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[Zoran]

http://www.seashepherd.org.au/relentless/crew-blog/tribute-to-captain-paul-watson.html

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A Tribute to Captain Paul Watson

By Rod Marining, Co-Founder of Greenpeace
Quartermaster of the Sea Shepherd Flagship, The Steve Irwin

Rod MariningRod Marining, Co-Founder of Greenpeace, Quartermaster of the Sea Shepherd Flagship, The Steve Irwin.
photo: Tim WattersWhen Paul Watson was just 18 years old, he was sitting quietly as the youngest member in a room of 15 older men and women, who were plotting direct actions against Nuclear Bomb Testing on an island off of Alaska. The island was called Amchitka and it was one of a string of islands that ran west of Alaska called the Aleutians. Amchitka had been a marine wildlife haven for thousands of seals, sea otters, walrus and sea birds. A committee was formed from that first meeting. There is an earthquake fault that runs along the Aleutian Islands along the coast of North America, ending up in Los Angeles, California. If you lived on the coast in 1970, you remember the terrible destruction of the last large tsunamis which roared into coastal communities, killing people as the waves rushed onto shore. To highlight the environmental delicacy of the region, the committee was called the Don’t Make a Wave Committee.

Paul and I had been invited to the first meeting, because we were leaders at this time in the youth movement in Vancouver, Canada. The committee chair, who was about 50 years old, had realized that both Paul and I could command a large youth protest with our present reputations, at short notice, if needed. The Chair of the Committee believed that the youth movement would be the key driving force to stopping the nuclear tests. He was right.

Amchitka Island Harlequin BeachAmchitka Island, Harlequin BeachThe direct action to stop the nuclear testing was simple. Sail an old wooden 85-foot Halibut fishing boat to Amchitka Island and anchor three miles off the island. Unless they deliberately killed us, we thought, with their nuclear bomb test, we would be preventing the nuclear weapon from going off. We would be in International Waters, just outside the then USA three-mile territorial limit. We had every international legal right to watch the nuclear test from this position. Our encyclopedia said the following: The three-mile limit refers to a tradition of the international law of the seas, which defines a country's territorial waters, for the purposes of trade regulation and exclusivity, as extending as far as the reach of cannons fired from land. That was our plan. How simple could this plan be?

The thought never crossed my mind that this action was dangerous. It was an adventure. Some said that three miles from a nuclear test site is not considered a safe distance. So what? Doing nothing was even more dangerous.

To others in our group, Amchitka was the gates of hell. The Americans were planning an underground hydrogen bomb 250 times as powerful as the artificial sun that had burned over Hiroshima. Amchitka Island was a volcanic, tectonically unstable island. Radiation leakage during the test was likely. An invisible cloud of poison in the form of Strontium 90 or Cesium 136 could rain down on our decks.

The bomb itself was horrific. When triggered, the temperature in the firing chamber would leap to about a hundred million degrees Fahrenheit, instantly vaporizing hundreds of thousands of tons of solid rock. This would create a spherical gas-filled chamber in the earth like a giant glazed radioactive light bulb.

Some of the 12 crew knew the dangers, and an internal battle began on the ship soon as it left the dock. The group suicide was the main topic of discussion; slowly some of the older members of the crew began to question their courage to continue towards their objective. The boat was not seaworthy at this time of the year, some said. Some had family and kids to consider. One complained that he was losing mega bucks every week he was away from work. One by one their collective courage disappeared. The boat had been chartered, therefore the Captain and Engineer were hired help. The role of Master of the ship was collectively comprised of the other ten crewmembers. The will to go forward had stopped with a deadlock vote of five to five. The boat was in Sand Point Alaska, still hundreds of miles from Amchitka. Eventually the ten voting crew held a vote to head back to Kodiak Island, which was a nice way to say we were heading home in defeat.

Paul Watson was the youngest member of the Don’t Make A Wave Committee, invited to participate because of his influence as a youth and student leader.Paul Watson was the youngest member of the Don’t Make A Wave Committee, invited to participate because of his influence as a youth and student leader.Being 14 months older than Paul, I ended up just making it onto the first 12-crew ship in Alaska, which had planned to take position inside the nuclear bomb testing zone. I was the youngest member on the boat. I shook my head in disbelief, as I watched the faces of crew around me. The majority were itching to go home to their jobs and family.

