I have always had affinity with the oceans. Growing up on the Mornington Peninsula, we were always surrounded by wild dolphins, in both Port Phillip and Western Port Bays. After brief stints living in Melbourne and Hamilton Island, I found my way back to the Peninsula and have accumulated 20 years of experience in the local wine industry. Now fortunate to manage Red Hill Estate winery, I have also been involved with Dromana Estate, Stonier, Five Sons and Port Phillip Estate. I believe that this region is amazing, beautiful and so diverse. Surrounded by water on three sides, it is hard not to be aware of our wildlife, both on and off the land. My passion lies under the water, in particular with our resident dolphins of Port Phillip Bay. Having lived on both Port Phillip and Western Port sides of the Mornington Peninsula, we are fortunate to see dolphins in their own environment and not in captivity on a regular basis. I am thrilled to be able to share these experiences with my three beautiful children, whom also share this passion for marine life with me including being actively involved, locally, with Sea Shepherd, by assisting in beach clean ups, fundraising and helping me give tours on one of the vessels when in port. Growing up, summer holidays always involved a lot of water – water sports, swimming, hanging at the beach. On holiday growing up, it was the thing to do, to visit marine parks and see a dolphin show. I never realized back then, what an awful thing it was to be a dolphin in captivity. Like many stories that started – I watched “The Cove” about six years ago, and felt I couldn’t sit by and not do something about this. It was so wrong. I told myself that one day I would to Taiji and see for myself what was happening. This moving documentary led me to follow Sea Shepherd and then I joined the Melbourne, Australia volunteer chapter, where I became actively involved with many facets of the organization. For a staggering six months of every year, September 1st until March a group of dolphin hunters herd wild dolphins from the ocean’s open waters into a hidden shallow bay, now infamously known around the world as The Cove. In the small coastal town of Taiji, Japan thousands of dolphins and small whales are captured and killed each year during the annual dolphin drive hunt. The hunters capture entire families, or pods, of various species of dolphins at a time in order to satisfy the international demand for captive dolphins in the entertainment industry. Those taken captive are sent to aquariums and marine parks worldwide. The remaining dolphins are killed by a hunting technique known as “pithing,” which leaves the still conscious dolphins paralyzed and often drowning in the blood of their own family members. In 2010, Sea Shepherd launched its Operation Infinite Patience campaign, an ongoing presence of volunteers from around the world who remain on the ground in Taiji, documenting the cove throughout the entire dolphin hunt season. They are called “Cove Guardians”. I have recently returned from being a Cove Guardian, where I joined Sea Shepherd’s Operation Infinite Patience campaign. Travelling to Japan and being a Cove Guardian was an amazing experience that I will never forget – I am honored to be part of this group of people. These are normal people who have taken some time out from their busy lives and dedicated it to a cause they believe in. I bring home with me the ignited passion to do more locally for our resident dolphins and of course their cousins in Japanese waters. Now that I know better, I can be a voice for the voiceless. I can be part of a team of people that are making a difference and I can be part of an organization that through direct action, education and involvement are making a difference for these beautiful and intelligent beings. What you can do to help: Spread the word, like, share and follow on Facebook https://facebook/SeaShepherdCoveGuardiansOfficialPage Send e-mail to [email protected] and express your interest. You can help directly support the Cove Guardians by purchasing items from their Amazon Wish List. Don’t buy a ticket to dolphin shows or venues with captive dolphins – as this directly supports the captive trade. For information on Sea Shepherd in Melbourne and how to get involved locally, please email [email protected] There is a fundraiser for Sea Shepherd at Bahas in Rye on Sunday 30th November from 2pm-8pm with several bands performing. Entry $15.00. This will raise money towards the greatly needed boat to protect our marine life in the bay Photos Actress Shannen Doherty with Sea Shepherd members “Mole” who has a red sore nose from banging it against the wall in frustration Albino baby dolphin “Angel” in his filthy tank and kept as a prize possession for show
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 02:38:27 +0000
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