Interview with Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
For Paragon Magazine and Paragon Earth
Also appeared in Paragon Music Magazine Issue #44 October 2009
Every now and then we get to interview one of our heroes, and the interview that follows is one of those examples. When we approached Sea Shepherd about doing an interview, we weren't sure if Captain Paul Watson, founder of the organization, would have the time to sit down and answer our questions, so we were pleasantly surprised when we got the interview back after some time and saw that it was indeed filled out by him. Sea Shepherd is an organization in the animal rights movement that is not afraid to take action, going beyond what most organizations do. The other thing we like about Sea Shepherd is that they seem like the types that would never back down, even under government pressure, and aren't afraid of being called names. This non-profit organization fights for what they feel is right, and proves that it is not terrorism to save the planet and other living things while not causing harm to anyone. With the help of their Animal Planet series, "Whale Wars," the organization has helped educate people about illegal whaling. Be sure to watch the show, and read on to find out how you can help this organization continue to work for other species and, ultimately, humanity.
Lisa Selvaggio: First off, I want to thank you for taking the time to do this interview with us, as we're big fans and long-time supporters who admire the sometimes dangerous work you do!
Paul Watson: You're welcome.
LS: Rob and I were able to attend the AR Conference in D.C. in August 2008 and felt like we were surrounded by celebrities because so many prominent figures, namely yourself, were there. When we learned that Whale Wars would be premiering soon on Animal Planet, we were thrilled not only for the show but for the obvious jump in support you would get from such a powerful outreach tool. How has the show impacted your organization since it aired?
PW: The show has greatly increased our exposure in the U.S., Canada, and the world and has brought the whaling issue into the living rooms of ordinary people who may not be aware that whaling even exists in this day and age. We have seen an increase in merchandise and donations to some level but mostly I think the awareness is the most important thing.
LS: We know that there was some trouble waiting for you when you returned from the anti-whaling campaign during which you filmed the second season of Whale Wars. The authorities seized all of the Whale Wars footage that was meant to air in the second season.
PW: Well of course we had made a copy before we handed the tapes over. Eventually we did receive them back as well. It didn't affect the production of the show at all--Season two is currently airing in the U.S. and Canada on Animal Planet and is much more dramatic than the first season. The Japanese were much more aggressive this year.
LS: What are some other things we can expect from Sea Shepherd in the near future?
PW: Well beyond our ongoing campaign to end whaling in the Antarctic and our campaign in the Galapagos to protect the UN World Heritage site, we're also looking to do a campaign in the Mediterranean to save the endangered bluefin tuna and shut down the rampant overfishing happening there.
LS: As animal lovers, we can never wrap our heads around why people are so cruel to other creatures. As individuals who are really putting their own lives on the line by interfering with the practices of others who exploit animal life, what conclusion have you come to in terms of what needs to be done to get people to finally realize that we're all equal, regardless what species, and we all think and feel?
PW: Human beings are part of this planet and are animals the same as any other creature and are no more important than earthworms or dolphins. We need to start living by the basic laws of ecology. Sea Shepherd is setting an example by operating vegan vessels and by standing up by enforcing conservation laws. We hope others will realize they can make a difference as well.
Robert Acocella: This may seem like a silly question, but years ago the movie Free Willy was a big hit. That movie, for anyone who doesn't remember or wasn't old enough to have seen it yet, was about a young boy trying to free an Orca that was in captivity at a theme park. Even though the movie had a great message behind it, they still needed to use an "animal actor" in the filming, which means they made a movie about freeing a captive whale, starring a captive whale. Aside from the blatant hypocrisy, what's your general stance on this movie and other movies that try to spread similar messages in similar ways.
PW: Sea Shepherd was actually involved in the filming of Free Willy 2 and the boy in the film wears a Sea Shepherd t-shirt. We felt this film had an important message for returning wild animals to their natural environments. The whale, Keiko, was part of an extensive rehabilitation project at the end of the filming of the movie due to encouragement from film viewers, and died of natural causes off the coast of Norway in 1998, swimming freely in the ocean. We're against using captive animals in films but in this case the film helped put the whale back in his native habitat.
LS: What are some ways people can get involved in helping Sea Shepherd, whether it's employment, volunteer work, or getting on one of your boats? What are you in need of, and how can people go about getting into these positions to help?
