Paul Watson and Sea Shepherd, Cowardice Under Direct Action Fire?

Interpol, the worlds police, have issued a Red Notice for Paul Watson titular head of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and Watson is currently on the run exhibiting a simply stunning display of abject cowardice in the face of Direct Action.

This is a wake up call to his donor base both large and small. Your conservation money, the money you had hoped would be used for change, has been taken from you by a slick conservation media machine.

And while no one wants to get inside the mind of the Sea Shepherd faithful for fear they will discover an overweight hamster on a giant wheel wheezing to a techno version of Kermit The Frogs, "It's not Easy Being Green," one has to ask, why run Paul?

Paul Watson is more than happy to send his volunteers/unpaid reality tv actors into situations that ultimately put then in harms way while he himself is unwilling to even step into a court room where he would get to explain his Direct Action policies to the widest audience he has ever had.

Watson instead has crafted a series of inane excuses for his lack of,  "Doushitemo" (at any cost), which flies in the face of far too many of Watsons own stump speeches to his donor base where he regales them with tales of personal bravery on the high seas.

About that, as it turns out Watson is also not above faking his own assassination attempts to bolster his claims of conservation bravery. This is an organization that, "at any cost," spends donor money to pump out slick conservation media fakery, year after year, to garner more donations.

It's a Conservation Möbius Loop of the worst kind.

After 30 years Sea Shepherd has proved an abject failure as an organization for actual and lasting changes to wildlife.

They have become unfortunate parodies of themselves and in the minds of their donor base, "too big to fail." There's a meme out there that suggests, and is propagated by Sea Shepherd, that if they stop their Direct Actions the entire world will go to hell in a hand-basket because there are no other organizations out there to fill the void.

It's a lie.

In fact there are plenty of small boots on the ground organizations out there, thanks in large part to social media and smart phones, that need your help now. They are the real face of conservation, not the donor paid vacations in the South Pacific with Sea Shepherds elite Shark Angels - an ongoing conservation sham where the biggest hurdle this "elite team" faces has been the lack of access to dwindling supplies of glitter lip gloss and SPF 50.

You have a choice, dig a bit deeper in your search for a conservation organization org that delivers change, or continue to support a bloated increasingly irrelevant organization that at it's core (Paul Watson) fails to live up to the ongoing hype.

Paul Watson as an conservation organization leader has shown to the world that his organization does not deserve your respect, admiration, or money.

For many out there in the conservation sphere this is not news. For the Sea Shepherd faithful who like the idea of wearing pirate shirts and being part of something grand, this is gut check time.

Support something new, try something small, grow an organization that delivers conservation change and one that you know will spend your conservation money wisely. Fact is when any organization gets to over 11 million dollars in revenue resources and it's Conservation CEO is placed on Interpols Red Notice you have to wonder...are the worlds animals really being served here?

About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.

Whale Wars-Wagging the Conservation Dog

Our Whale Wars post this week has generated a mass of offline and thoughtful emails here at Underwater Thrills. We also got a few hysterical foaming-at-the-mouth diatribes as well.

Here's one example highlighting how Wagging the Conservation Dog harms an entire movement:

Sea Shepherd are not helping whales, they are exacerbating the problem. Every time they clash with the whaling ships in the Antarctic, the Japanese look like the victims, and they spin this for all it's worth at the IWC - "irresponsible NGOs, terrorist organisations" etc. SSCS are gifting the Japanese whalers a bargaining chip to use within the international diplomatic community. Whilst their hearts might be in the right place, and their passion evident, SSCS are sadly out of touch with reality.

Conservation doesn't happen by putting yourself between a harpoon and a whale - although admittedly that is a great way to get publicity. Real conservation happens in international fora - at the IWC, at CITES, within CMS, ACCOBAMS and ASCOBAMS. It's only though negotiation and diplomacy that NGOs can persuade governments and decision-making bodies to lay down new laws that protect wildlife . A £10,000 donation to an NGO that does this kind of work will secure the future of thousands or perhaps millions of whales and dolphins - SSCS would burn through it in a couple of days chasing the Japanese whalers around icebergs, giving just a handful of whales a temporary reprieve.

SSCS are attracting a lot of attention for their antics, and this is diverting funds from the organisations that can really make the difference. The environmental NGO community has come a long, long way in the past 20 years, and we've got inside governments and international fora to a point where we affect REAL change. By tackling the economics of whaling and trade, creating legal frameworks, working with industry and governance - we are making a huge difference to the conservation and welfare of these animals worldwide.