I had nothing to lose. I had no family or job. Each of us had pledged to go all the way to Amchitka. I wanted to keep heading west, into the nuclear test zone. The majority vote to sail forward was just not there. Why had all these crewmembers clamoured to be onboard in the first place, if they did not have the courage of their conviction? It was sheer ego. “Where was Paul Watson?” I thought. “He would not chicken out. He would go all the way!”

After spending four weeks at sea, the protest ship headed back to Vancouver, Canada. Crossing the Gulf of Alaska, our little fishing boat hit a storm. During the night of the storm I was at the helm. We were running with the storm at our backs. The huge swells would lift the rear of the boat up and then the swell would go under the boat, and then leave our bow. The eight-meter swells were traveling at 18 knots, three times faster than the speed of our boat. I was steering the ship into the bubbles of our own wake as it headed out from the front of the ship. Even the storm was pushing us home. We were defeated, we thought. “I will never trust anyone over thirty,” I thought.

In our darkest hour, I heard a radio call from a ship ahead. It was a simple, calm radio call. “We have another ship and we are heading to Amchitka. Do any of your crew want to join us? We will rendezvous with your ship at 13 hundred hours in Alert Bay.” It was a surprise to me to hear of a new ship, and even more so to realize it was Paul Watson’s voice on the radio.

Paul Watson was one of only three people on the Don’t Make A Wave Committee with sea fairing experiencePaul Watson was one of only three people on the Don’t Make A Wave Committee with sea fairing experience.When I saw Paul Watson in Alert Bay, he was up on the bridge with a firm grip on the helm. I was heading out again towards Amchitka. I was in shock, future shock. I had transferred from an old oily rusting boat to a multi-million dollar military ship with two stainless steel motors. Paul was now 20 years old, and as far as I was concerned he was the only functional person from the Don’t Make a Wave Committee I could see. I joked with him, “Captain Paul Watson, love your new ship! You’ve come a long way from being a deckhand. I see you are in complete charge of this very large military minesweeper.” He smiled back. This immaculate new ship had been recently decommissioned from the Canadian Navy. Paul introduced me to his navigator onboard: “This is Will Jones.”

Will had been on the USS Missouri when Japan surrendered during World War II. Paul Watson and Will Jones were the only two crewmembers of the vessel who’d had deep sea experience. Paul had worked as a deckhand with the Canadian Coast Guard.

We were on our way to Amchitka again. “Finally,” I thought, “we do not have a moment to lose, as the nuclear bomb could go off at any moment.”

One day out into the stormy Gulf of Alaska, the ship’s doctor said, “We have some serious dehydrated sailors onboard. We must head to the nearest port to drop them off at the hospital.”

“Oh, come on Doc. They’re only seasick, we can’t afford three days jog off our target,” I said.

“No,” said the Doctor. “They are beyond seasick, they have had no water for more than two days. I have no IV and they could die if they don’t get water. They are severely dehydrated.”

Someone said, “Safety first, we can’t have someone dying on the ship.”

“Who picked this crew?” I said. We have just five functional crewmembers. Safety first? This was a strange thought considering what we were doing. However, this was the Doctor’s call, so after a brief stop at Prince Rupert, where some crewmembers had to be taken off the ship in stretchers, we were again on our way.

We made a beeline to Amchitka. Paul and I made secret plans that if we got within three miles of Amchitka, we would launch one of the lifeboats and motor the remaining three miles to the island. We were going all the way.

We were 200 miles from the island when the bomb went off, and we watched the shock wave travel under our vessel. About 2,000 sea otters died around the island, said one reporter who witnessed the explosion. The resulting press triggered condemnation of the United States from around the world. Within a few months, the US government announced that there would be no more nuclear tests at Amchitka Island. The event and the related coverage had launched Greenpeace.

In a meeting of the Don’t Make a Wave Committee in January 1972, the name changed to The Greenpeace Foundation. The old guard had melted away. Gone were the old, in were the young.

The ones left standing were Robert Hunter, Ben Metcalf, Dorothy Metcalf, Paul Watson and I, Rod Marining. We took over the reins of the Greenpeace Foundation and launched plans to stop the nuclear testing in Mururoa, in the South Pacific.

Ben and Dorothy Metcalf dropped off the board in 1974. Dr. Paul Spong, a whale biologist, took their place on the board. David McTaggart, the Captain of the Greenpeace III, and his crew were beaten up badly by the French when they went into the Nuclear Test Zone in 1973.

