Crew brace themselves on the bow of Sea Shepherd's ship, the M/Y Steve Irwin, as they sail the 'Shrieking Sixties' on Friday Jan. 9, 2009. The radical environmentalists sailed Antarctica's Southern Ocean for three months clashing with Japanese whaling ships, which they accuse of hunting commercially under the guise of 'scientific research'. Japan insists its operations are legal, according to a loophole in a 1986 international whaling ban.

Sea Shepherd volunteers Peter Hammarstedt and Simon Avery, from left, assist Tasmania Parks & Wildlife staff in caring for a beached long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas) at Naracoopa Beach on King Island, Tasmania on Tuesday, Mar. 3, 2009. When over 200 whales stranded in an unexplained beaching event, Sea Shepherd crew flew in to aid rescue efforts, which eventually saved 54 whales. Despite similar goals, Sea Shepherd often has a tenuous cooperative relationship with other environmental groups.

Sea Shepherd crew lob bottles of rotten butter at Japanese whaling ship, the Yushin Maru No. 1, on Monday, Feb. 2, 2009 during clashes in Antarctica's Ross Sea. Rotten butter was aimed at the whaling ship's deck in the hope of making work onboard difficult and tainting whale meat to be sold at market. Japan's fleet reported a final tally of 679 minke whales and one fin whale caught during the season's five-month effort, falling short of its goal of 935 minkes and 50 fins, and blamed "interference by protestors".

Molly Kendall, left, comforts crewmate Zin Rain after she was injured by a hard fall when swells rolled Sea Shepherd's ship, the M/Y Steve Irwin, on Friday, Dec. 16, 2009 in the Southern Ocean. The danger of crewing comes not only from clashes with the whaling fleet, but from the realities of life at sea. "Damn it, I just dreamed last night that I was wearing an eye patch!", said Rain.

Sea Shepherd's M/Y Steve Irwin is dwarfed by an iceberg as it sails Antarctica's Southern Ocean on Monday, Dec. 29, 2008 in search of the Japanese whaling fleet. The group's anti-whaling campaign is the spearhead of its agenda to "defend and protect" all marine environments. "If we can't save whales - some of the most graceful, intelligent beings on the planet - then what else can we save?" asks Captain Paul Watson.

A freshly caught Antarctic minke whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis) is drawn up the slipway of Japanese factory ship, the Nisshin Maru, right after transferring from harpoon ship, the Yushin Maru No. 2. Sea Shepherd's helicopter filmed from overhead as whaling crew cut and processed the entire whale in less than 30 minutes, packaging meat for shipment back to Japan. A loophole in a 1986 international whaling ban allows some whales to be caught for 'scientific research', but also says the meat cannot be wasted and must be sold.

Sea Shepherd's M/Y Steve Irwin, foreground, slams into Japanese whaling ship, the Yushin Maru No. 3, during a clash in Antarctica's Ross Sea on Friday, Feb. 6, 2009. Japanese crews accused the radical environmentalists of recklessly ramming their vessel, while Sea Shepherd Captain Paul Watson in turn blamed whalers for disorienting him with LRADs (long-range acoustic weapons). The ensuing media war is as real as the battle fought on the water.

Sea Shepherd crew assemble under a Jolly Roger on the bow of their ship, on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008 in Brisbane, Australia before departing to sea. With growing support, the eco-pirates have vowed to return next year with a larger and faster ship to pursue whalers, who insist they will continue hunting for scientific purposes. With injuries reported on both sides this year and no international compromise in sight, annual clashes at the bottom of the world may grow increasingly violent.