Career
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society used the vessel to monitor international waters for violations of international fisheries agreements. The RV Farley Mowat officially began its career in the waters off Costa Rica, immersed in controversy over policing actions against illegal fishing activities.
In March and April 2008, the Farley Mowat was involved in controversy related to the 2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt. On 12 April 2008, Fisheries and Oceans Canada seized the R/V Farley Mowat in the Cabot Strait after the ship came near the seal hunt without an observation permit and two collisions with a coast guard vessel occurred. During the raid, the captain and first officer were arrested and later charged for the incident.
Currently, the Farley Mowat is being held by Fisheries and Oceans Canada at Sydney, Nova Scotia until a court orders the release. The location of the ship at the time of the seizure is controversial. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society claims the ship was seized illegally in international waters. The Canadian Fisheries minister claims that the ship was seized in Canadian waters, but also that the Fisheries Act gave him authority to order the boarding outside Canada's territorial waters zone of 12 nautical miles (22 km).
The captain and first officer made a court appearance on 1 May 2008. On 2 July 2008, they entered a plea of not guilty to coming too close to sealers. Convicted in absentia in June 2009 on two counts each of approaching within 926 metres (0.575 mi) of a seal hunt, the pair were sentenced on 10 September 2009 to fines totaling CAD$45,000.
On 27 February 2009, the Canadian Crown-in-Council announced that the Farley Mowat was being put up for sale to cover approximately CAD$500,000 in berthing fees accrued since the April 2008 seizure. Subsequently, the Farley Mowat was reportedly sold for CAD$50,000, but the buyer did not complete the transaction. As of September 2009 the ship was still in the possession of the Canadian government and continued to accrue berthing fees. Sea Shepherd later stated that the seizure of the ship had been expected and, in fact, encouraged. Therefore, it had been used in provocation, with the full intention to have the Canadian government end up with, in their opinion, a more or less worthless vessel.
The Farley Mowat arrived in Halifax on December 18, 2009 for refit and in March was towed to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia where it was tied up as of February 2010. It was reported in November 2009 that the vessel has been sold for the sum of CAD $5,000 to the Green Ship LLC subsidiary of Stephen Munson's organization Tenthmil to be used in a survey of the North Pacific Gyre. As of August 2010, the Farley Mowat remained berthed in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia for a refit under the direction of Cliff Hodder.
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