In July of that same year, after two years of continued protests from a fleet of ships inside the French nuclear test zone, the New Zealand government was forced to act. They voted to send New Zealand’s two frigates into the 72-mile Nuclear Test Zone of France. The first to leave New Zealand was the HMNZS Otago, and after about a month the NZ frigate Canterbury would relieve the Otago.

Up to this date, the French government had boarded numerous protest ships, and flown their crew 100 miles north to a safe zone, Hao Island. The Canterbury was 2,860 tons and 112 meters, making it impossible to board. Further, any action against the government of New Zealand, would be considered an act of war, and this act would bring Australia and the whole British Commonwealth into the fold. The French finally got the message and surrendered their Atmospheric Nuclear Testing program in 1974.

In 1975 Greenpeace, led by Paul Watson, Dr. Paul Spong, Robert Hunter and myself, launched Project Ahab, the first Voyage to Save the Last of the Remaining Great Whales. Paul would continue to come up with many ideas to save wildlife like Project Wolf , in which a crew went into the wilderness to obstruct a wolf-killing program.

Every campaign’s objective was to raise the consciousness of the public to such a level that the governments were obligated to act. Paul Watson is a special person. He had always been more dedicated, more driven than everyone in our original group. When our ships met in Alert Bay, before departure, a crewmember yelled, “How far are we going to go?” The crews of the ships would yell back, “All the way!!!” Having gone further than anyone I know, Captain Paul Watson would say, “Planetary duty comes first,” and he stands for it with every fibre of his body.
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[Moses2]

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-did-we-change-our-name-what-does/

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Why did we change our name? and what does it mean for our campaigns, crew and supporters?
Captain Paul Watson Foundation UK

Captain Paul Watson Foundation UK
Captain Paul Watson Foundation UK
UK charity with regional groups around the British Isles and Jersey + crew on campaign in the Faroe Islands and Iceland.
Published Aug 1, 2023
+ Follow

So why has Sea Shepherd UK rebranded as the Captain Paul Watson Foundation UK?

This exciting new chapter in our history maintains our independence in the UK to deliver our vital campaigns whilst aligning us with the Captain Paul Watson Foundation (USA) and its growing new chapters around the world. The name change will enable us to work with any like-minded NGOs including independent Sea Shepherd entities in France, Brazil, Hungary and elsewhere which are free from the influence of those groups which have chosen a future path of campaigns only in partnership with governments.

In the UK, our main campaign focus will be to achieve our founder's original vision of ending all whale, dolphin and seal hunts. But we will defend any at-risk marine wildlife in UK waters and out into the North Sea, Irish Sea, North Atlantic, down across the channel and beyond.

We have crew already back in Iceland for the 3rd year opposing the cruel commercial fin whaling operations of Kristjan Loftsson’s company ‘Hvalur hf’ on Operation Paiakan - a collaboration between ourselves and CPWF who sent their new flagship the John Paul DeJoria II.

Our UK charity will conduct land-based operations and continue to support ongoing legal work against this unnecessary and barbaric hunt - while developing new collaborations and tactics to work to shut down whaling forever in Iceland. On September 1st, Kristjan Loftsson's two whaling ships Hvalur 8 and Hvalur 9 will sail again after a 2 month suspension - this time with grenade tipped harpoons attached to copper core ropes to experiment with electrocuting the majestic fin whales.

In the Faroe Islands, our 8th consecutive campaign started back on 1st May working to end the barbaric grindadrap hunts of pilot whales and dolphins with Operation Bloody Fjords. You can expect new directions for this campaign coming soon!

Our established Ghostnet Campaign will benefit from now being part of our new larger Dive project bringing new collaborations and new divers onboard.

Our Coastal Debris project will continue to be managed by our army of dedicated volunteers - all of whom are passionate about restoring the ocean and our coastline for all wildlife.

New campaigns to defend other species including seabirds and sharks will be researched and nothing is off our radar now including supertrawlers or destructive bottom trawling... and we continue to be ready to react to any shooting or harassment of seals around the UK.

So, aside from the name change - you can be assured we are still the same charity albeit with a growing team, fleet and campaigns!

What you can be assured of is that:

• Our campaigns will be solely for the benefit of marine animals who are our clients.

