Jaques Cousteau's Grand-daughter In Toronto

February 22nd - 2011
Toronto- Canada
Alexandra Cousteau at the ROM

Just the other night I was honoured to listen to such a passionate and compassionate lady named Alexandra Cousteau. Alexandra is with National Geographic traveling around the world regarding water and the issues pertaining to fresh water. This is called "Expedition Blue Planet" and sponsored by National Geographic and RBC - Royal Bank of Canada.
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We were privy to watch three short movies of Alexandra which the last one was about Toronto. The Toronto short movie was speaking about the lost creeks that once flowed to the lake with no restrictions. These creeks are now forced underground and mix with sewage, catch basin water, and discharge from homes. The home discharge is a big issue and a major problem that people need to understand and can make a very big change to the water quality. The end of the water coming from taps and drains of homes is the sewage plant which uses bacteria (bugs) to break down the organic material before its discharged to the lake and/or rivers which all lead to the ocean. What sadly happens here to some misbelief is the home owners that dump chemicals and pharmaceuticals down the drain end up either making it through the sewage treatment unchanged and affect the ecosystem and/or wind up in the next cities drinking water or it kills the bugs that do natural breakdown of the organic matter. The speech was fantastic and informative from Alexandra Cousteau.

Now after I bought my ticket to see such a wonderful lady I noticed that RBC was a sponsor to this "Expedition Blue Planet". I was saddened to hear this since I am well aware of an organization from California called RAN - Rainforest Action Network that has a water campaign going against them. The water campaign is about how RBC invests Billions of Dollars into the Tarsands of Alberta and only small Millions into water treatment in the Tarsands. The Tarsands takes fresh water from the nearby rivers and uses 3 barrels of freshwater to make 1 barrel of oil. Now this used water is very toxic afterwards and has killed hundreds of geese instantly when they landed on these toxic lakes. Also these lakes are leaching back into the local rivers and slowly poisoning the indigeneous people that live from them and then the water dumps into the Arctic Ocean. Alexandra stated that the Arctic area is 60% of Canada's fresh water too.

So then came question period when I was allowed to speak. I respect Alexandra and just gave her "Food for Thought" and explained to her about her RBC sponsor and the campaign against them regarding freshwater. To me it was like the drug dealer making very large donations to look good to the public but here its an extremely large bank sponsoring a water expedition everywhere but the area that they are causing the issue with their investment. Alexandra accepted this information and spoke a little bit about it in a very intelligent manner. She believes its up to the share holders to get involved and stop these negative investments and that not all corporations are perfect but can do a lot better with people speaking out.

After the talk I was able to speak to Alexandra and her business partner Johnathon about more on the Tarsands and they hope to be up there in the next couple years during their  Expedition Blue Planet and get the results of what is happening.

I have video of her speech below so you all can enjoy some it for yourselves and the "Food for Thought" I put out to her and the crowd.

This Video Is An Introduction Of Alexandra And Some Words Of Inspiration Of Her Speaking About Her Interactions With Her Grandfather - Jaques Cousteau & The Ocean

This Video I Was Able To Voice Some Awareness Of The Sponsor RBC And The Tarsands Environmental Disaster In Northern Alberta.

Go Here To Find Out More About Alexandra's "Expedition Blue Planet" Travels.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/AlexandraCousteau

Taiji Slaughter "MONEY" not "CULTURE"

After being in Japan and witnessing the horrific slaughtering of dolphins I also had a striking realization. The dolphin killing practice that Taiji - Japan states is a pest control or cultural thing cannot be more wrong!

The activists stayed in a town about 15 minute drive away from Taiji called Katsuura. Katsuura is a beautiful small old fishing style town. This town was very quiet most of the time and people seemed to be respectful to eachother. It was great to come out of the hotel and have no or barely any car traffic, to see a store only filled with citrus - oranges mostly. When you walked into a store, restaurant, or hotel they gave you the utmost respect I have ever seen since I have been alive on this planet. They do not accept tips in Japan and when you get service you get it from the heart of the person helping you. They honestly show you the most kindness a service provider ever does as they are thankful you have chosen them to give your money and time to out of all of the others.

