Pedro The KROQ Whale Joins Sea Shepherds’ Santa Monica Protest

The plan to bust the Hump restaurant in Santa Monica was launched months ago when Sea Shepherd Outreach Coordinator Zoli Teglas (Pennywise new lead singer) first told fellow volunteers  about a Santa Monica restaurant serving whale meat.

Zoli set about organizing a sting operation recruiting Charles Hambleton from the production of the Academy Award winning film “The Cove” to help organize the covert purchase of a plate of Sei whale for $600.

When it was proven that the meat was indeed sei whale, the protest was organized and Pedro the KROQ whale jumped into action.

Watch the drama unfold by clicking more.

Article from the Los Angeles Times

By Martha Groves
March 11, 2010

Federal prosecutors Wednesday filed criminal charges against a Santa Monica sushi restaurant and one of its chefs, alleging they had sold meat from an endangered whale.

The Hump, a hip hangout at Santa Monica Airport, immediately said through attorney Gary Lincenberg that it accepted “responsibility for the wrongdoing charged by the U.S. attorney” and would pay a fine and resolve the matter in court.

Named in the complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, were Typhoon Restaurant Inc., owner of the Hump, and chef Kiyoshiro Yamamoto, 45, of Culver City.

The illegal sale of a marine mammal product is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a maximum fine of $100,000 for an individual and $200,000 for an organization, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

The Hump came under fire after allegations surfaced in Tuesday’s New York Times that it had served meat from an endangered sei whale, possibly straight from the trunk of a white Mercedes-Benz.

Read the entire LA Times article here.