Paul Watson

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Paul Watson in front of Steve Irwin , 2009

Paul Franklin Watson (born December 2, 1950 in Toronto , Ontario ) is the founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and protagonist of the documentary Whale Wars - War on the Whalers!

person

Watson was born the son of Anthony Joseph Watson and Annamarie Larsen and grew up in St. Andrews ( New Brunswick ), a fishing village on the Canadian east coast, on.

In 1968 he joined the Canadian Coast Guard . In 1969 he hired the Norwegian bulk carrier Bris (35,000 GRT ) for a trip to Asia and Africa, but returned to the Coast Guard in the early 1970s.

Watson studied communication and linguistics at Simon Fraser University in the Canadian province of British Columbia . He has lectured at universities around the world and was Professor of Ecology at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California from 1990 to 1994 .

The Canadian writer Farley Mowat described Watson as "the most determined and effective protector of marine animals". The Time Magazine named him along with Robert Hunter in 2000 to the "heroes of the twentieth century." The British newspaper The Independent named Watson one of the ten most important eco-warriors among the "Defenders of the Earth" and The Guardian named Watson among the 50 people who could save the planet ("50 people who could save the planet").

Watson is a Canadian and US citizen.

Early member of Greenpeace

Paul Watson, 2005

In the early 1970s, Watson joined the Don't Make a Wave Committee peace movement . The group wanted to prevent an American atomic bomb test off the Aleutian island of Amchitka in 1971 . Paul Watson had enough seafaring experience and took over his first environmental command on a ship. The group could not prevent the atomic bomb test. From this action, however, the environmental protection organization Greenpeace emerged in 1971 . His membership number with Greenpeace was 007. Since Robert Hunter dialed 000 as his first membership number, he was the eighth member. The organization contradicts Watson's claim that he is one of the founding members of Greenpeace.

In 1975 Paul Watson served as first officer under the command of Captain John Cormack. On this trip they tried to confront the Soviet whaling fleet. In June of that year, Watson and Hunter were the first people to give their lives to protect the whales. In a rubber dinghy they tried to position themselves between a Soviet ship with its harpoon and the sperm whales . The whales still couldn't save them. According to his own statements, he then decided to use his life to protect the whales and all other creatures of the seas from that moment on.

During a protest against the seal hunt in 1977 on the ice off the coast of Canada, Watson threw the hides and the club of a seal hunter into the water. As a result, a dispute about the use of force arose within Greenpeace, as a result of which Watson left the organization. Since then, Greenpeace has refused to work with Watson, while Watson criticized Greenpeace as being too moderate, too bureaucratic and too harmless.

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

After separating from Greenpeace in 1977, Watson founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society , which fights against the exploitation of marine life.

The first ship for the environmental organization Sea Shepherd was purchased in December 1978 and named Sea Shepherd . Sea Shepherd soon established itself as one of the most controversial environmental groups. She became known for provocative actions that went beyond the usual protest. In contrast to moderate environmentalists, Watson uses aggressive means, but always observing the imperative not to harm people. Among other things, he rammed whalers and ships of illegal fishing fishing fleets and pelted them with non-toxic but very odorous butyric acid . These “ stink bombs ” were supposed to make consumption inedible and thus prevent the catch from being used commercially. Watson sees his actions secured by international law and invokes the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea and the International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling , according to which commercial whaling is prohibited. Watson described the Japanese conduct as criminal and his actions only as a way to crack down on these illegal activities.

Legal disputes

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society sank two whaling ships in an Icelandic port . In 1988 Paul Watson flew to Reykjavík , where he tried to force the Icelandic government to report and arrest him. However, this refused and only expelled him from the country.

Watson was sued in Canada in 1993 for his actions against Cuban and Spanish fishing boats off the coast of Newfoundland . In 1997, Watson was indicted in absentia by the Norwegian government and convicted of attempting to sink the fishing trawler Nybrænna in 1992. He was sentenced to 120 days in prison. The Dutch authorities refused to hand him over to the Norwegian authorities and kept him in custody for 80 days.

At the instigation of Japan, Interpol issued a so-called blue notice for Watson in June 2010 , which is used to obtain information about activities and the whereabouts of a person. A red notice corresponding to a request for arrest was not issued.

In 2010 Sea Shepherd, led by Paul Watson, freed 800 bluefin tuna illegally caught by the Fish & Fish company . As a result, the company in question sued Watson, Sea Shepherd UK and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society for one million euros in compensation. Fish & Fish lost the case and, in turn, had to pay Sea Shepherd over € 250,000 to compensate the organization for the legal costs incurred.