Riding in my friend Len's car who is from Australia, he took me out into the off roads of Japan. We ended up in this area that had this 430 foot waterfall. This waterfall was incredible and this area was so beautifully done up from the stone walkways to the nature of the forest that surrounded it! There were 3 shrines just at the Waterfall to give it respect, then to give the river respect and you could also use the water from the river at one of the shrines to cleanse your soul from impurities while you were there. This was the Nachi Falls. This forested area filled with old ancient shrine buildings was a magically spiritual place and barely any people there loving it like us.

I went to the local car rental center and this was an experience! I had this over apologetic and respectful man who reminded me of the old English "Benny Hill". I asked how much for 4 days of rental and he gave me a number of 28,700 Yen. Yes in Japan the numbers are huge as if you were living large and rich! So I tried to wheel and deal and asked if he would take 25,000 Yen for 4 days. The man said "One Second" as he bowed to me. He got on the phone and called his boss and moments later returned to me! He then looked at me and a froze his position saying "Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ! NO!" It was so much better to hear in person but I started to laugh and he just stared at me. I took the car for 2 days instead and this man kept bowing to me and saying "One Second" and coming and going while he would get the car ready! He must have come and went 4 or 5 times while I couldn't believe how much effort this one man was doing just for me to rent a car.

Not one person ever told me not to go there or what are you doing here as I would walk around by myself about the town. The safety seemed to be amazing in this little fishing town. The restaurants and bars seem to be people's homes and I always felt weird to enter unless someone else with me had already been there so I would not feel like walking into someones kitchen. We all went to a local restaurant that had a ton of greens to eat and we had a chinese lady with us named Jess who is from Hong Kong and knows enough Japanese to have a conversation. So Jess spoke with the lady who was serving us and found out that she was the owner and the cook was her husband. The owner asked Jess why all the westerners were coming and going from their town so much. Jess stated we were there for the dolphin slaughter in Taiji. The owner said "I heard about the dolphin slaughter but we are all still in disbelief, so it is real?" Jess replied "Yes it is real and we are all here for this reason. When Jess shared this dialogue with me I thought that it would be worth our time to bring a laptop with us that showed video of the dolphin slaughtering in Taiji to educate the town of Katsuura that only 15 minutes away this action is happening on their shoreline. This showed me that if a small fishing town so close to Taiji doesn't know about the slaughter then how can all of Japan know! Also how can this be a "CULTURAL" thing if the second largest fishing docks in Japan - Katsuura - doesn't know anything about it.

 In Canada our government openly speaks about supporting the seal slaughter but in Japan this slaughter is smaller, isolated, and legal that the government doesn't say a word about it. Now with our International attention on the 26 fishermen and slaughter house workers that drive, isolate, and kill the dolphins is showing more attention to the shame of the whole country and this is giving the government something to be concerned with.

Taiji and Katsuura are in an area of Japan that is called the Komano Region which is filled with amazing shrines all over this mass region. The mountains are so steep and filled with forests, rivers, and waterfalls everywhere. This dolphin slaughter is situated in the most beautiful ancient region of the whole country shockingly! I took off one day by myself to get lost in the mountains as a way of venting the pain of the dolphins. I found myself hiking the base of a falls that I had all to myself. This was such an amazing moment to hear the waterfall run down the rocks on the steep mountainous hill and with no one else around it was only for my ears to hear. I decided I wanted to go higher and kept driving this one lane road with mirrors at each sharp bend to make sure no one crashed. At certain points I was able to snap photos of the falls as I climbed higher and higher on this massively steep cliff. I drove by this small thin bridge and decided to pull over and see where it went. The river I crossed was the top of the falls I was just at an hour previous which made this experience extra awesome! I started to follow this pathway which was not easy but made the trek much more interesting. I trekked the pathway quite high and scared one large bird with my presence. Being amongst the forest and seeing the hills overlapping in the distance was so incredibly spiritual and I had to sit there and just take it all in with my breath and eyes. The sun was getting lower and the light in the forest was dimming so I thought it was time to make my move back safely.

