June 18, 2023

Commentary by Captain Paul Watson

Founder of Sea Shepherd (1977

Removed from Sea Shepherd in 2022 by a hostile takeover of the Board.

The SSCS website has removed all references to myself. They have removed the fact that I founded the organization. They have removed my pictures.

However, the most egregious thing these people did who engineered the hostile takeover of Sea Shepherd was that they removed the history. They removed anything controversial, and this includes removing some 400 pages of historical facts or stories considered controversial or what they consider embarrassing to their rebranding.

They have even removed our campaigns of aiding Dominica and the Bahamas after the hurricanes.

The rebranded Sea Shepherd wants to be seen as moderate. They want to be seen as compromising and willing to collaborate with governments and corporations. They no longer use the Jolly Roger logo and they don’t want anyone else using it either including myself, the creator and the designer of the logo. They have in effect tainted the good name and reputation that we built up over four decades.

They continue to call themselves a direct-action organization, but their interpretation of direct action is contrary to the history of direct action that Sea Shepherd excelled at for decades. 

Direct action today for Sea Shepherd means watching and taking pictures and videos.

Now they have partnerships with the Allianz Insurance company, the Australian Austral Fisheries Company, the Japanese Maruha Daichiro fishing company, the corrupt governments of Mexico, Tuvalu, Liberia, Namibia, Tanzania, Gabon and Togo.

Sea Shepherd has taken a page from George Orwell’s book 1984, to erase and rewrite their history to conform to the values of the people who now control the organization.

I don’t want the world to lose the incredible history of what was once the most controversial direct action marine conservation organization in the world. This commentary only covers the whaling campaigns.

A History of Successful Victories Against Criminal Whaling Operations

The “Embarrassing” History that SSCS and Sea Shepherd Global has removed.

Since 1974, I have dedicated my life to eradicating the evil of whaling. It’s been a long 49 years of dangerous and difficult campaigns and we had had many victories and saved tens of thousands of whales from the horrifically cruel harpoons of a ruthless and senseless industry intent upon exterminating the most intelligent and social complex sentient beings in the sea.

When I began the following countries were killing whales: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Faroes, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Peru, Spain, South Korea, Tonga, United States.

Today commercial whaling tales place only in Norway, Japan, Iceland and Denmark and is now restricted to their territorial waters. Pilot whales continue to be killed in the Faroes, Bowheads continue to be killed in the USA and Narwhals and Belugas continue to be killed in Canada.

The greatest achievement is the end of whaling in pelagic waters and zero whaling in the Southern Ocean.

This is our history in opposing the killing of whales.

1975: As first officer on the first Greenpeace campaign to confront whalers, I was one of 13 crew members who hunted down and confronted the Soviet whaling fleet in the Pacific Ocean. It was a campaign that radically changed my life when a mortally wounded Sperm whale spared my life. A Soviet harpoon was fired over our heads striking a female in a pod of eight whales when the large male slapped the water with his tail fluke, dove and swam beneath us to attack the harpoon ship. He was struck with a harpoon in the head and while he was thrashing about in a widening pool of blood in unbearable agony, he saw Fred Easton and I and swiftly moved towards us, rising out of the water preparing to crash down upon us in our small boat and as his head rose and I found myself looking into his eye, I saw something that changed my life – understanding. The whale understood what we were trying to do. Instead of crashing down on us, he fell back, his eye began to disappear beneath the surface of the sea, and he was gone. He could have killed us, yet he did not even as he was dying. I said to myself at that moment that I would do everything in my power to eradicate whaling.

1976: Again, as First officer this time on the Greenpeace VI we hunted down and confronted the Japanese whaling fleet in the North Pacific.

1977: Confrontations with the Australian whalers in Cheynes, South Australia led to the end of whaling in Australia.

1979: With my ship the Sea Shepherd, I hunted down the pirate whaler Sierra in the North Atlantic. I rammed it twice and disabled it forcing it into port for repairs.

1980: After being repaired we sank the Sierra at dockside in Lisbon. Its’ illegal whaling career was permanently ended.

– We sank half the Spanish fleet in Vigo harbor, Spain, the Isba I and Isba II ending their illegal activities.

– We shut down the operations of the pirate whaler Astrid in the Canary Islands

– We worked with the South African government to expose the pirate whalers Susan and Theresa resulting in the seizure and destruction of the two whalers.