On May 13, 2012, Watson was arrested at the airport in Frankfurt am Main due to an arrest request from Costa Rica . The German authorities arrested Watson on an October 25, 2011 local court in Costa Rica for an obstruction to shipping arrest warrant based on an incident in 2002 during the filming of the film Sharkwater . At that time, Paul Watson attacked a ship off Costa Rica's coast with a water cannon to prevent it from shark finning . In 2002, after two judicial hearings and the submission of video recordings, the Costa Rican authorities stopped the proceedings and Watson and his ship were released.

Watson accused Costa Rica that the arrest request came about under Japanese pressure. The reason for this is that the arrest warrant was issued after a Japanese-Costa Rican government meeting at the end of 2011, after Japan transferred a large donation to Costa Rica. On May 14, 2012, Interpol published a statement according to which Interpol had already informed all 190 member states in writing on March 2, 2012 that they would not issue a red notice for Paul Watson because the basis for this was not in place.

On May 18, the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court ruled that Watson should be released on payment of a bail of 250,000 euros. However, he is not allowed to leave Germany until the extradition proceedings have been completed. On May 21, 2012 he was released from the correctional facility in Frankfurt-Preungesheim. On July 19, the Japanese Coast Guard also filed an extradition request. Paul Watson fled Germany on July 22nd. According to his own statements, he had received a warning from a supporter from the German Interior Ministry that he should be arrested at the next reporting date to the police and extradited to Japan. Since August 2012, Interpol has announced that Paul Watson, who had fled Germany, was called for arrest as part of a so-called red notice . Another red notice was issued on September 14, 2012, this time at the request of Japan. About four months after his escape, in December 2012, Paul Watson announced his current location to the public on board his flagship Steve Irwin , which is located off the New Zealand coast in international waters. As a result of the red notice , he resigned from several offices including the presidency of Sea Shepherd Australia and the post of captain of the Steve Irwin . In April 2016, Watson returned as President of the Board of Directors and Executive Director of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society of the United States. He and his wife currently live in Vermont.

Shelling by Japanese whalers

According to himself, Paul Watson was hit by a bullet in the chest on March 7, 2008 during an incident involving the Japanese Coast Guard . The bullet was stopped by a kevlar vest he was wearing. Another Sea Shepherd member was injured by a stun grenade. The situation played out during the anti-whaling campaign in 2008 in Antarctic waters. During the campaign there was a direct confrontation between the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin and the factory ship Nisshin Maru . The incident was filmed and scenes from it were also filmed in the last episode of the first season of the documentary series Whale Wars - War on the Whalers! of the US broadcaster Animal Planet . Accordingly, Watson stood on deck of the Steve Irwin while his crew threw small bottles filled with butyric acid onto the Nisshin Maru. You can see the Japanese throwing back tear gas and flare grenades . Then you can hear a shot and crew members exclaim “The captain has been hit”. Watson himself declares that he has been hit and shows his jacket and bullet-proof vest from which he takes a projectile.

The Japanese Institute of Cetacean Research rejected claims that the Japanese whalers used live ammunition as untrue. The Japanese stated that only stun grenades had been used.

Positions

Watson does not view Sea Shepherd's actions as illegal as they refer to the United Nations' 1982 World Charter for Nature , which expressly authorizes private individuals to act on behalf of international protection laws and enforce them. Thus, he sees no vigilante justice in the actions, but only the active enforcement of existing laws.

Paul Watson advocates that human communities (cities) should not exceed 20,000 people and should be separated by vast wild regions . The world population has long since exceeded the global carrying capacity considerably. Humans produced incredible amounts of solid, liquid and gaseous waste and ruthlessly exploited the planet and natural resources. Biodiversity is threatened by overfishing , pollution, poisoning and agricultural monocultures . Watson criticizes the global urban sprawl , the acidification of the oceans , the destruction of the ozone layer , global warming and climate change and denounces the worldwide extinction of species .