The last positive experience I have to speak about is the natural sulphur springs that are everywhere. These are called Onsen. This experience in Japan was a godsend! The most expensive ones were only $12.50CAD or 1000 Yen. In these amazing Hot Springs you would not wear any clothes meaning you had to be naked. I enjoyed the ambience at this hotel called Urishima on the harbour of Katsuura and only a 5 minute boat ride to get to that was free. My first time in this hotel we went to one of 4 onsen's they had and this was the largest one. This onsen was a large cave that opened up to the Atlantic Ocean and this first night a Full Moon was exposed while I was shoulder deep butt naked in this hot sulphur spring. It was amazing to be in a natural body of water, to view the moon and hear the ocean smash against the rock cliff below the cave. This experience was an amazing way to take care of my mind, body and soul while enduring such horrors of too many dolphins losing their lives. I went again by myself after being in Japan for a week and seeing about 80 dolphins lose their lives at this time. I spent about 3 hours in 3 different Onsen's that the hotel offered and just loved the way it mellowed the pain my back was holding. The last Onsen was a small cave and allowed you to get up close and personal with the ocean. I was able to stand naked at the railing and feel the cold night wind, look up to the night glowing with stars and to hear and watch the waves smash on the rocks nearby. Truly amazing and worth sharing and experiencing for anyone!

I just wanted to share a bit about Japan that surrounded Taiji. Taiji is situated in an area that respects the forests, rivers, and waterfalls. An area that is filled with shrines everywhere to give your own thanks too! Close to a city that has no idea about their hunt except by rumours they want to not believe. So what my conclusion is that this is not a cultural act but a local horrendous murdering action against sentient beings. This is a local isolated slaughter that is so well hidden no one has ever questioned it until it was exposed years ago and even moreso now the movie "The Cove" has come out. This is not a country action, not even a regular Taiji civilian action - its a Taiji government issue that allows this to continue so they can make money from a handful of fishermen. About 26 fishermen on 13 boats and slaughtering personnel of maybe up to 50 people in a town that has just over 3400 people. The analogy I was shared was "If you lived in a small town where the Hell's Angels were doing their drug selling would anyone say anything or just push a blind eye to the ordeal". We're talking about more people that are not involved in this action showing that only a handful of people in all of Japan are making a major black mark on Japan from International attention. This action is strictly "MONEY" not "CULTURE" and with all the beauty that surrounds and is amongst Taiji it could do so much more with tourism!

Nachi Falls - http://web-japan.org/atlas/nature/nat11.html

Onsen's http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onsen

The Orange House that was right next to our Hotel in Katsuura.



Gorgeous Scenery from the Katsuura Harbour.
Photo by Artist for the Ocean 2011




The Urishima Hotel. If you look at the connecting long tunnel like structure between the two buildings, well this is the longest escalator area I have ever benn on so far.
Photo by Artist for the Ocean 2011





An amazing cliff point view from the top of the Urishima Hotel.
Photo by Artist for the Ocean 2011





A walkway at the top of the Urishima Hotel.
Photo by Artist for the Ocean 2011



A walkway at the top of the Urishima Hotel.
Photo by Artist for the Ocean 2011





The shrine at the top of the steep mountainous hill that the Urishima is built within.
Photo by Artist for the Ocean 2011



The Large Cave Onsen in the Urishima Hotel. No cameras allowed so I found this painting.





A picture of the Katsuura Harbour.
Photo by Artist for the Ocean 2011





A beautfiul rock outside of the Taiji Harbour.
Photo by Artist for the Ocean 2011




This amazing Hawk is a plenty all over the region!
Photo by Artist for the Ocean 2011




Nachi Falls in the Komano Region.
Photo by Len Varley




A Beautiful Shrine with Nachi Falls in the background!
Photo by Len Varley




Inside one of the many shrines near Nachi Falls.
Photo by Len Varley




A Very old shrine on the mountain near Nachi Falls.
Photo by Len Varley




An incredible bell held up by this very old structure.
Photo by Len Varley




A man made walk way up to the Hanajiro Falls.
Photo by Artist for the Ocean 2011




The Hanajiro Falls
Photo by Artist for the Ocean 2011



The Hanajiro Falls in the distance.