• Our investigations will be followed by action, whether that be physical or legal intervention.

• We will never be subject to restrictive agreements with governments. • Our media and opinions will never be censored.

• Our crew will go where they are needed even if they are unwelcome - and to do that we will further develop our fleet (of the dive boat 'Spectre', landing craft 'Selkie' and 3 RIBs Shadow, Ghost and Siren) with a new long range patrol boat so we can be active year-round with your continued support!

The next few weeks will see our rebranding across the web completed - so bear with us while this is completed as it is a whale-sized task!

Our address is still the same:

Captain Paul Watson Foundation UK,

27 Old Gloucester Street, London, WC1N 3AX

Coming soon is our new website at: www.paulwatsonfoundation.org.uk - but in the meantime check out our portfolio site at cpwf.uk

If you would like to donate to our campaigns, help fund our fleet, or even sponsor a vessel - then get in touch with us at info@cpwf.org.uk or simply click DONATE

If you would like to participate in any of our marine conservation work, then we are keen to find people who fit the following criteria:

    Qualified on commercial-rated vessels over 15m.
    Qualified to drive powerboats under 15m.
    Qualified boat crew/deckhand
    Marine Engineers in West Scotland
    Aircraft and fixed wing drone pilots
    Experienced investigator or lawyer experienced in environmental cases

Check out links to our past and ongoing campaigns via LinkTree

Finally a very *RARE OPPORTUNITY* - as we are hiring a 'Communications and Content Coordinator'! so check out the job advert on our LinkedIn Page
[*/quote*]

[Moses2]

https://seashepherd.fr/sea-shepherd-global-et-le-probleme-watson/
(translated with deepl.com)
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Sea Shepherd Global and the "Watson problem
Sep 24, 2023 | News
Paul Watson in Bordeaux, September 2023
(Credit: Mikael Vojinovic)
Paul Watson and Lamya Essemlali, during the Captain's return to France in September 2023.
By Lamya Essemlali

What is the Watson problem?
Around 2018, some promising Sea Shepherd leaders began referring to what they call "the Watson problem".

These Sea Shepherd leaders became captains and directors because Captain Paul Watson put his trust in them. Starting from nothing, Paul trained them and gave them the unique opportunity to climb the ladder. One started out as a ship's cook, the other as a cabin boy. The third was appointed director of Sea Shepherd Australia and the fourth became Sea Shepherd's artistic director.

In 2019, when Paul Watson sent the Brigitte Bardot to Iceland to oppose whaling, these four people were concerned that the fight against whalers resembled what had been done in the past (i.e., sinking whalers, for example) and did not correspond to the new image they wanted to give Sea Shepherd. Peter Hammarstedt's exact words were that it was time to "rebrand", which meant putting an end to confrontation-based missions and sticking exclusively to partnerships with governments and industry, including the fishing industry, as demonstrated by Jeff Hansen, director of Sea Shepherd Australia, who set up a partnership with Austral Fisheries, an industrial fishing company 50% owned by the huge Maruha Daichiro Fishing Corporation.

Why is this? Because Austral Fisheries' David Carter helped Sea Shepherd Australia obtain federal tax status (which opens the door to tax deductions) and generate substantial donations. In addition, Austral Fisheries sold Sea Shepherd Australia a vessel at a substantial discount and donated a few hundred tonnes of fuel on top of a substantial donation. And suddenly Sea Shepherd Australia was promoting "sustainable fishing" as practiced by Austral Fisheries.

Paul Watson
Paul Watson, saves a baby seal after throwing the club of the hunter about to kill it into the sea. 1977
Paul Watson

Paul Watson, on a baby sperm whale that has just been killed by the Soviet whaling fleet. That day marked a turning point in his life, as he physically stood between the whaler's harpoon and the group of sperm whales. 1975
When Paul Watson raised uncomfortable questions about the partnership, the Board of Sea Shepherd Australia, which also includes Peter Hammarstedt, refused to provide answers and asked Paul to resign.

The leaders of Sea Shepherd Global and Sea Shepherd Australia all began to see the movement's founder as a problem, from the moment he questioned their integrity and motivation. By pointing out their contradictions and questioning the legitimacy of their partnerships with certain African and Mexican governments, by insisting that Sea Shepherd repeat confrontational campaigns when the stakes were high, and by refusing to change the movement's direction towards something much more consensual, Paul Watson became "the man to shoot" for his own lieutenants.

