney court.
Watson said his group has plenty of graphic footage of seals being slaughtered and he believes the pictures will be damaging to Canada's reputation.
"I think we've embarrassed the hell out of the Canadian government and they're desperate," he said.
Hearn said the seizure had nothing to do with censorship and insisted the move was not aimed at boosting the federal Conservatives' flagging fortunes in his home province of Newfoundland.
"It is time something was done and something has been done and it has nothing to do with Newfoundland or what kind of shape we're in. This won't affect me politically one way or another," he said.
Meanwhile, the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, is awaiting a second report on the seal hunt before making its recommendation to the European Parliament, likely this summer.
The annual hunt started March 28 in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, then expanded last week to include a portion of the gulf west of Newfoundland. The main hunt, in an area north of Newfoundland known as the Front, started Saturday.
On March 30, some seal hunters called for assistance from the coast guard, complaining that the Farley Mowat was getting to close to them on the ice floes about 60 kilometres north of Cape Breton.
The Fisheries Department later said its 98-metre icebreaker Des Groseilliers responded to the scene and was "grazed" twice by the 54-metre Farley Mowat.
But the conservation group said its ship was rammed twice by the icebreaker.
The crew aboard the Mowat said they were told not to approach an ice-covered area where seals were being slaughtered, but the crew did not comply with the order.
On April 5, Hearn said charges had been laid, but he did not say how or when the summonses would be served.
The charges, brought forward in Nova Scotia, could result in fines of up to $100,000 or up to one year in prison, or both.
The captain of the Cape Breton sealing vessel who called for help said the arrests were long overdue.
"It's time, it's high time, it's past time that they did something with them," said Pat Briand of Dingwall, N.S., the 55-year-old skipper of the Cathy Erlene.
Watson has denied the Farley Mowat got too close to the hunt and has released a video that shows the two vessels travelling briefly in a parallel course and then colliding twice.
The Sea Shepherd Society and previous incarnations have long used militant tactics to stop hunters from killing seals, whales and other marine wildlife.
The group claims to have sunk six whaling ships since 1979, saying no one was hurt in those actions.
During the 1980s, Watson harassed Russian whaling ships and Japanese dolphin hunters. In the mid-80s, he was tear gassed off the Faroe Islands when he tried to stop the sport kill of pilot whales.
In 1995, he scuffled with an angry mob of angry sealers on Iles-de-la-Madeleine when he went there to stage a protest with actor Martin Sheen.
To be sure, the Canadian Coast Guard and the Fisheries Department are no strangers to confrontation on the water.
On March 9, 1995, as Spain and Canada were locked in an emotional battle over the overfishing of turbot just beyond Canadian waters, the coast guard patrol vessel Cape Roger intercepted the Spanish trawler Estai, which cut its nets and fled.
After a lengthy pursuit, the crew of the Cape Roger fired four bursts from .50-calibre machine gun across the bow of the Estai, which then stopped and was seized by RCMP and Fisheries officers.
Seal Hunt Chronology
HALIFAX - The federal Fisheries Department has arrested the senior officers of the anti-sealing vessel Farley Mowat for alleged violations of the Fisheries Act.
Here's a chronology of the vessel's encounters with federal officials, sealers and Canadian patrol boats.
March 20 - Transport Canada directed the Farley Mowat not to enter Canadian waters until it complied with international marine safety conventions.
March 24 - The Farley Mowat left Bermuda.
March 28 - It reached the Canadian exclusive economic zone, the area where Canada claims exclusive rights to the economic benefits from the ocean, including fish and seals.
March 29 - Canadian authorities attempted to communicate with the Farley Mowat south of St. Paul's Island, but say there was no reply.
March 29 - The Department of Foreign Affairs issued a diplomatic note to the Netherlands requesting their assistance to deter and prevent unlawful activities by the master and crew of the Farley Mowat, which flies a Dutch flag.
March 30 - Ottawa alleges the Farley Mowat engaged in illegal activities by approaching sealing vessels. The Farley Mowat and the Coast Guard ship Des Groseilliers collide on two occasions approximately 40 kilometres east of Ingonish, Cape Breton.
April 2 - The Farley Mowat docks at the French islands of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon.
April 4 - The Farley Mowat leaves Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon after local fishermen cut its mooring lines.
April 5 - The captain and first officer of the Farley Mowat are charged with violating the Marine Mammal Regulations under the Fisheries Act. The captain is also charged with obstruction under the Fisheries Act.
April 9 - The Department of Transport say that the Farley Mowat entered Canadian waters. Transport Canada directed the Farley Mowat to depart and remain outside Canadian waters based on security concerns.
April 10 - Canadian authorities say they documented an incursion into the 12 nautical miles territorial limit by the Farley Mowat. A Transport Canada ministerial order to proceed to Sydney, N.S., was sent to the vessel Farley Mowat via the Canadian Coast Guard Marine Communications and Traffic Services.
