Watson said that Whales Forever was armed with nothing more dangerous than stink bombs. Opponents of whaling argue stocks may be lower and that hunting with exploding harpoons is a cruel outrage against one of the most intelligent species on earth. Norway has no compelling need to hunt whales. Greenpeace also has a vessel, the Solo, off southern Norway awaiting whaling boats, a spokeswoman said. Another Greenpeace vessel, the Sirius, is in Denmark for minor repairs after clashes with a whaling vessel and Norway's coastguard this week.
Norwegian whalers denounce all the activists as pirates or clowns.