He demands the recognition of other species as fellow citizens and earth citizens. Therefore, in his opinion, the earth needs large areas for its recovery from which people should withdraw and not interfere with nature. Watson advocates stopping the use of fossil fuels and instead relying on renewable energies such as wind energy , hydropower and solar energy . Ships should z. B. be driven by sails and wind . Food products should be produced locally and not senselessly transported halfway around the world. Watson advocates replacing the huge herds of cows and sheep with less harmful bison and caribou because of their methane emissions . People should also eat a vegetarian diet if possible. For ecological and ethical reasons, the crew members eat purely vegan on all ships of his organization . Watson advocates an economic system in which all people have access to education and medical care without exploiting the world and its resources. That is why he advocates population control and proposes that in the future humanity should radically limit itself to one billion individuals and only allow children to have children who accept their responsibility for the well-being of the world and its inhabitants. Only those should become parents who take on this task professionally. Watson visually compares the situation with cancer , which can only be combated with radical and invasive means. The biosphere can only be cured of the "human virus" through equally radical methods.

further activities

Watson and the members of his organization destroyed miles of driftnets and also fight the seal hunt .

The documentary Paul Watson - Confessions of an Eco-Terrorist came into German cinemas on November 10, 2011 and was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on January 27, 2012.

In April 2003, Watson was elected to the board of directors of the US conservation organization Sierra Club . There he wanted to bring up the topics of unlimited population growth, immigration and vegetarianism, but encountered resistance in the Directory. In April 2006, he finally resigned from his post in protest of the Board's stance on hunting.

Fonts

  • Paul Watson: Shepherds of the Sea . Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (1980). without ISBN
  • Paul Watson, Warren Rogers, Joseph Newman (Introduction: Cleveland Amory): Sea Shepherd: My Fight for Whales and Seals . WW Norton & Co (1981), ISBN 978-0-393-01499-0 .
  • Robert Hunter, Paul Watson (preface: Rafe Mair): Cry Wolf! Shepherds of the Earth Publications (1985).
  • Paul Watson (Foreword: Dave Foreman): Earthforce: Earth Warrior's Guide to Strategy . Chaco Press (1993), ISBN 0-9616019-5-7 .
  • Paul Watson (preface: Farley Mowat): Ocean Warrior. My crusade against the senseless slaughter of the whales . Ehrenwirth (1995), ISBN 978-3-431-03374-8 .
  • Paul Watson: Seal Wars: 25 Years on the Front Lines with the Harp Seals (hardcover) . Key Porter Books (2002), ISBN 978-1-55263-510-0 .
  • Paul Watson: Seal Wars: 25 Years on the Front Lines with the Harp Seals (Paperback) . Firefly Books (2003), ISBN 978-1-55297-751-4 .

literature

Documentaries about and with Paul Watson (selection)

