Paul Watson

9 Stories

Sea Shepherd Gives Up on Japan Whaling Fight—for Now

Conservation organization says it's no match for Japan's funding, military-level technology

(Newser) - For more than a decade, a marine conservation group has dogged Japanese ships trolling for whales near Antarctica. But the BBC reports that Sea Shepherd is now being forced to cancel those efforts, noting it's been outplayed by Japan's cutting-edge technology and deep wallet. "Japan is now...

Interpol Hunts Whale Wars Star
Interpol Hunts
Whale Wars Star

Interpol Hunts Whale Wars Star

Paul Watson skips bail as Costa Rica seeks to press protest charges

(Newser) - Interpol has issued an arrest warrant for Whale Wars reality star Paul Watson after the conservationist skipped bail in Germany. He vanished as Costa Rica was attempting to extradite him on charges of endangering a fishing vessel off Guatemala in 2002, CNN reports. Watson, known for boat maneuvers interfering with...

Sea Shepherd Founder Arrested

Paul Watson faces charges in decade-old incident

(Newser) - A leading anti-whaling activist has been arrested in Germany. Paul Watson, founder of Sea Shepherd, was busted on Saturday over a 2002 clash with a Costa Rican "illegal shark finning operation" off Guatemala, the group says in a statement. The group says the warrant is tied to an "...

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...

Activists Slime Whalers With Butter, Paintballs

Japanese worried projectiles could injure or kill someone

(Newser) - Conservationists chucked paintballs and rotten butter at Japanese whalers, while the whalers fired back with water canons in their latest pitched, if unconventional, naval battle in the Antarctic Ocean yesterday. No one was injured in the clash, the AP reports. Paintballs are a new weapon for the Sea Shepherd group,...

Activists Vow to Bust Boat-Destroying Whalers

Sea Shepherd donations are pouring in after sinking

(Newser) - The head of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society says that if the Australian and New Zealand governments fail to arrest the Japanese whalers who sank the Ady Gil, he'll do it himself. Paul Watson—whose group has already filed piracy charges against the crew of the Shonan Maru and is...

Nations Mull Secret Whaling Compromise

Plan would let Japan hunt legally, but decrease slaughter

(Newser) - Representatives from more than 70 governments gathered last week at a secret meeting in London to hash out a compromise that would allow Japan to resume commercial whaling for the first time in more than 20 years. Pro- and anti-whaling nations discussed plans to lift the worldwide ban on whaling,...

Whaling Protester Says He Was Shot
Whaling Protester Says He Was Shot

Whaling Protester Says He Was Shot

Japanese vessel denies using bullets against activists

(Newser) - An anti-whaling activist says he was shot during a clash with a Japanese ship on the high seas, the Guardian reports. Japanese officials deny the allegations from the captain of the Sea Shepherd and say they fired only flash grenades, not bullets. Paul Watson, though, says he pulled one from...

This Seafarer Hunts Whalers, Not Whales

‘Sea Shepherd’ enforces own marine rules, ignores others

(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...

9 Stories