Anti-sealing activists convicted

A judge has convicted two anti-sealing activists of coming too close to a hunt without a permit off Cape Breton.

In April 2008, the ship the Farley Mowat, captained by Dutch national Alex Cornelissen and carrying Swede Peter Hammarstedt, was boarded by the Canadian Coast Guard.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which owns the ship, say the vessel was merely monitoring the seal hunt. But sealers allege the ship's crew was harassing them and endangering their lives.

On April 12, 2008, the two men were arrested and the vessel was towed to the harbour in Sydney, N.S., where it has remained ever since.

On Tuesday, provincial court Judge Jean Whalen ruled that the two men were guilty of coming within one-half nautical mile of a seal hunt without proper authorization.

She accepted the sealers' testimony that they feared for their lives when the Mowat sailed near them, and said video and radar evidence makes it clear the vessel was in Canadian waters at the time.

The maximum penalty for the offences is a fine of $100,000, and the crewmen could be subject to orders in relation to their future conduct, although jail time is unlikely.

Neither of the accused appeared or had legal representation at the 3-day trial.

Sentencing is set for Sydney on Sept. 10.