PW: The biggest need we have is funding. It's very expensive to put fuel in our ships to conduct our campaigns. We're also trying to secure a second vessel to expand our campaigns globally. Supporters can apply to volunteer onshore or on our vessels via our website: www.seashepherd.org
LS: A lot of people think that, just by signing online petitions and sending emails to companies and legislators, they're making a difference. How much of an impact do they really make, and what else should they be doing to really bring about change?
PW: All of these actions are important. But governments don't solve problems, people do. Everything from writing letters to the editor, to sharing materials with friends and family helps, but we need people of passion standing up to environmental crimes actively. Direct action is the key to conservation.
LS: Here in the U.S., there are a lot of restrictions placed upon the lobbying abilities of non-profit organizations. Correct me if I'm wrong, but is Sea Shepherd an international organization with "branches" in several countries? If so, what differences have you found in the way different nations treat non-profits in terms of their abilities to change legislation?
PW: Our non-profit tax status does not allow us to lobby the government. We're able to cause change at the political level by voicing our opinions in the media and by affecting companies economically (via boycotts, etc).
LS: The world economy is collapsing and a lot of people are losing money and jobs. Has that affected your ability to generate enough donations to keep going?
PW: So far we have been very fortunate with the success of our show on Animal Planet. We know this is not an easy time for anyone, so each donation we receive is that much more important to keeping our operations afloat. We are entirely dependent on private donations and grants to run our operations.
LS: Are there any other non-profits that Sea Shepherd works closely with?
PW: We've been involved in other groups and have leant our support to other groups over the years. We have supported Harpseals.org, Surfers for Cetaceans, among others and also are in an alliance with other shark conservation groups to form the Shark Angels, which do shark awareness campaigns.
LS: What a lot of people in the general public don't realize is the number of laws that really hinder what animal activists can do to spread their message. How do you feel about things like the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act in the U.S.? Have these laws ever caused you any problems, or are they largely not a real concern for you?
PW: Most of our campaigns happen in international waters where there is no enforcement arm of the government, which is why we're there, under the UN World Charter for Nature, to enforce laws. The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act has not really affected us but is certainly an infringement of all Americans' rights to protest. Will Potter at greenisthenewred.com discusses this issue in full. Nowadays if you do anything in opposition to anybody else the norm seems to be to call them a "terrorist" but of course this is absurd.
LS: Do you feel we're coming any closer to ending illegal whaling or the Canadian seal slaughter, now that the word has really gotten out and so many people from around the world oppose these?
PW: Absolutely. With the European Union imposing a ban on importing seal products, we're closer than ever to ending the Canadian seal slaughter. As well in Antarctica with whaling, we've cost them their profits the last three years running, saving over a thousand whales and costing the Japanese millions in profits. We intend to sink the Japanese whaling fleet economically. Illegal whaling is a battle we cannot lose.
LS: How is your campaign for sharks going? Do you find it any harder to convince people to help sharks because of their bad reputation?
PW: Sharks look scary with their sharp teeth but they really get a bad rap in the media. Sharks are really quite harmless. They're also critical to our ocean eco-system as apex predators. We've seen well over 90% of the world's shark be decimated by the shark finning industry so this is a very critical campaign for us. We are opposing illegal finning operations in the Galapagos currently.
RA: Speaking of misconceptions, what are some of the biggest misconceptions about the Sea Shepherd organization?
PW: Well people like to call us eco-terrorists but this is neo-Orwellian logic. We are defending the environment, and the ones who are raping the ocean and slaughtering whales are the ones inflicting terror on the natural world. The truth is we have an unblemished safety record and in 30 years have never caused nor sustained a single serious injury. What we do is uphold the law and we have never been convicted of a felony. Yes, people call us pirates and we have embraced this. Who ended piracy in the Caribbean? Henry Morgan, a pirate. It takes a pirate to catch a pirate, and that's what we are: pirates of compassion in pursuit of pirates of profit and greed.
LS: Is there anything we haven't discussed that you'd like to make sure we include?
PW: We're heading back down to Antarctica a sixth time next winter to put a stop to illegal whaling and need everyone's support to make this campaign a success.