Eco-Crime Watch
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Reward Program US$20,000 Gulf Dolphin Killers
US$11,000 New Jersey Whale Killer
£1000 Orkney Islands, Scotland – Seal Killers
AUD$1000 North Queensland, Australia – Shark Killers
€1000 La Reunion Island – Dogs and Cats as Bait
$25,000 St. Lucia – Jane Tipson Murder reward increased
Reporting Eco-Crimes
Your observations could provide valuable clues to criminal investigators. To report on any of the below listings please e-mail Sea Shepherd at rewards@seashepherd.org or call +1-212-220-2302 (unless otherwise noted). Please provide as many details as possible including:
- What you witnessed happening
- Who you saw (including physical description)
- Where you witnessed the incident
- Description of any vehicles/vessels involved
- Your name and contact information. If you wish to remain anonymous and forego the reward, we would be very grateful for the information and would honor your anonymity.
In order to qualify for any Sea Shepherd reward, the information you provide must directly lead to the apprehension and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the crime and the case you have information about must still be open with the appropriate authorities. Law enforcement officers (and those privy to this information by way of their occupation) are not eligible for Sea Shepherd rewards.
US$20,000Captain Watson Offers $20,000 Reward to Help Apprehend Gulf Dolphin KillersCaptain Paul Watson, founder and President of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, is personally offering $20,000 of his own funds for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for shooting and stabbing dolphins along the northern Gulf Coast of the U.S. In recent months, dolphins have washed ashore in the region with bullet wounds and missing jaws and fins, and federal officials report they are investigating the spate of mysterious killings. Most recently, a dolphin was found dead off the coast of Mississippi with its lower jaw missing. In areas such as Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama, dolphins have been found shot, stabbed and mutilated. Officials in the region have reported they believe that the person or group responsible is on a ‘rampage’ because they are not just killing dolphins, but also mutilating them. Officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) yesterday announced they are asking everyone from beachgoers to fishermen to wildlife agents to be on the lookout for injured or dead dolphins, as well as any unusual interactions between the mammals and people. Attacks on dolphins, animals that are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, carry fines and jail sentences. It is not known who is killing the protected animals, but in the past fishermen and charter boat captains have been convicted of harming dolphins they thought were taking bait or fish. Given the stress the Gulf region is still under from the devastating oil spill and the damage done to fish populations, there may be displaced anger that they are taking out on the friendly and curious dolphins, which they may view as competition for fish. “I regard the killing of a dolphin as murder, and what we appear to have on the Gulf Coast is a dolphin serial killer. I want this sadistic killer stopped, and I have set aside $20,000 of my own savings to be paid out to any person who delivers the evidence to find and convict this person or persons. Any person coming forward with evidence may remain anonymous and can communicate with NOAA, NMFS, or Gulf Coast law enforcement officials with this information,” said Captain Watson. If you have any information on who may be responsible, please make a report to your local police department, or contact Sea Shepherd at: informus@seashepherd.org. Reports to Sea Shepherd will be kept confidential upon request. Sea Shepherd will not disclose the name of anyone who comes forward with evidence that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible without the express written permission of the informant. In order to claim your reward if the suspected dolphin killer(s) is convicted, please ask the law enforcement agency involved in the case to write a letter to Sea Shepherd. The letter should state that your tip helped lead to the arrest and conviction of the Gulf dolphin killer(s). The letter should be mailed or faxed to: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society |
US$11,000Sea Shepherd Offers $11,000 Reward for the Conviction of New Jersey Whale KillerSea Shepherd Conservation Society wants the person(s) responsible for killing a pilot whale in New Jersey to be caught and punished. To that end, Sea Shepherd is offering a reward of USD $11,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible. The 11 foot-long short-finned pilot whale suffered for a month before dying on a New Jersey beach in Allenhurst, a small Monmouth County town just north of Asbury Park, on September 24, 2011. The necropsy performed by authorities confirmed that the whale had been shot. Although the wound had partially healed, the .30 caliber bullet festered in the whale’s jaw preventing it from eating. The cause of death was starvation. The 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) protects whales; therefore killing a whale is a federal crime. If convicted, violators of the MMPA can be fined up to $100,000 and sent