After rising to the top of the world's largest ocean protection movement, which is what it is today precisely because of the uniqueness of its founder, he suddenly became too radical, too troublesome for this small clique of careerists. So Paul was (illegally) ousted from the Global board (I was the only one of the 5 directors to oppose his ouster) and the 4 who ousted him changed the direction of the movement to something more mainstream, but also compromised.

The director of Sea Shepherd Australia is seen cycling with the CEO of Austral Fisheries, which fishes for Patagonian toothfish in Antarctica using large industrial vessels, and praises the latter's activity as "sustainable fishing".
But what is the "Watson problem" they are so concerned about?

Why have they removed hundreds of pages of Sea Shepherd's history from their website, as well as the photos and biography of its founder, in a blatantly Orwellian revisionist move? Why are they trying to rewrite the history of the movement they've hijacked, counting on public amnesia?

What did Captain Paul Watson do that led the four men he trusted to call him the "Watson problem"?

What was so controversial about his personal history that led them to censor this story?

By removing Paul Watson's very existence from their website, these 4 men are trying to make Sea Shepherd fit in with their new brand image, the one that suits them, the one that doesn't jeopardize their new partnerships, with certain African states (who award them medals of which they are apparently very proud), with the Dutch lottery, with Allianz insurance... big institutional donors who might be turned off by Sea Shepherd's pirate image. The latter no longer use the logo in their campaigns, nor do they wear it at sea. But the logo still appeals to the public, for the aura it still carries, so they're content to use it as a merchandising tool. They exploit it commercially, but no longer bring it to life in the field.

During a conversation I had in Amsterdam with Alex Cornelissen, Director of Sea Shepherd Global, in 2022, when I was still trying to convince him not to oust Paul, he said:

    "Nobody asks questions about Paul Watson anymore. Peter (Hammarstedt) and I are now the face of Sea Shepherd. People have forgotten who Paul is. Today, Sea Shepherd is us."

Many people would disagree. Just look at the packed house and the huge standing ovation of around 1,500 people last weekend at our conference at the Climax Festival in Bordeaux. For my part, I'd say that if Sea Shepherd isn't just Paul Watson, then without Paul Watson, it's no longer Sea Shepherd.

Paul Watson
Paul Watson, in 2004, surrounded by his crew, with, on his right, Peter Hammarstedt, then ship's boy, and Alex Cornelissen, cook.

Beyond Paul, he is the guardian of the temple, the guardian of the essential founding values of this movement.
To oust Paul is not to oust a man, it's to deny the values of this movement.

Alex Cornelissen told me, "Paul's attitude puts us at risk. We have too much to lose". My answer to that is that to deny Paul is to lose our soul. And if you lose your soul, you've lost everything. I don't care about the Dutch lottery, I don't care about Allianz, and I don't care about state partnerships. I care about our values more than anything. Our values show that we will always put the ocean and its inhabitants before our private interests, before our pseudo-respectability. People capable of throwing overboard and attempting to erase from memory the greatest ocean activist this planet has ever known, a man without whom they would never be in the position they are today, such people have no honor.

They can't claim to be fighting for the ocean, they're only fighting for themselves and to preserve their gains. For our collective memory, I list here the half-century of actions led by Paul Watson, all those actions without which Sea Shepherd would not be Sea Shepherd. All those actions that the 4 directors of Global today consider "a problem".
1971-1977
1978-1979
Paul Watson


Paul Watson and Robert Hunter block the advance of sealers on the pack ice to prevent hunters from killing baby seals.
Paul Watson


Paul has attached himself to the skins of baby seals freshly killed by Canadian fishermen. He was immersed in icy water and beaten on the deck of the seal ship (see the story in the book "Seal Wars" on sale at www.seashepherd-shop.com).


Paul Watson in his Greenpeace days, 1975. Between two Soviet whalers, off California.
1980-1989
1990-1999
Paul Watson


The whaleboats Hvalur 6 and 7 sunk in Reykjavik harbor in 1986.
2000-2009
2010-2019
2020-2023


Captain Watson remains Director of Sea Shepherd France and Sea Shepherd Brazil, and has now set up the Captain Paul Watson Foundation in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Germany, Ireland and Italy, as in all these countries the Sea Shepherd Directors are under the umbrella of Sea Shepherd Global.