1981: We took our ship Sea Shepherd II to Soviet Siberia to invade the Soviet Union to successfully document evidence of illegal whaling operations. We escaped Soviet waters after an intense confrontation with the Soviet Navy.

1982: We went to Iki Island, Japan and negotiated the end of the Iki Island Dolphin slaughter.

1982: We attended the 34th annual meeting of the IWC in Brighten, U.K. to deliver evidence of illegal Soviet whaling operations

1983: We began the campaigns against the killing of pilot whales in the Faroe Islands.

1985: We took our ship Sea Shepherd II to IWC Conference in Malmo, Sweden to confront the Icelandic, Japanese and Norwegian whaling delegations.

1985: We took our ship Sea Shepherd II to Iceland to deliver a warning that if Iceland continued to kill whales after the moratorium on commercial whaling begins in 1986, we would sink their whaling ships.

1985: We took the Sea Shepherd II to the Faroe Islands to confront the pilot whale killers.

1986: We returned to the Faroe Islands to confront the whalers this time with a BBC film crew which produced the documentary Black Harvest

1986: We made good on our promise and sank half the Icelandic whaling fleet in Iceland and destroyed the whale processing plant, shutting down illegal Icelandic whaling for 17 years.

1987: Sea Shepherd was ordered banned from attending IWC Conferences after a complaint by Iceland.

1988: I flew to Iceland to demand charges against me for the sinking of the ship in 1986. Iceland refused to charge me because they knew that to put me on trial would be to put Iceland on trial for illegal whaling.

1992: We sank the outlaw Norwegian whaler Nybraena in the Lofoten Islands of Norway.

1994: We sank the outlaw Norwegian whaler Senet in Norway. The sinking of these small whalers catapulted insurance premiums on whaling vessel dramatically.

– Confrontation with the Norwegian Navy with my ship Whales Forever. We were fired upon, rammed and depth charged but we eluded capture after disrupting the operation of Norwegian Whaling vessels 

1996: The Norwegian ship Elin Toril is scuttled dockside in Norway

1997: The Norwegian whaling boat Morild was sunk in Bronnoysund, Norway.

1997: Michael Kundu led a campaign to Siberia to document illegal whaling operation to provide evidence to the International Whaling Commission.

1997: I took our ship Sea Shepherd III to the IWC meeting in Monaco to confront the Japanese whaling delegates.

1998 – 1999: Confrontations with Makah whalers and the U.S. government helped to stop plans to resurrect whaling in the waters off the State of Washington.

2000: We returned to the Faroe Islands to once again focus media attention on the slaughter of pilot whales and dolphins.

2002: The first campaign to the Southern Ocean to search for the Japanese whaling fleet. 

2003: We went to Taiji, Japan where we cut nets freeing pilot whales and dolphins and setting up the Cove Guardian operations.

2005: We took the Sea Shepherd II (Operation Minke) to disrupt the illegal activities of the Japanese whaling fleet. 

2006: Our 3rd campaign (Operation Leviathan) to the Southern Ocean to disrupt illegal Japanese whaling operations.  We produced the documentary At the Edge of the World, which served as a pilot for Animal Planet for Whale Wars. 

2007: The Norwegian whaling vessel Willassen Senior was sunk in harbor in Svolvaer, Norway.

2007: We attended the 59th Annual Meeting of the IWC in Anchorage, Alaska.

2007: Our 4th campaign (Operation Migaloo) to the Southern Ocean to disrupt illegal Japanese whaling operation and to film the 1st Season of Whale Wars. 

2008: I attended the 60th Annual meeting of the IWC in Santiago, Chile to confront Japanese whalers.

2008: Our 5th campaign (Operation Musashi) to the Southern Ocean to disrupt illegal Japanese whaling operation and to film the 2nd Season of Whale Wars

2009: The Norwegian whaling vessel Skarbakk was sabotaged in Henningsvaer, Norway.

2009: I attended the 61st Annual meeting of the IWC in Madeira, Portugal to confront Japanese whalers. 

2009: Our 6th campaign (Operation Waltzing Matilda) to the Southern Ocean to disrupt illegal Japanese whaling operation and to film the 3rd Season of Whale Wars.

2010: The Norwegian whaler Sofie was scuttled in Svolvaer, Norway. 

2010: Lamya Essemlali led a campaign to the Faroe Islands and discovered the underwater graveyard where the Faroese dumped whole carcasses.