SSCS are alienating and undermining the conservation movement, not helping it. Funders should think long and hard before giving money to SSCS, and question the true value of what they get in return.

Sea Shepherd Issues Arrest Warrant For The Japanese Whaling Fleet-"Bread and Circuses"

The Romans had a saying for what Sea Shepherd have become the absolute masters of: "Bread and Circuses".

This term aptly applies to the ongoing misdirection and political theatre Sea Shepherd has foisted on to unsuspecting and well meaning donors worldwide.

We were once supporters of Sea Shepherds seemingly tough brand of eco-enforcement. Their self styled "take no prisoners" brand looked for a time like the real deal.

Finally something would be done, changes would be made, and the world's animals saved. If Greenpeace was getting too soft these guys would changes things.

Sadly, this was not to be the case. Sea Shepherd quickly devolved from mighty warrior to theatre of the absurd and continues along these lines to this day.

The main culprit behind Sea Shepherds lack of credibility turns out to be the bloated and ego centric Captain Paul Watson and whoever stage manages his media for him.

Claiming to be shot in the chest during this years whale hunt in the Southern Ocean, and producing a fake video to back this absolute and image costly fabrication up was the last straw for us.

In the end it all comes down to money. With dollars for what Sea Shepherd is attempting to do drying up worldwide they have chosen to "ratchet up the noise" or "wag the dog" in hopes of attracting more money for further ineffectual and costly efforts to stop the continuing pillage of our oceans.

If one takes a good look at Sea Shepherd and can navigate beyond the outright fabrication of story lines, if one can leap over the growing "chasm like" credibility gap they have adopted like self inflicted wound, one would discover an ineffectual eco group that has failed repeatedly to stop any of the ongoing slaughter. They trot out numbers and make bold claims that they have slowed things down, but the slaughter continues.

Take your pick, whales, seals, sharks, fish, all continue to be slaughtered to this day, none of it has been stopped. If Sea Shepherd was a for profit company, and this was their metric for success, no one would would invest in them. Add to that anyone's ability to actually believe what they say and what you have is...nothing. A black hole for financial backers who demand success, not "Bread and Circuses".

High Seas Drama or High Seas Drama Queens?

As we feared the high seas drama that is Japans 2008 Southern Seas Whaling Expedition has taken a turn for the bizarre today.

Crews from the Steve Irwin-the all black Vader-esque anti-whaling chase boat owned by Paul Watson from Sea Shepherd has made contact with Japans whaling fleet and the Yushin Maru.

What has transpired is something right out of Moby Dick. Turns out members of the Steve Irwins crew have been lashed to the main mast of the Yushin Maru in "freezing conditions" and not even allowed the basic rights to a hot chocolate with marshmallows on top- a time honored right granted to them under the Third Geneva Convention of 1949.

Naturally, this event has caused a minor international incident and the news media is running like a panicked herd of Wildebeast with this "high seas drama" story.

In our book anything that causes even the casual media reader to stop and say "wait a minute" is good media. As far as the anti-whalers are concerned their position can be summed up with the following quote from good old Captain Ahab and Khan from Star Trek:

"No. No, you can't get away. 'From Hell's heart... I stab at thee. For hate's sake I spit my last breath... at thee'."

The fine whaling folks in Japan should reconsider whaling as a vocation and also reconsider the taking of hostages-that's so 1980's.

Sperm Whale Hunt Closed-Japans Fleet Turns Back

TOKYO, Japan (CNM) -- Researchers aboard Japanese whaling vessels have "completely halted" their much-criticized hunt for Sperm Whales in the seas near Antarctica, after finding "something unusual" in a freshly harvested whales stomach.

"On Monday we received frantic reports of a human like form inside a whale", said the chief Japanese government spokesman Hachimura Mobutatka.

Sperm Whales are known to feed on Giant Squid in Antarctic waters and remains of these massive cephalopods as long as 120 feet have been recovered.

Meanwhile, the International Whaling Commission, having received the same "stunning reports", have halted all whaling activities in Antarctica by it's members.

The IWC chairman has asked Japan not to hunt Sperm whales in the foreseeable future until lab tests are completed on the "human like form" found inside the dead whale.

"We're happy about the whaling fleet pull out, amazed by the news...and just a little bummed", said David Greenwright spokesman for the Environmental Whaling Coalition. The groups members had planned to put themselves between harpoon and whales, using water jets to block harpoon shots. "Now we're back in New Zealand with nothing to do".

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