Sea Shepherd UK is now "Captain Paul Watson UK".

As for us in France, we continue to fight to honor Paul Watson's legacy through Sea Shepherd France, keeping alive the DNA that makes Sea Shepherd so strong, with the same pirate spirit it had when it was founded in 1977.

Latest news

    Sea Shepherd Global and the "Watson problem
    MESSAGE FOR IBERIAN KILLER WHALES
    Paul Watson and Lamya Essemlali at the Climax Festival for the captain's grand return to France

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Sea Shepherd Global et le « problème Watson »

Sep 24, 2023 | Actualités

Paul Watson à Bordeaux, Septembre 2023

(Crédit : Mikael Vojinovic)

Paul Watson et Lamya Essemlali, lors du retour du Capitaine en France en septembre 2023

Par Lamya Essemlali
Qu’est-ce que le problème Watson ?

Vers 2018, certains dirigeants prometteurs de Sea Shepherd ont commencé à faire référence à ce qu’ils appellent « le problème Watson ».

Ces dirigeants de Sea Shepherd sont devenus capitaines et directeurs parce que le capitaine Paul Watson leur a accordé sa confiance. Partis de rien, Paul les a formés et leur a donné l’opportunité unique de gravir tous les échelons. L’un a commencé comme commis de cuisine du navire et l’autre comme mousse. Le troisième a été nommé directeur de Sea Shepherd Australie et le quatrième est devenu directeur artistique de Sea Shepherd.

En 2019, lorsque Paul Watson a envoyé le Brigitte Bardot en Islande pour s’opposer à la chasse à la baleine, ces quatre personnes se sont inquiétées du fait que la lutte contre les baleiniers ressemblait à ce qui se faisait hier (c’est-à-dire, couler des baleiniers par exemple) et ne correspondait pas à la nouvelle image qu’elles souhaitaient donner à Sea Shepherd. Les mots exacts de Peter Hammarstedt, ont été qu’il était temps de « changer d’image de marque», ce qui signifiait mettre fin aux missions basées sur la confrontation et s’en tenir exclusivement  aux partenariats avec des gouvernements et l’industrie, y compris l’industrie de la pêche, comme l’a démontré Jeff Hansen, directeur de Sea Shepherd Australie, qui a mis en place un partenariat avec Austral Fisheries, une société de pêche industrielle détenue à 50% par l’énorme Maruha Daichiro Fishing Corporation.

Pourquoi ? Parce que David Carter d’Austral Fisheries a aidé Sea Shepherd Australie à obtenir un statut fiscal fédéral (qui ouvre droits aux déductions fiscales) et permet de générer des dons importants. En outre, Austral Fisheries a vendu à Sea Shepherd Australie un navire avec un rabais important et a fait un don de quelques centaines de tonnes de carburant en plus d’un don substantiel. Et tout à coup, Sea Shepherd Australie s’est mis à promouvoir la « pêche durable », telle que la pratique Austral Fisheries.

Paul Watson

Paul Watson, sauve un un bébé phoque après avoir jeté le gourdin du chasseur sur le point de le tuer dans la mer. 1977
Paul Watson

Paul Watson, sur un bébé cachalot qui vient d’être tué par la flotte baleinière soviétique. Ce jour là marquera un tournant dans son existence alors qu’il s’interposera physiquement entre le harpon du baleinier et le groupe de cachalots. 1975
Lorsque Paul Watson a soulevé des questions gênantes sur ce partenariat, le Conseil d’Administration de Sea Shepherd Australie, dont fait également partie Peter Hammarstedt, a refusé de fournir des réponses et a demandé à Paul de présenter sa démission.

Les dirigeants de  Sea Shepherd Global et Sea Shepherd Australie ont tous commencé à considérer le fondateur du mouvement comme un problème, à partir du moment où il a questionné leur intégrité et leur motivation. En pointant leurs contradictions et en questionnant la légitimité de leurs partenariats avec certains gouvernements africains et mexicains, en insistant pour que Sea Shepherd refasse des campagnes de confrontation lorsque l’enjeu le nécessite, et en refusant de changer l’orientation du mouvement vers quelque chose de beaucoup plus consensuel, Paul Watson est devenu « l’homme à abattre » pour ses propres lieutenants.

