HALIFAX -- The RCMP stormed and seized the anti-sealing vessel Farley Mowat yesterday, 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 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 boarded the Mowat in the Cabot Strait, which separates Cape Breton and Newfoundland. "They were screaming at people to lie down."Federal 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.
PUBLIC RELATIONS COUP
He said those charges were related to a confrontation in the St. Lawrence between the Farley Mowat and the coast guard icebreaker Des Groseilliers two weeks ago.
Hearn bristled at Watson's suggestion the seizure represents a public relations coup as the EU contemplates a ban on all seal products.
"These are a bunch of money-sucking manipulators," Hearn said at a news conference in Ottawa.
Last week, the department brought 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.
Watson maintains the Farley Mowat doesn't have to submit to Canadian regulations. Ahmed Dadou, Dutch ministry of foreign affairs spokesman at The Hague, Netherlands, said his government was attempting to learn more about the incident.
Hearn noted the Mowat would be taken to Sydney, N.S., by today. Those charged were expected to appear in a Sydney court.