The forest in the hills above the Hanajiro Falls.
Photo by Artist for the Ocean 2011



The bridge that crosses the Hanajiro River at the top of the falls.
Photo by Artist for the Ocean 2011

Behind The Barricades In Taiji



I was in Japan for about 9 full days to do work for the dolphins and within that time I was able to find some great locations to view into the cove. I have taken some photos from the video I was able to capture while in my second barricade jump. This second jump was an extremely close call when I was almost caught. The police were scouring the bushes and were all over where I was but I was not hidden very well and simply I should have been caught. However I was not seen and surprisingly I was staring right into the cops eyes while he was ready to walk right to me! At this moment I accepted that I was busted behind the barricade and just waited for the man to see me and start yelling. Then his phone rang at the same time I was looking at him! He started to talk on his phone really loud while I was still leaning back in the bush and waiting for him to have a glimpse of my figure. Then within moments he hung up his phone and walked away. Whew! I could not believe it! I was safe for the moment!

I then could hear a lot of them behind me talking to eachother. I had very thick brush behind me so they could not see me this way without walking back around where the other man was located. I thought if I was going to be stuck here behind the barricades then I must get some video film and I had both my cameras with me. I could not use my Camera video since its large and akward so luckily I had my hand held video camera with me and was able to lean forward as if I was touching my toes to aim the lens towards the cove action.

The video camera had an awesome zoom lens and I was able to get up close and personal at times. The only problem filming this horrific scene was keeping my feet awake and my stomach from cramping and my hand from shaking! Yes, my bent over position so I would not make any noise and be heard by the police I was really painful. My feet in time went to sleep and every few minutes forced me to lean back and wiggle my toes to get the blood circulation moving again. Then my stomach was aching from the crunch I put on it from the akward bend. The only thing that really pissed me off was my one main thumb that is needed to hold the camera still would just start to shake uncontrollably. I tried many things to get my hand steady and did my best to get as much video as possible.

As I was reaching and trying to find the best view to film I noticed a lone dolphin moving on the other side of the killing area. Then I watched a fisherman walk over and start to touch the dolphin. I thought he was going to just grab the rope on his tail and drag him over with his family. However this man put his body weight on the dolphin and I couldn't believe it but he was drowning the dolphin. Then he was dragging the lifeless body of this Risso Dolphin and had to walk around the boat that was splitting the killing zone in half. He dragged the dolphin through the blood pouring from under the tarp and then behind the tarp with his/her family that were currently watching their family die one by one.

After the dolphins had been all killed and tied to the side of the boat they make sure that a tarp is over the bodies so no cameras can photograph or film the bodies. This action shows they are embarassed and feel the shame by having to cover cove, the killing, and then the transport of the bodies. This moment the cove went silent, the voices behind me disappeared and the wait to leave began.

You cannot just jump up and walk out when you clearly were not allowed to be on this side of the fence even though the sign was just a warning of a cliff for safety reasons. I was told that others have been caught and removed but didn't know what happened to them. This was my second slaughter I witnessed in 3 days in Japan and my second time jumping the barricades with no fear whatsoever! As I waited the time dragged, the sun beat down on me and the nature sounds were beautiful. Then I heard some crackling! My mind was racing about a cop hiding near me and was just waiting it out to see who starts to move. The sound got louder and I started to look at that direction and seen this hat moving and as I looked further I knew who it was! I waved and she thought I was a cop and thought she was busted. It took a few moments when she realized who I was and I couldn't believe there were more people hidden up here too!

It was about 30 minutes since the slaughter ended and I decided to take the chance to see if the coast was clear! I slowly moved and took my time making my way to see the fence and the open field. I stopped and hide because a cop was walking up and looked around and then walked away. I waited about another 10 minutes and then made my move again. The coast was clear and I went back into the bush to gather my cameras and give the others the message to get out now. We all got out and met others at the bottom of the hill and took off in our cars. I was so hyper with a beating heart and excitement of being alive doing what I loved and that was being there for animals! Now I share with you all a bit of the video I managed to gather and pictures so you all can see what I experienced!

