I didn't think I would see it happen this year.

Time will tell how long it will last but for today there is a bona fide miracle in progress in the Southern Ocean, especially if you are a whale. The Japanese whaling fleet has left the international whale sanctuary under the escort of two Sea Shepherd vessels, the Bob Barker and the Steve Irwin.

After a weekend of skirmishing, the Sheps came out on top. (Celebrate now because we do not know what lies ahead. Does anyone know if there are ships from the Japanese Navy anywhere near Antarctica?)

Here's the situation in brief:

The Sea Shepherd's Ady Gil was sliced in half by a Japanese vessel that charged it while it was at rest. The two nations responsible for overseeing those waters, New Zealand and Australia are silent. Three days ago, a Japanese harpoon vessel raced up the starboard side of the Bob Barker, turned hard starboard and gashed the Bob Barker. Videos of these events are HERE.

Meanwhile, the Steve Irwin was on a course to intercept the Japanese fleet and the Bob Barker. Paul Watson once again did the "hide-behind-the-iceberg" trick with the Steve Irwin and joined the Bob Barker in blocking the slipway of the factory ship, effectively shutting down whaling ops.

So now we have the Japanese fleet leaving the whale sanctuary under the escort of the two Sea Shepherd vessels, both of which have a month of fuel. That's a miracle, even if it lasts a day. It's a major humiliation to the Japanese fleet and better than that, a massive expenditure with the source of income, dead whales, choked off.

Thanks Sea Shepherd. The Japanese whale industry must be bleeding cash big time. Looks good on them.

I grasp at any good news. The latest survey of biologists reveals this opinion: We are witnessing a mass extinction of species on this planet. While this is opinion, it can't be ignored considered where it comes from and the evidence has been mounting for decades. Our species may well be the last of the hominids but it's a damned shame to take so many other species down with us. Protecting biodiversity has never been so critical.

I doubt if there are more than a million of any type of whale alive today and some have populations verging on extinction. The good news from the Southern Ocean lightens my day. Damn the torpitudes.