The Sea Shepherd farce continues.  The ex-captain of the Ady Gil cut through anti-boarding nets to board a Japanese whaler and was immediately arrested.   In related news, Sea Shepherd crew onboard the Steve Irwin, a vessel named for the television host of the show “Crocodile Hunter,”  are now throwing fake crocodile eggs at the Japanese whalers.

Paul Bethune, the captain of the speed boat Ady Gil who managed to get the boat run down by a Japanese whaler, jumped aboard the Japanese whaling ship Shonan Maru 2 from a jet ski on Monday, “with the stated goal of making a citizen’s arrest of the ship’s captain and presenting him with a $3 million bill for the destruction of a protest ship last month.  As reported by the Associated Press,  Bethune was immediately arrested himself.

Japan’s Institute of Cetacean Research, which sponsors the whale hunt, said Bethune used a knife to cut the vessel’s protective net to enable his boarding and that he told whalers he then threw the knife into the sea. The crew treated him for a cut on his thumb he received while boarding, the institute said.

Under Japanese law, intruding on a Japanese vessel without legitimate reasons can bring a prison term of up to three years and a fine up to 100,000 yen (US$1,100).

The Sea Shepherds are now throwing fake crocodile eggs containing sponge baby crocodiles at the Japanese. This appears to be more a fund raiser than a new tactic to stop the whaling, but then Paul Watson was always a better at fundraising than at seamanship.

Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin Honored In Latest Sea Shepherd Assault

Honoring the man for whom their flagship is named after, the Sea Shepherd launched a unique type of attack on the Japanese whaling fleet yesterday in memory of Steve Irwin.

Dozens of fake crocodile eggs were thrown onto the flensing deck (where whale blubber is peeled off) of the Nisshin Maru. Each of these eggs was sponsored by Sea Shepherd supporters on shore who paid $50 to inscribe a message on the outside of the egg. When these eggs make contact with water, a baby crocodile emerges from the egg and expands rapidly. Just like those “Grow in Water” toys you might have played with as a kid. Or last week.

“I cannot think of anything more appropriate for the Steve Irwin to toss onto the bloody flensing decks of the Nisshin Maru than crocodile eggs and baby crocs,” said Captain Paul Watson.