Below I have pictures of what I seen from my video and a video if you care to watch it but warning it does shake a little bit and could be hard to see.

After the Drive in of 6 Risso Dolphins the fishermen have already placed rope around their tails and staked them under the killing tarp within the cove.




They search for the tarp to block cameras from viewing their means of slaughtering the dolphins.




The Dolphins try and resist as much as they possibly can! They have been stressed for at least 2 hours now from the drive to this lasso on their tail staked to the ground of the cove.

BELOW IS WHERE YOU WILL WITNESS A DROWNING





A lone Risso Dolphin is off to the top left corner.




A fishermen walks over to the lone dolphin.




He starts to grab the dolphin.




He then is placing his weight down on the lone dolphin drowning him.




He then starts to drag the lone dolphin lifelessly over to the others currently being murdered.




The dolphin still has not moved to try and escape show no signs of life.




The fisherman dragging the lone dolphin goes waist deep into the blood filled water.




Sadly the lone dolphin still does not move and is now entering the blood filled water of his family.





The fisherman is now behind the tarp watching the other dolphin's being killed while still dragging the dead dolphin.




The dolphin is almost behind the tarp now to be with his/her family while they kill them.




All you can see now is the blood spilt of innocent sentient beings that were free migrating by Japan only hours before!



DOLPHINS BEING PREPARED FOR TRANSPORT



The main Killer is in the wet suit and is helping tie the dolphins to the boat.




The dolphin bodies are floating lifelessly while they try and cover their shame.




The tarp is being tied and the dolphins are all tied by their tails to the boat for dragging.




You can see the dolphins tied to the front while they try and keep the tarp over the bodies.




The bodies keep exposing themselves.





Sixgill Pregnant Shark Found Dead In B.C.

"The bluntnose sixgill shark, Hexanchus griseus, often simply called the cow shark, is the largest hexanchoid shark, growing to more than 5.4 m (18 ft) in length."

A logger named Ron found a very large shark believed to be a Bluntnose Sixgill Shark in the Albernie Inlet of British Columbia February 10th, 2011. The shark was just floating and was way too heavy for the logger to lift out of the water. The shark was found to be 14ft and approximately 800 to 1000lbs. This was a female and carrying about 30 pups in her womb. The Department of Fisheries and Ocean (DFO) stated they have never seen such a specimen in their hands.

"This species typically inhabits depths greater than 90 m (300 ft), and has been recorded as deep as 1,875 m (6,150 ft). Like many deep-sea creatures, the bluntnose sixgill shark is known to undertake nightly vertical migrations (travelling surfaceward at night, returning to the depths before dawn).
The bluntnose sixgill shark can be seen at depths of 30 m (100 ft) and shallower during parts of the year in some specific places e.g. Flora Islet, near Hornby Island, Sightings during shallow evening dives in Whytecliff Park West Vancouver in British Columbia, in Puget Sound^[1], Monterey Canyon off Monterey, California and in fjords in Norway. The sharks are deepsea sharks, but like most fish that prefer the deep, they come to the shallower depths to feed." Wikipedia for Sixgill Shark

Jaim McKinnon said " it had died and was found around Coulsons Mill near the beach". "A log Salvage guy named Ron found the shark half floating near the mill on the Inlet so he brought it over to us so we could lift her right out! All 800-1000lbs of her and she had around 30 Shark Pups inside of her! Five of her pups fell out."

The sexual maturity of the bluntnose sixgill female shark is between the ages of 18 to 35 years. Scientist do not know a lot about this shark's mating and gestation period which is believed to be longer than 2 years. Their litter sizes can range from 22 to 108 pups.

Death is unknown and the body was seen by a local being dumped into the Albernie Dump later this day.

Ron the logger who found the shark floating but couldnt lift it

In this photo: Adam McLellan

 Photos by Jamie McKinnon