to prison for a year. According to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, there are approximately 31,000 pilot whales, both long and short-finned, in the western North Atlantic Ocean. There are an additional 300 or so off the west coast of the United States, about 8,800 around the Hawaiian Islands, and 2,400 in the northern Gulf of Mexico. “Sea Shepherd has had success with our reward programs in the past,” Said Sea Shepherd Founder and President Captain Paul Watson. “I am hopeful we will see the person(s) responsible for this cruel and illegal killing be brought to justice.” If you have any information on who may be responsible, please make a report to your local police department, or contact Sea Shepherd at: informus@seashepherd.org. Reports to Sea Shepherd will be kept confidential upon request. Sea Shepherd will not disclose the name of anyone who comes forward with evidence that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible without the express written permission of the informant. In order to claim your reward if the suspected whale killer(s) is convicted, please ask the law enforcement agency involved in the case to write a letter to Sea Shepherd. The letter should state that your tip helped lead to the arrest and conviction of the New Jersey whale killer(s). The letter should be mailed or faxed to: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society |
£1000Sea Shepherd Offers Reward for Scottish Seal KillersSea Shepherd Conservation Society is offering a £1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the killing of five grey seals in the Orkney Islands. Four pregnant females and a juvenile were shot in the head and their bodies left on the beach to rot. Under the Conservation of Seals Act 1970, seals can be shot with a high-velocity rifle by a fisherman possessing an endorsement on their firearms certificate but only if the seal is about to cause damage to fishing gear. These five seals were not presenting a threat to fishing gear. They were shot on the beach while hauled-out on the shore. Ross Flett, director of Orkney Seal Rescue, who examined the dead seals after a member of public alerted police on Saturday, said: “I am quite sure the police have a good idea who is behind it, though to prosecute is extremely difficult.” Sea Shepherd is hoping to add some incentive to going ahead with a prosecution. “If the police are motivated enough, perhaps they will press forward with an investigation.” said Captain Paul Watson, Founder and President of Sea Shepherd. “If so we are prepared to contribute the 5,000 British pounds to a police charity of their choice if they can secure a conviction.” “We will also pay out the reward to any member of the public who comes forward with evidence that will contribute to a conviction in this case,” added Captain Watson. The bodies were found on a rocky beach at the Point of Vastray, a headland on the northeast coastline of the Orkney mainland, at a time of year when females come inshore to give birth to their pups. |
AUD$1000Reward Offered for Information on Australian Shark KillersSea Shepherd Conservation Society is offering an AUD$1000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for killing, finning, and dumping four large tiger sharks in a park north of Cairns in North Queensland, Australia. The sharks, ranging in size from three to four meters, have had their fins, jaws, and tails removed and are badly decomposed. The bodies were discovered by a local clergyman who was alerted to the location by the stench of the rotting corpses. Sharks of this size would have been caught from a fairly large boat and there is a strong possibility that the crime was witnessed. Boating and Fisheries Patrol District Officer Bob Koch has requested that anyone with information on the dumping or the sale of fins and jaws should report to the Fisheries Hotline. Fishwatch hotline To report unlawful fishing in Queensland, please call the 24 hour Fishwatch hotline on 1800 017 116 (toll free within Queensland) For general fisheries enquiries, contact the DPI&F Call Centre on 13 25 23 (for the cost of a local call from anywhere in Queensland). |
€1,000 (Euros)For the first successful conviction of a fisherman using a dog or cat as shark bait and €200 for each conviction thereafterDogs and cats are also involved in an assault on nature, this time as victims and as bait. On the French island of La Reunion in the Indian Ocean, fishermen have been using live dogs and cats as bait for sharks. This practice is specifically outlawed by French law but the law, as in many places throughout the world, is ignored by fishing communities who apparently believe they are above the law. The dogs and cats have hooks passed through their snouts or through the tendons in their legs and the hooks are attached to lines and rods. The hapless animals are then tossed into the water where their struggles attract sharks. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has sent a message to the police in La Reunion offering a reward of €1,000 (Euros) for the first successful conviction of a fisherman using a dog or cat as bait and €200 for each conviction thereafter. The following letter was sent to the Chief of Police on La Reunion Island:
  
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$25,000Sea Shepherd Posts Reward in St. Lucia
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