Hon. Dr Viliami Latu (centre), with Sione Tupouniua (left) and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society team in Tonga. 1 August 2012.

Tonga's Prime Minister Lord Tu'ivakano is the first recipient of the Shepherd of the Sea Award in recognition of the government's leadership in keeping Tonga as a whale sanctuary. The new award comes from a US based anti-whaling group the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

The award was received on behalf of the Prime Minister by Hon Dr Viliami Latu, the Minister for Commerce, Tourism and Labour, this afternoon, presented by an eight member team of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, in partnership with Shark Angels.

They are Julie Andersen the founder of Shark Angels, a global organization to protect sharks and marine ecosystems; Rob Barrel, owner and operator of Nai'a Cruises, a Fiji based dive operator; Lavinia Currier, a conservationist and filmmaker from Hawaii; Sarah Fisk, founder of Collaboration for Conservation; Mathers Rowley a specialist in marine ecosystems; Deborah Bassett, a journalist with Huffington Post; the Sea Shepherd Manager in Honolulu; with a local counterpart Sione Tupouniua.

Julie said that Sea Shepherd would present this award annually to an individual, organization or country that showed extraordinary vision in marine conservation. "The Prime Minister of Tonga and his government have shown incredible leadership in the South Pacific and the world in keeping Tonga a whale sanctuary that commits to protecting humpback whales," she said.

Mission

The team is in Tonga for the first time with the Sea Shepherd vessel, MV Brigitte Bardot from July 31 to August 13, as a part of their first South Pacific campaign "Operation Requiem".

Julie said their mission was to gather information and seek relationships with the Pacific islands including Tonga, to discover how to best support their conservation efforts to protect whales, sharks and other pelagic species. 

They would meet with Tongan government officials and local experts to learn more about the latest research findings and conservation legislation on whales and sharks in Tonga.

The team set sail for Ha'apai this afternoon on the Na'ia to learn more about the whales and meet with local whale operators.

The group was previously in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji where they conducted awareness programs. After Tonga they will sail to Australia.

Tonga's late King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV in a Royal Degree banned whaling in Tongan waters in 1978.