"You can take down an individual, you can take down an organization, but you can't destroy a movement." - Paul Watson.
As a passionate protector of the oceans and rogue enforcer of international maritime law, Captain Paul Watson has saved the whales through his Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and unconventional intervention. He has written over a dozen books, such as Shepherds of the Sea, Ocean Warrior, and Seal Wars, and starred in his own documentary-style reality television show Whale Wars (2008) that aired on Animal Planet for six seasons.
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Captain Paul Watson is the co-founder and one of the original directors of Greenpeace, established in 1971. His direct-action tactics to save wildlife from hunters were somewhat controversial as he put his life on the line numerous times. During one instance, Watson stopped sealing ships by standing on the ice directly in their path. Another time, he handcuffed himself to seal pelts as the vessel hoisted him aboard. His unconventional yet effective methods ultimately led him to part ways with Greenpeace (which favored nonviolence) in 1977 to found his own activist group, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, at the young age of 27.
This international non-profit has a mission of conserving and defending the high seas by stopping the slaughter of marine animals and the destruction of their habitat. While initially solely focused on anti-whaling and sealing policing and advocacy, the society grew to include the protection of all aquatic life. Watson's passion for this work can be attributed to his famous saying, "If the oceans die, we die."
Through this spear-headed organization and his deep respect and reverence for the oceans, Captain Paul Watson has taken bold action to intervene and stop hundreds of illegal whaling and sealing pirate operations. These expeditions were inherently dangerous, with crewmembers risking their lives in the turbulent and stormy seas to protect the whales from human predators.
His extremist approaches continued over the years as he would position his ship between whalers and the sea life while throwing stink bombs onto the boats, entangling their ropes, and sometimes resorting to attacking them by colliding with ships. For this reason, whalers called him an "eco-terrorist." He was even seen as an extremist by many so-called environmentalists who claimed peaceful and nonviolent action was the only way to make lasting change.
Paul Watson was arrested numerous times, such as fleeing Germany on bail when Costa Rica tried to extradite him for attacking a shark-finning boat. In 2012, Watson was forced to step down as the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society president when U.S. courts disallowed him from being near Japanese whaling ships. Afterward, he fled to France, living there in asylum for years.
Throughout his life, Watson has received many awards for his commendable marine animal rights advocacy and brave devotion to ensuring the ocean's biodiversity by defending the most vulnerable from poachers. His involvement in activist groups did not stop with Greenpeace and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society but also included the Fund for Animals, the Royal Society for the Protection of Animals, Defenders of Wildlife, Friends of the Wolf, and serving as director of the Sierra Club from 2003-2006.
He received numerous honorable awards for his efforts, such as the Genesis Award in 1998 and the George H.W. Bush Daily Point of Light Award in 1999. In 2000, Time Magazine named Watson one of the Top 20 Environmental Heroes of the 20th Century. In 2002, Paul was initiated into the U.S. Animal Rights Hall of Fame in Washington, D.C. The president of Ecuador awarded Captain Paul Watson the Amazon Peace Prize in 2007. Then, in 2012, he became the second person in history, after the famed inventor, oceanographer, and marine explorer Captain Jacques Cousteau, to be given the Jules Verne Award for adventure-seekers and environmental activists.
As a passionate protector of the oceans and rogue enforcer of international maritime law, Captain Paul Watson has saved the whales through his Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and unconventional intervention. He has written over a dozen books, such as Shepherds of the Sea, Ocean Warrior, and Seal Wars, and starred in his own documentary-style reality television show Whale Wars (2008) that aired on Animal Planet for six seasons.
Captain Paul Watson is the co-founder and one of the original directors of Greenpeace, established in 1971. His direct-action tactics to save wildlife from hunters were somewhat controversial as he put his life on the line numerous times. During one instance, Watson stopped sealing ships by standing on the ice directly in their path. Another time, he handcuffed himself to seal pelts as the vessel hoisted him aboard. His unconventional yet effective methods ultimately led him to part ways with Greenpeace (which favored nonviolence) in 1977 to found his own activist group, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, at the young age of 27.
This international non-profit has a mission of conserving and defending the high seas by stopping the slaughter of marine animals and the destruction of their habitat. While initially solely focused on anti-whaling and sealing policing and advocacy, the society grew to include the protection of all aquatic life. Watson's passion for this work can be attributed to his famous saying, "If the oceans die, we die."
Through this spear-headed organization and his deep respect and reverence for the oceans, Captain Paul Watson has taken bold action to intervene and stop hundreds of illegal whaling and sealing pirate operations. These expeditions were inherently dangerous, with crewmembers risking their lives in the turbulent and stormy seas to protect the whales from human predators.
His extremist approaches continued over the years as he would position his ship between whalers and the sea life while throwing stink bombs onto the boats, entangling their ropes, and sometimes resorting to attacking them by colliding with ships. For this reason, whalers called him an "eco-terrorist." He was even seen as an extremist by many so-called environmentalists who claimed peaceful and nonviolent action was the only way to make lasting change.
Paul Watson was arrested numerous times, such as fleeing Germany on bail when Costa Rica tried to extradite him for attacking a shark-finning boat. In 2012, Watson was forced to step down as the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society president when U.S. courts disallowed him from being near Japanese whaling ships. Afterward, he fled to France, living there in asylum for years.
Throughout his life, Watson has received many awards for his commendable marine animal rights advocacy and brave devotion to ensuring the ocean's biodiversity by defending the most vulnerable from poachers. His involvement in activist groups did not stop with Greenpeace and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society but also included the Fund for Animals, the Royal Society for the Protection of Animals, Defenders of Wildlife, Friends of the Wolf, and serving as director of the Sierra Club from 2003-2006.
He received numerous honorable awards for his efforts, such as the Genesis Award in 1998 and the George H.W. Bush Daily Point of Light Award in 1999. In 2000, Time Magazine named Watson one of the Top 20 Environmental Heroes of the 20th Century. In 2002, Paul was initiated into the U.S. Animal Rights Hall of Fame in Washington, D.C. The president of Ecuador awarded Captain Paul Watson the Amazon Peace Prize in 2007. Then, in 2012, he became the second person in history, after the famed inventor, oceanographer, and marine explorer Captain Jacques Cousteau, to be given the Jules Verne Award for adventure-seekers and environmental activists.
"You can take down an individual, you can take down an organization, but you can't destroy a movement." - Paul Watson.
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