Après s’être hissés au sommet du plus grand mouvement mondial de protection de l’océan, qui est ce qu’il est aujourd’hui, précisément grâce au caractère unique de son fondateur, ce dernier est soudain devenu trop radical, trop gênant pour cette petite clique de carriéristes. Paul a donc été (illégalement) évincé du board de Global (je suis la seule des 5 directeurs à m’être opposée à son éviction) et les 4 qui l’ont évincé ont changé l’orientation du mouvement pour en faire quelque chose de plus mainstream, mais également de compromis.

Le directeur de Sea Shepherd Australie s’affiche en train de faire du vélo avec le PDG d’Austral Fisheries, qui pêche la légine australe en Antarctique au moyens de gros navires industriels et vante l’activité de ce dernier comme étant une « pêche durable ».
Mais quel est le « problème Watson » qui les préoccupe tant ?

Pourquoi ces personnes ont-elles supprimé des centaines de pages de l’histoire de Sea Shepherd de leur site web, ainsi que les photos et la biographie de son fondateur, dans une démarche révisionniste ouvertement orwellienne. Pourquoi tentent-ils de réécrire l’histoire du mouvement qu’ils ont détourné, en comptant sur l’amnésie du public ?

Qu’est-ce que le capitaine Paul Watson a fait qui a conduit les quatre hommes en qui il avait confiance à l’appeler le « problème Watson » ?

Qu’y a-t-il de si controversé dans son histoire personnelle qui les a amenés à censurer cette histoire ?

En supprimant l’existence même de Paul Watson de leur site web, ces 4 hommes tentent de faire coller Sea Shepherd à leur nouvelle image de marque, celle qui leur convient, celle qui ne met pas en péril leurs nouveaux partenariats, avec certains états africains (qui leur décernent des médailles dont ils sont apparemment très fiers), avec la loterie néerlandaise, avec les assurances Allianz… des gros donateurs institutionnels qui pourraient être refroidis par l’image pirate de Sea Shepherd. Ces derniers n’arborent d’ailleurs plus du tout ce logo dans leurs campagnes, ils ne l’assument plus en mer. Mais le logo plaît au public, pour l’aura dont il est encore porteur, alors ils se contentent d’en faire un objet de merchandising. Ils l’exploitent commercialement mais ne le font plus vivre sur le terrain.

Lors d’une conversation que j’ai eue à Amsterdam avec Alex Cornelissen, Directeur de Sea Shepherd Global, en 2022, alors que j’essayais encore de le convaincre de ne pas évincer Paul, il m’a dit :

    « Plus personne ne pose de questions sur Paul Watson. Peter (Hammarstedt) et moi sommes maintenant le visage de Sea Shepherd. Les gens ont oublié qui est Paul. Aujourd’hui, Sea Shepherd, c’est nous. »

Beaucoup de gens ne seraient pas d’accord. Il suffit pour s’en convaincre de voir la salle comble et l’énorme standing ovation d’environ 1500 personnes le week-end dernier lors de notre conférence au Climax Festival à Bordeaux. Pour ma part, je dirais que si Sea Shepherd, ça n’est pas seulement Paul Watson, sans Paul Watson, ça n’est plus Sea Shepherd.
Paul Watson

Paul Watson, en 2004 entouré de son équipage avec, à sa droite Peter Hammarstedt, alors mousse et Alex Cornelissen, cuisinier.

Au-delà de Paul, il s’agit du gardien du temple, du gardien des valeurs essentielles et fondatrices de ce mouvement.
Évincer Paul, ça n’est pas évincer un homme, c’est renier les valeurs de ce mouvement.

Alex Cornelissen m’a dit « Paul nous met en danger avec son attitude. Nous avons trop à perdre ». Ma réponse à cela est que renier Paul équivaut à perdre notre âme. Et si on perd son âme, on a tout perdu. Je me fiche de la loterie néerlandaise, je me fiche d’Allianz, et des partenariats d’état. Je tiens à nos valeurs plus que tout. Nos valeurs attestent que nous ferons toujours passer l’océan et ses habitants avant nos intérêts privés, avant notre pseudo respectabilité. Des personnes capables de jeter par-dessus bord et de tenter d’effacer des mémoires le plus grand activiste de l’océan que cette planète ait connu, un homme sans qui ils ne seraient jamais au poste où ils sont aujourd’hui, de telles personnes n’ont aucun honneur.

