The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
(SSCS) is a non-profit, marine conservation organization based in Friday
Harbor on San Juan Island, Washington in the United States.
Sea Shepherd uses direct action tactics to
protect marine life. The organization was founded in 1977 under the name Earth
Force Society by Paul Watson, a former member of Greenpeace, after a dispute
with that organization over what Watson saw as its lack of more aggressive
intervention. The group has a strong focus on public relations to spread its
message via the media. In 2008, Animal Planet began filming the weekly series Whale
Wars based on the group's encounters with the Japanese whaling fleet in the
Southern Ocean, a development which brought the group much publicity.
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| Paul Watson |
Sea Shepherd currently operates the vessels
MY Steve Irwin, the MY Bob Barker, the MY Sam
Simon (donated by the founder of The Simpsons for the 2012 campaign)
and the MV Brigitte Bardot. Operations have included scuttling and
disabling whaling vessels at harbor, intervening in Canadian and Namibian seal
hunts, shining laser light into the eyes of whalers, throwing bottles of
foul-smelling butyric acid onto vessels at sea, boarding of whaling vessels
while at sea, and seizure and destruction of drift nets at sea. Sea Shepherd
claims that their aggressive actions are necessary as the international
community has shown itself unwilling or unable to stop species-endangering
whaling and fishing practices.
Sea Shepherd has received support for its
tactics against fishing, whaling, and seal hunting from many celebrities, such
as musicians and TV personalities. The violent tactics of Sea Shepherd have
been opposed, even by those who denounce whaling, such as Greenpeace and the
governments of Australia and New Zealand. Officials of the American, Canadian,
and Japanese governments have accused them of being eco-terrorists. Paul Watson
and American members of Sea Shepherd are currently prohibited by US courts from
approaching or harassing Japanese whalers.