2010: Our 7th campaign (Operation Divine Wind) to the Southern Ocean to disrupt illegal Japanese whaling operation and to film the 4th Season of Whale Wars.

2011: We attended the 63rd annual meeting of the IWC in St. Helier, Jersey in the British Isles to confront the Japanese whalers.

2011: Our 8th campaign (Operation No Compromise) to the Southern Ocean to disrupt illegal Japanese whaling operation and to film the 5th Season of Whale Wars.

2011: We take two ships the Steve Irwin and the Brigitte Bardot plus a helicopter to the Faroe Islands to prevent the killing of pilot whales and dolphins. No whales or dolphins are killed while we are there. We produced the Animal Planet episode Whale Wars – Viking Shores.

2011 – 2022: Continuous annual disruptions of the Grind in the Faroe Islands.

2012: Japan files for an injunction to stop Sea Shepherd interference with illegal Japanese whaling. Sea Shepherd defies the injunction.

2012: Based on a plea deal where Peter Bethune traded a suspended sentence in return for stating I ordered him to board a Japanese whaling ship, Japan issues an Interpol Red notice for my extradition. I am arrested in Germany but escape and manage to cross the Atlantic, Canada, the USA and the Pacific without papers to rejoin the Steve Irwin off American Samoa in time to join Operation Zero Tolerance and the return to confront the Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

2013 – 2014: The ruling of the international Court of Justice shuts down Japanese whaling.

2013: Peter Bethune signs an affidavit admitting to lying to the Japanese court about my ordering him to board the Japanese whaling boat. The USA allows me to return but Japan refuses to drop the Red Notice extradition demand.

2013: Sea Shepherd goes to trial in Seattle for violating the Federal Injunction. Judge Peter Shaw acquits us but a year later the 9th circuit court overturns and convicts us.

2015 – 2019: I initiated Operation Milagro to protect the endangered Vaquita porpoise by removing and destroying illegal gill nets. We confiscated some 150,000 meters of nets. In 2020, after I was removed from the Board of Directors, Sea Shepherd ended net confiscation.

2015: Japan ignores the ruling of the ICJ and returns to the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. Sea Shepherd returns (Operation Relentless) to the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary to disrupt illegal Japanese whaling operation and to film the 7th Season of Whale Wars.

2015: I sent Captain Locky MacLean and the ship Sam Simon to pursue the ship carrying a cargo of whale meat from Iceland to Japan. He chases the ship into Norwegian waters where the Norwegian authorities intervene allow the cargo to escape. The campaign drew international attention to the shipping of whale meat from Iceland to Japan.

2016: The last campaign (Operation Nemesis) with the Steve Irwin and the Brigitte Bardot to the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary to disrupt illegal Japanese whaling operation and to film the 8th Season of Whale Wars. 

2018: Japan decides to end whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

2018: Sea Shepherd UK were in Iceland counting and documenting every whale killed and building evidence to present to the government to shut down the slaughter for 2019.

2019: I sent our vessel the Brigitte Bardot to Iceland to confront the Icelandic whalers. Upon arrival the 2019 whale hunt was cancelled. The Sea Shepherd Board condemned my decision with Peter Hammerstedt arguing that Sea Shepherd needed to rebrand and to move away from controversial tactics. Board members began to refer to me as “the Watson Problem.”

2020 -2022 : Sea Shepherd U.K. confronts Icelandic whaling operations in Iceland. Sea Shepherd UK continues to send crews to the Faroe Islands to oppose the killing of pilot whales. SSCS and SS Global directors state that the Faroes is no longer an issue of concern.

Myself and thousands of our supporters are proud of this history of what we accomplished and unlike some others we are not ashamed of our actions: actions that saved countless lives and made the world a much better place because there are now fewer whalers in the world than when we began.

We flew our Jolly Roger with pride, without apologies for our actions.

We generated controversy and we made enemies, but we never failed to represent our clients in the sea with passion, courage and steadfastness.

This is what I intend to continue doing: transparent, uncensored and unrestricted in adherence to the principles of aggressive non-violence that has defined my actions throughout my entire life.

And now under the banner of the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, we are sitting just outside of Icelandic territorial waters waiting for Icelandic whalers to head out to the whaling grounds where we intend to stop them.

Photo: 1979 People Magazine

#paulwatsonfoundation.org