Who is Paul Watson?

Paul Watson is a Canadian environmentalist who grew up in New Brunswick, Canada. He is the founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. The society works against whaling and the seal hunt and is a prominent environmental action group. It is focused on marine conservation and Watson and other members of the Sea Shepherd Society have been both commended and criticized for their direct action in defense of marine animals, including tactics such as boarding vessels and stink bombing. Watson was also an early member of Greenpeace.

What is Paul Watson Passionate About?                     

Paul Watson is an environmentalist who is passionate about animal rights and marine conservation. His organization the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society works to stop the Canadian seal hunt and stop Japanese whalers from killing whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. Watson is the commander of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's fleet. He became a seaman in the Norwegian and Swedish merchant marine in the sixties and seventies. Watson has been the commander of hundreds of missions, sometimes commanding more than one vessel at once through radio communication. Watson is a determined and sometimes controversial leader whose passion, focus, and desire to engage in direct action have led him to accolades and to controversy with the public, other environmental organizations, and crew members.

Paul Watson's Charities and Projects

Paul Watson was one of the original members of Greenpeace. He was involved in many of their missions as a crew member. In the late 1970s, his ideals of direct action began to conflict with Greenpeace's ideals of nonviolence. He was voted off the Greenpeace board in 1977 and founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

Paul Watson's career with Sea Shepherd now spans more than three decades. During this time, he has commanded more than two hundred missions. For twenty-five years, he has fought against the killing of harp seals in Canada, traversing the ice floes to protect seals from those who want to hunt them. He has led missions to the Antarctic to protect fin and minke whales from Japanese whalers. The Sea Shepherd Conservation organization also worked against illegal dolphin bycatch and works to protect the marine conservation reserve in the Galapagos Islands.

How Paul Watson Walks the Talk

Paul Watson has been on the front lines of the anti-whaling and anti-sealing movement for decades. He is a master of direct action tactics. For more than thirty years, he has been the leader of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a marine conservation organization. Paul Watson puts himself on the front lines of marine conservation activities as his boats confront whalers, sealers, and others who threaten marine life.

Paul Watson has been the recipient of numerous environmental awards for his activism, including awards from the Fund for Animals, City TV, Time Magazine, the Ark Trust Foundation, and honorary citizenship in numerous towns around the world. He is a member of the US Animal Rights Hall of Fame.