February 27, 2024

I’ve had a few people ask me why I am not speaking at the World Ocean Summit and Expo in Lisbon, Portugal being held March 11th to March 13th, 2024.

And they are asking why Sea Shepherd Global Director Peter Hammarstedt will be speaking and I will not be speaking.

In my opinion, the answer to this is simple. One of the primary sponsors of this summit is The Nippon Foundation of Japan.

Back in 2015, I was invited to speak at the World Ocean Summit when it was held at the United Nation in New York City.

I was in France at the time, and I spoke on the big screen and my talk on the Ocean was well received even a standing ovation, EXCEPT by one of the sponsors – The Nippon Foundation.

The Nippon Foundation made it quite clear to the Ocean Summit organizers that I was to never again speak at the event and of course I have not been invited back or allowed to participate ever since.

It is quite strange that a summit supposedly dedicated to protecting the Ocean is able to censor anyone who is defending the Ocean, if that person is opposing Japanese whaling or fishing operations.

Peter Hammarstedt has been given ten minutes to speak, although I am quite sure he won’t be mentioning any opposition to Japanese whaling or his involvement with the partnership between Sea Shepherd Australia and the Austral Fisheries/Marua Daichiro fishing company of Japan. And I don’t think he will be mentioning that his partnership with Namibia where Sea Shepherd Global ships get free berthage takes place within a hundred kilometers of the 2nd largest seal slaughter on the planet, where Sea Shepherd Global has not spoken out or acted against, acting as if the massacre does not take place.

The World Ocean Summit is an annual opportunity for corporations like Purina, (major purchaser of fish meal for dog and cat food), Deutsche Bank, the European Investment Bank and other corporations, many of whom have investments in industrialized fishing companies to make themselves look good. Kind of an annual feel-good green washing event. Oh, and did I mention that Sea Shepherd Global is also listed as a sponsor, so in return Peter Hammarstedt gets his 10 minutes to not talk about his betrayal of everything that Sea Shepherd has ever stood for.

The World Ocean Summit wants speakers who will behave and who will further the charade that large corporate banks and Japanese foundations are concerned about marine conservation. 

Other speakers on the agenda include Tavish Scott, CEO of Salmon Scotland. (I notice Don Staniford of Standing Up Against Salmon Farming was also not invited.) Of course Daniel Suddaby of Global Tuna Alliance has been invited to present his case that wiping out tuna populations is sustainable.. And there is Einar Gunnarsson of Iceland to talk about the importance of Fisheries subsidies and more bankers, politicians and industry people. All the kind of people that the rebranded Sea Shepherd Global want to reach to add to their corporate sponsors list along with Allianz Insurance, Lloyd’s of London and the Dutch Postal Code Lottery. 

I suspect that there will be very few discussions about the damage caused by salmon farming, about the slaughter of whales, dolphins and seals and the finning of sharks nor will there be any criticism of industrialized fishing.

The World Ocean Summit is the equivalent of the COP conference now controlled by the fossil fuel industry. 

The World Ocean Summit: Cooption. Complicity, Censorship and Corruption 

Peter will be flying in from Australia and hundreds of others will be jetting in from around the world to attend this conference to demonstrate how concerned they are about marine ecology, climate change and marine conservation. And what will the final result be? More talks, more posturing and more corporate sponsorships at the next “let’s destroy the ocean summit and pretend we’re not doing it next year.”

The World Ocean Summit wants speakers who will behave and who will further the charade that large corporate banks and Japanese foundations are concerned about marine conservation.

So, I won’t be speaking at the conference in Portugal nor am I expecting to be invited to speak anytime in the future.

Break a leg Peter and tell them what they want to hear.

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