Elles ne peuvent pas prétendre se battre pour l’océan, elles ne se battent que pour elles-mêmes et pour préserver leurs acquis. Pour notre mémoire collective, je liste ici le demi-siècle d’actions menées par Paul Watson, toutes ces actions sans lesquelles Sea Shepherd ne serait pas Sea Shepherd. Toutes ces actions que les 4 directeurs de Global considèrent aujourd’hui comme « un problème ».
1971-1977
1978-1979
Paul Watson

Paul Watson et Robert Hunter bloquent l’avancée du phoquier sur la banquise pour empêcher les chasseurs de tuer les bébés phoques
Paul Watson

Paul s’est attaché aux peaux de bébés phoques fraîchement tués par les pêcheurs canadiens. Il sera immergé dans l’eau glacée et battu sur le pont du phoquier ( histoire à découvrir dans le livre “Seal Wars” en vente sur www.seashepherd-shop.com)

Paul Watson à l’époque de Greenpeace, en 1975. Entre deux baleiniers soviétiques, au large de la Californie.
1980-1989
1990-1999
Paul Watson

Les baleineirs Hvalur 6 et 7 coulés à quai dans le port de Reykjavik en 1986
2000-2009
2010-2019
2020-2023

Le Capitaine Watson reste directeur de Sea Shepherd France et de Sea Shepherd Brésil et a maintenant créé la Fondation Capitaine Paul Watson aux États-Unis, au Canada, en Australie, en Nouvelle-Zélande, en Espagne, en Allemagne, en Irlande et en Italie, car dans tous ces pays, les directeurs de Sea Shepherd sont sous la coupe de Sea Shepherd Global.

Sea Shepherd UK est désormais « Capitaine Paul Watson UK ».

Quant à nous en France, nous continuons à nous battre pour faire honneur à l’héritage de Paul Watson à travers Sea Shepherd France, nous maintenons vivant cet ADN qui fait toute la force de Sea Shepherd, avec le même esprit pirate qui était le sien quand elle a été fondée en 1977.
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DERNIER JOUR POUR AGIR Vous avez jusqu’à ce so
Rappel : Hécatombe de dauphins, il vous reste 2 j
Le @captainpaulwatson, le fondateur de Sea Shepher
Pour celles et ceux qui n'ont pas pu être avec no
Les phoques, à la merci des chiens non tenus en l
Hécatombe de dauphins, il vous reste 8 jours pour
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©2023 Sea Shepherd France - Par Lagenceopensource.fr - Mentions légales - Politique Cookies - Nous contacter
[*/quote*]

[Moses2]

https://www.wmnf.org/legendary-activist-captain-paul-watson-discusses-being-ousted-from-his-own-organization-launching-a-new-one/

[*quote*]
Legendary activist Captain Paul Watson discusses being ousted from his own organization, launching a new one
Posted on February 11, 2023 by Duncan Strauss

Captain Paul Watson–a major figure for decades in the realm of animal rights, he founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in 1977—describes what he sees as the initial events that led to his ouster from his own organization.

Watson recalls being told that his reputation was a liability to the reimagined mission of Sea Shepherd, and his Red Notice (like an international arrest warrant) issued by Japan was ostensibly hampering the functioning of the board’s business—so he was asked to step down from the board, he says.

This move, he notes, opened the door for Pritam Singh—a Sea Shepherd board member and wealthy real estate developer who Watson says stacked the board–as part of a shift toward working with governments, emphasizing science and research, and forgoing direct action…all qualities in direct conflict with the longstanding Sea Shepherd ethos.

Watson discusses the new organization he’s launched, the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, noting its mission is “to eradicate whaling” and otherwise continue the work he’s done with Sea Shepherd for some 45 years.

He describes the Foundation’s new ship, The John Paul Dejoria II, and how Dejoria bought it for them—after Sea Shepherd apparently scrapped the first ship.

Watson also outlines the Foundation’s first campaign: Seeking to protect more than 150 endangered Fin whales which are targeted for killing this summer under a permit the Icelandic government has awarded to a notorious whale killer. Watson recounts some overall experiences during the making of the “Whale Wars” television series, while revealing that a new TV project is in development for the Foundation.
[*/quote*]

[pordi]

Das ist die neue Domain:

https://www.paulwatsonfoundation.org


https://cpwf.uk/ funktioniert nicht mehr.