April 11 - The federal Fisheries Department alleges the Farley Mowat came within approximately 100 metres of a sealer, which is in contravention of the Marine Mammal Regulations.
April 12 - The vessel is seized and boarded by Canadian officials.
(Source: Transport Canada, federal Fisheries Department)
---------------------------------------
+
Anti-seal hunt protesters decry Canada's 'act of war' in seizing their vessel
Organization head Paul Watson predicted the raid on the Dutch-registered would backfire on Canada, which is campaigning against a European ban on seal products.
Helen Morris, Canwest News Service / Published: Sunday, April 13, 2008
The captain and first officer of the anti-seal hunt vessel Farley Mowat are facing charges in a Sydney, N.S. court in connection with a confrontation with a coast guard ship on March 30.
The Mowat, operated by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, was seized by an armed RCMP team, working with fisheries and coast guard personnel, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence Saturday as it was monitoring the hunt.
The head of the Sea Shepherd Society, Paul Watson called it "an act of war," claiming the Dutch-registered vessel was outside Canadian jurisdiction.
"The Canadian Coast Guard seized a European-registered yacht in international waters which, technically, is an act of war," said Watson.
Canada's fisheries minister dismissed the claim, and in acid tones described the group as "money-sucking manipulators (whose) sole aim is to try to suck as much money out of the pockets of people who really don't know what's going on."
Loyola Hearn said the raid took place in Canadian waters and in accordance with Canadian fisheries legislation.
He said the Mowat was boarded and the captain, Alexander Cornelissen, and first officer Peter Hammarstedt arrested because the Farley Mowat had failed to comply with warnings to proceed immediately to Sydney, N.S., and continued to violate marine and fisheries regulations.
If convicted, the maximum penalty is six months in jail and a $100,000 fine. The vessel is due to arrive in Sydney on Sunday.
Watson, who was not on board either at the time of the arrest or the alleged confrontation with the coast guard vessel, predicted the raid would backfire on Canada, which is campaigning against a looming European Union ban on the import of seal products.
"By arresting us - a European-registered vessel, a European crew - in this way, that pretty much ensures the bill banning seal products in Europe will be passed," Watson told media.
"They did exactly what we thought they might do, but I didn't think would be stupid enough to do."
Saturday's arrests stemmed from an incident involving the Farley Mowat and sealers near Cape Breton on March 30. Nova Scotia sealer Shane Briand said the Mowat endangered the lives of his crew when it came close to them about 60 kilometres off Cape Breton.
He said at one point, the Mowat broke the ice up beneath a sealer as he stood on a floe.
Briand said the much larger Mowat harassed his ship and crew until a coast guard icebreaker arrived and put itself between the two ships.
The Fisheries Department says during the incident the icebreaker was "grazed" by the Mowat, while the Sea Shepherd Society says its ship was rammed.
The arrests drew praise from sealing activist Jim Winter in St. John's.
"If a man walks down the street with a two by four and threatens to hit you over the head, the police will arrest him. If a man takes a steel ship and threatens to run down a wooden ship, he should be arrested, (too)," Winter said.
But Watson said the arrests set a dangerous precedent and the Sea Shepherd Society would be registering protests with the embassies representing the 17 people on the ship, who come from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, Sweden, South Africa, Canada and the United States.
"We have the right of free passage through those waters and Canada was out of order in boarding us," he said, describing how he could hear the raid as it progressed through a phone line from Shannon Mann, the communications officer for the protest ship.
"Shannon said that the icebreaker the Des Groseilliers and the (offshore patrol ship) Sir Wilfrid Grenfell dispatched four small boats carrying officers and they swarmed the vessel and came on board. They seized everything," said Watson.
"While I was talking to her I could hear yelling in the background, telling people to lie down on the deck. The crew were forced down at gunpoint and then the line went dead. So they obviously cut the communications."
Hearn said he wanted the ship stopped before someone got killed.
"The action was taken because the Farley Mowat and its crew, acting under the direction of Mr. Paul Watson, contravened the marine mammal regulations and the Fisheries Act that govern the seal hunt," he said.
The Farley Mowat will be kept in DFO custody until a court orders the release of the vessel upon posting of security, the Fisheries Department said.
The vessel will also be inspected by Transport Canada and police to ensure it and the crew pose no safety or security threat.
The Sea Shepherd Society said that the Farley Mowat had been gathering videotaped proof that seals were being killed in an inhumane manner. Watson said he assumed all the videotapes had been seized by the Canadian authorities.
Saturday's action comes as the seal hunt is underway in earnest off Newfoundland. But high fuel costs and low pelt prices have sharply reduced the number of boats taking part.
It also follows the tragic beginning of the hunt when four Magdelan Islands sealers died as their vessel capsized while under a coast guard tow.
That incident is the subject of three investigations.
