The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Describes Its History

Note that the following description is taken from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's website, Seashepherd.org.

For over 30 years, Captain Paul Watson has been at the helm of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Founded in 1977, Sea Shepherd's mission is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world's oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species.

Master and Commander

In 1972, Watson co-founded the Greenpeace Foundation. From 1971-77, Watson served as First Officer on all Greenpeace voyages, where he implemented his idea of putting activists in a zodiac between the harpoon and the whale. He has been the Master and Commander of over 200 voyages. He has authored six books including Ocean Warrior (1994) and Seal Wars (2002). Captain Paul Watson and Sea Shepherd's conservation work have been covered in the mass media worldwide. In the year 2000 Watson was included by Time as one of the environmental heroes of the 20th Century and in 2007 he was featured in an in-depth article in the New Yorker.

Safeguarding the Sea

By safeguarding the biodiversity of our delicately balanced ocean ecosystems, Sea Shepherd works to ensure their survival for future generations. The Society has over a quarter of a century of experience in opposing whaling, sealing and shark finning operations. Sea Shepherd operations have been successfully launched around the globe from intercepting poachers in the Galapagos Islands to shutting down pirate whaling operations throughout the oceans; from blockading sealing ships to rescuing dolphins in Japan; to confiscating illegal drift nets and long lines all over the world.

At War for Whales

For more than three decades, Sea Shepherd has been at the forefront of the whale wars, defending the gentle giants. Tackling overwhelming odds with insufficient resources, winning many victories, and saving the lives of thousands of whales. The objective of Sea Shepherd's Antarctic whale campaigns is to intervene against whaling actions by the Japanese whaling fleet. In 2005-2006, Sea Shepherd harried the Japanese fleet enough to ensure they went home 83 whales short of their self-appointed quota. In 2006-2007, the Japanese whalers fell over 500 whales short of their quota.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's mission statement says it enforces international conservation law by upholding the United Nations World Charter on Nature, to prevent the illegal slaughter of endangered species. Sea Shepherd describes itself as the most effective non-violent direct action group on the planet, and it is on a quest to protect the greatest treasure of the seas — the great whales.