Web links

Commons : Paul Watson  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Paul Watson: Warriors of the Seas ( Memento from December 13, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) in Infakt Magazin from December 13, 2007
  2. ↑ A Century Of Heroes in Time, April 26, 2000
  3. ↑ a b whale-loving ship sinker in taz from January 8, 2010
  4. ^ A b Environmental protection group: Sea Sheperd founder arrested in Frankfurt in Spiegel Online on May 14, 2012
  5. ↑ a b Walschützer Paul Watson: 007 der Meere in Spiegel Online from January 6, 2010
  6. ↑ Interview with Paul Watson: “You can arrest me!” ( Memento from July 22, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) in IVY World from April 9, 2008
  7. ↑ Militant environmental activist Watson: Number 007 in custody in Spiegel Online from May 14, 2012
  8. ↑ Greenpeace Attempts to Make Captain Paul Watson "Disappear". In: seashepherd.org. Sea Shepherd Deutschland eV, December 31, 2012, archived from the original on January 18, 2013 ; accessed on July 29, 2014 (English).
  9. ↑ “Watson Watson on God and Worms - My Mission is Simple” from December 26, 2012 on taz.de , accessed on December 31, 2012
  10. ↑ Paul Watson bio: Sharkwater Actor on tribute.ca
  11. ↑ Interview with Captain Paul Watson. "You can arrest me!" ( Memento from July 22, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  12. ↑ Almost like James Bond ( memento from September 21, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) in the Süddeutsche Zeitung from January 8, 2010
  13. ↑ Torsten Hampel: Neptune's Admiral. In: Der Tagesspiegel . 5th December 2010.
  14. ^ Fight against whaling - collision on the high seas in Süddeutsche Zeitung of February 6, 2009
  15. ^ Butyric acid on whalers: Japan calls animal rights activists terrorists in Spiegel Online from March 3, 2008
  16. ^ "Only direct actions help the whales" Interview in taz from January 26, 2008
  17. ↑ a b International law and charters on seashepherd.org ( Memento of the original from January 19, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed December 31, 2012 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / de.seashepherd.org
  18. ↑ a b animal rights activists: This is a real war in Der Spiegel , edition 27/1994, pp. 51–56
  19. ↑ Anti-whaling leader 'on Interpol list' in The Sydney Morning Herald on June 25, 2010
  20. ^ FIS - Companies & Products - Sea Shepherd wins court ruling against Fish & Fish. Accessed June 1, 2020 .
  21. ↑ Captain Paul Watson in Frankfurt due to an arrest warrant issued by Costa Rica arrested on seashepherd.org on May 13, 2012  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed December 31, 2012@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / de.seashepherd.org  
  22. ^ Spiegel Online Internationally wanted animal rights activist: Paul Watson's Coup , December 5, 2012
  23. ↑ INTERPOL statement to clarify the record concerning Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ( Memento of September 6, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Interpol communication of May 14, 2012
  24. ↑ Militant environmental activist Watson: Animal rights activist released on bail at Spiegel Online, May 18, 2012
  25. ^ Animal rights activist Paul Watson free again ( Memento from May 24, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) in Stern from May 21, 2012
  26. ↑ Japan admits asking Germany to arrest, extradite Sea Shepherd chief. In: The Japan Times Online. July 28, 2012, accessed July 31, 2012 .
  27. ^ Taz.de whale protector Watson on God and worms: "My mission is simple" , December 26, 2012.
  28. ↑ Wanted Persons: WATSON, PAUL FRANKLIN Interpol . August 10, 2012, archived from the original on December 12, 2012 ; accessed on August 10, 2012 .
  29. ↑ http://www.interpol.int/News-and-media/News-media-releases/2012/N20120914 ( Memento from September 20, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  30. ^ Jörg Michel: Captured on the high seas taz , December 17, 2012. Accessed December 20, 2012.
  31. ↑ http://www.n-tv.de/panorama/Sea-Shepherd-tritt-zurueck-article9909806.html
  32. ^ Sea Shepherd CEO and Founder Paul Watson Back in the US After Two Year Absence. (No longer available online.) Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, archived from the original on April 25, 2017 ; accessed on April 24, 2017 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.seashepherd.org
  33. ^ Incident in the Antarctic: Shots on the high seas in Süddeutsche Zeitung of March 8, 2008
  34. ↑ Japanese Open Fire on Sea Shepherd Crew: Three Injured on seashepherd.org from March 7, 2008  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed December 31, 2012@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / de.seashepherd.org  
  35. ↑ Whale Wars great success for Animal Planet and Sea Shepherd on seashepherd.org ( Memento of the original from February 26, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed December 31, 2012 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / de.seashepherd.org
  36. ^ Incident in the Southern Ocean - Update - The Hon Stephen Smith MP, Minister for Foreign Affairs on foreignminister.gov.au of March 7, 2008
  37. ↑ Fight against whalers: "You just have to be clearer" , interview in now from August 16, 2011
  38. ↑ a b c The Beginning of the End for Life as We Know it on Planet Earth? There is a Biocentric Solution Paul Watson on seashepherd.org from May 4th 2007  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed December 31, 2012@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / de.seashepherd.org  
  39. ↑ Frequently Asked Questions at www.seashepherd.org ( Memento of the original from May 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed December 31, 2012 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.seashepherd.org
  40. ↑ A final observation from the vegan on-board kitchen of the Bob Barker on seashepherd.org ( Memento of the original from June 13, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed December 31, 2012 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / de.seashepherd.org
  41. ↑ The great battle for seals and fish in Der Spiegel , edition 14/1983, pp. 140–149
  42. ↑ Theatrical release Confessions of an Eco-Terrorist on seashepherd.org ( Memento of the original from January 6, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed December 31, 2012 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / de.seashepherd.org
  43. ^ “A Very Inconvenient Truth” by Capt. Paul Watson on animalsaustralia.org ( German ( Memento of the original from May 10, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. ) December 2006 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / fragino.de
  44. ↑ Sierra Club Director Paul Watson Resigns to Protest Hunting Prize on seashepherd.org from April 17, 2006 ( Memento of the original from August 4, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed December 31, 2012 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / de.seashepherd.org
  45. ↑ Pirate for the Sea website (English)
  46. ↑ Pirate for the Sea on AllMovie (English)
  47. ↑ citizenanimal.de: Speakers. Retrieved May 17, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Watson, Paul
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Watson, Paul Franklin (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian university professor, founder of Sea Shepherd
DATE OF BIRTH 2nd December 1950
PLACE OF BIRTH Toronto , Canada