On Thursday, February 17th, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society announced a VICTORY IN THE SOUTHERN OCEAN DAY. The Sea Shepherd ship Bob Barker has been tailing the Japanese Nisshin Maru factory ship since February 9th, making it impossible for the whalers to continue their illegal whaling operations. The Japanese whaling fleet hadn't even taken 10% of their quota. Sea Shepherd estimates that over 900 whales have been saved this year.“I have a crew of 88 very happy people from 23 different nations including Japan and they are absolutely thrilled that the whalers are heading home and the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary is now indeed a real sanctuary,” said Captain Paul Watson.