Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

This Seafarer Hunts Whalers, Not Whales

‘Sea Shepherd’ enforces own marine rules, ignores others

By Jonas Oransky, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 30, 2007 4:12 PM CDT

(Newser) – Paul Watson is far too radical for Greenpeace, the group he co-founded. His vigilante group Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is a roving pack of eco-saboteurs, trolling international waters for whalers—and ramming the offending ships. Watson usually operates illegally, and his theatrical and violent defense of aquatic life is credited with turning Icelandic opinion against saving whales, the New Yorker reports.

Friend to Mick Jagger and the Dalai Lama, Watson is not wholly wrong about international law: Whaling falls in a gray area, not legal but rarely policed. His tactics—blockading ports and sinking 10 ships—have rarely earned him proud state sponsors, but the self-proclaimed captain has forced political concessions from exasperated governments.

[Images (2)]

[Videos (1)]

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society flag flies proudly above the Farley Mowat. (Wikimedia Commons)

Paul Watson, with trademark silver hair, poses with his crew of activists in 2005. (Wikimedia Commons)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Captain Paul Watson introduced by Persia White at Worldfest (DoggyTV (YouTube))

View larger videos >>

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next »

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Activists Tangle With Japanese Whaler

Sea Shepherd up to its usual tricks; Japan not amused

(NEWSER) - It's whaling season in the Antarctic Ocean, which means the rotten-butter-wielding activists at Sea Shepherd were busy making life miserable for the Japanese whaler Yushin Maru No. 2 today. Activists hurled paint and butyric acid—found in the aforementioned rotten butter—at the ship, as well as ropes designed to foul its rudder and propellers. Japanese authorities, who run the quasi-scientific group formed to dodge the ban on international whaling, were not amused, notes the AFP . More»

Rogue Wave Damages Anti-Whaling Vessel

Steve Irwin racing to help stricken Brigitte Bardot

(NEWSER) - A rogue wave off Antarctica has dealt a major setback to conservationists' efforts to thwart Japan's annual whale hunt. The wave hit the Sea Shepherd Society's Brigitte Bardot as it chased the Nisshin Maru factory ship, badly damaging one of its pontoons, the BBC reports. Another boat, the Steve Irwin, is racing to help the stricken vessel. The group says the Bardot's 10 crew members were not injured, and the boat is in no danger of sinking in the icy water, reports AP . It will be towed to Australia for repairs, leaving a third boat, the Bob Barker, to hunt Japan's whaling fleet alone. More»

Activists Halt Japan Whale Hunt

Harassment making Antarctic hunt 'unsafe,' says fisheries official

(NEWSER) - The Japanese have temporarily suspended an Antarctic whale hunt because of repeated harassment by activists from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. The hunt, aiming to bag as many as 945 whales, has been halted because of "violent" disruptions, said the nation's top fisheries officials. No one has been injured nor have any vessels been damaged in the actions, which included throwing rancid butter at whalers and entangling a rope in a propeller, reports AP. More»

Whaling Protesters Deliberately Sank Own Boat

Its skipper says sinking was done for public sympathy

(NEWSER) - Verbal harpoons are flying in a public feud between the leader of the Sea Shepherd conservation group and the former skipper of the group's high-tech "Batmobile" boat the Ady Gil, which sank after a collision with a Japanese ship earlier this year. Skipper Peter Bethune says the boat was salvageable after the collision but he was ordered to scuttle it by Sea Shepherd head Paul Watson, AP reports. More»

Japan Bribes Reps on Whaling Commission

London 'Times' says it has video of officials who sold votes

(NEWSER) - Japan is marching toward a repeal of the 24-year-old ban on commercial whaling, momentum it's built largely by greasing the palms of the International Whaling Commission, reports the Times of London in an exclusive investigation. Japan denies impropriety, but the Times says it's got video of officials admitting Japan pays for their travel, and gives them aid, spending money, and even hookers in return for a pro-whaling stances. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

This Seafarer Hunts Whalers, Not Whales