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Sea Shepherd: My Fight for Whales and Seals
Records in detail Watson's heroic war against the whalers and seal hunters who are decimating the animal populations
258 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1980
8 people are currently reading
150 people want to read
About the author
Paul Watson
25 books62 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Paul Watson is the Founder of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and Co-Founding Director Greenpeace Foundation.
Paul Watson is the Founder of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and Co-Founding Director Greenpeace Foundation.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 3, 2024
This book is focused on Paul Watson's origin story. Of course there is some controversy around him now, and since this book, he has rehashed his story in his books multiple times. But as this is the first one he published, I give this a high rating. I enjoyed reading this book back in 2016. I have since then gotten rid of my copy, as I won't be rereading it. His service for the oceans is appreciated, but since he derailed, I don't want to read the same story over and over again.
May 10, 2024
THE CONTROVERSIAL CAPTAIN RECOUNTS HIS ACTIVITIES UP TO 1982
Paul Franklin Watson (born 1950) is a Canadian-American environmental activist, who was a co-founder of Greenpeace in 1972, but was ousted from its board in 1977; he then founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a more radical anti-whaling project, which was the subject of a 6-season reality show, ‘Whale Wars.’ (Not surprisingly, he has had numerous clashes with the authorities of various countries.)
The Introduction to this 1982 book by Cleveland Amory states, “When I formed the Fund for Animals in 1967… I wanted a tough team able to take on---head on, if need be---the major cruelties to which so many animals are regularly and ruthlessly subjected… From the beginning, Paul [Watson] was different… He has been beaten and starved, frozen, half-drowned, and imprisoned. But … he has never been stopped.”
Watson explains, “During my years as an activist, I have been emotionally and spiritually torn between the opposing philosophies of violence and nonviolence. Morally, I know, violence is wrong and nonviolence is right. But what about results? What obtains the most results with the least amount of delay and obfuscation?” (Pg. 25-26)
He recounts how during one encounter with Soviet ships killing whales, “[The whale] rose slowly out of the water… His eye fell upon Fred and me, two tiny men in a little rubber raft, and he looked at us. It was a gaze, a gentle, knowing, forgiving gaze… I had one more glimpse of that gazing eye, and then he was gone from our world. What had I seen? Was it understanding? We wept… for the whales and for ourselves… I no longer try to understand what happened between that dying Sperm bull and me. I know only that I felt a commitment. This whale… had died at the hands of men. But his dying was different. This death of a whale I had attended, and I owed something.” (Pg. 40-41)
He points out about seal killing, “One excuse trotted out by the Canadian and Norwegian governments was that the harp seals interfere with commercial cod fishing because they eat the cod and also carry a work that gets into the cod and makes the fish taste unpleasant, unless treated with … an expensive process. However, the facts are that the seals do not feed on cod but on capelin, a non-commercial fish. Further, no conclusive evidence ever has been offered that the seals carry the worms and pass them on to cod. Yet, by solemnly making such statements, these governments give the impression of nobly acting on behalf of their people… Yet, in truth, the many who actually go out on the ice and club the baby seals to death get only one dollar from the four or five hundred dollars that each pelt actually brings in the fur market… The big profit goes to commercial interests…” (Pg. 75)
He recalls that after his (and others’) plan to spray the seals with paint (making them unsaleable) was rejected by Greenpeace, “Our supporters in Vancouver… expressed disappointment and dismay. Some of them even crushed their Greenpeace buttons … Charges of ‘sell-out’ were to haunt us for years afterward.” (Pg. 87-88) As their action proceeded, “It was maddening to see how little effect we were having on the hunt. There were so few of us and so many of them. We simply could not be in enough places at the right time to save enough seals. The Norwegians were swearing, and I was swearing, and … two men were chasing after me, shouting for me to stop interfering and announcing that they were inspectors with the Canadian Ministry of Fisheries.” (Pg. 93-94)
He laments, “The Greenpeace Foundation… was undergoing what might be called… a severe case of growing pains. We had some eighty thousand members… but we were miserably in debt, and the leadership … seemed to be bogged down over who should hold what office… and so on. It seemed to me we were in danger of becoming an internal debating society and losing sight of what we had organized for: effective, dramatic protest.” (Pg. 128-129)
Ultimately, “the people in Vancouver who were running the Greenpeace Foundation decided I was one founder of the organization they would do without. Apparently, the ultimate transgression was that I had picked up a sealer’s club and had thrown it into the water. I was voted out of Greenpeace. I vowed not to be bitter… but to keep on going as my conscience dictated, and continue to be nonviolent and yet to defy authority whenever I considered it wrong---and whenever its policies worked against the sea mammals.” (Pg. 152-153)
He says of Cleveland Amory, “[he was] the driving force behind the Fund for Animals, which has emerged as one of the world’s most energetic and successful conservation groups, [and] was extremely supportive of our efforts than, and, throughout the years, he has never wavered.” (Pg. 104) But Watson proposed that “I wanted to shift now to fighting for whales. I wanted to go after the most infamous whales then operating, the ‘Sierra’… I felt we could demonstrate our power and dedication with dramatic impact by showing versatility---saving seals in … the spring, and then saving whales in … the summer. And this time, I knew, we would get maximum world attention when I rammed the ‘Sierra’ with the ‘Sea Shepherd.’ Cleveland was hesitant, and I knew why… A high-seas attack on another ship was a far cry from the nonviolent defense of animals… I was asking for … his blessing and support in an admitted gamble that could end in disaster.” (Pg. 211)
He assembled his crew on deck, “and I spelled out the situation… I emphasized that the price … might be higher than some might care to pay: death or imprisonment. I offered my crew members a choice: to remain on board or to leave. Fourteen decided that what had seemed so noble and adventurous … when it was all highly theoretical, had a different aspect … here… I gave them ten minutes to pack… standing on the pier… They looked quite bewildered. Captain Sellers took charge immediately, using money I had given him to pay for everybody’s transportation home. I was disappointed by some of the resignations, surprised by others, and relieved by still others. But the two who remained and stood by me proved to be an inspiration… Now they were with me to attempt to do the impossible. I was determined to man our ship with only three hands.” (Pg. 228-229)
He recounts, “We made straight for the Sierra. My intention was to try to crash our bow into her bow in such a way that the harpoon gun would be cut away… We hit just behind the harpoon gun’s platform .. and we kept on going… there was plenty of damage where the two ships had come together.” (Pg. 230-231) He continues, “My crew of two and I were full of fight now. Damaging the whaler would not be enough. We wanted her on the bottom… If possible, I would cut her in half this time… But that was not to be… the Sierra’s engineers cranked her up to full speed, and she raced for the mouth of the harbor… We chased for a while, but then we broke off, realizing that we could not catch her before she mingled with the innocent ships inside. Peter immediately set a course for England---the Sea Sheperd’s run for freedom.” (Pg. 233)
Ultimately, the Sierra was blown up (not by Watson’s group, apparently). “This was the coup de grace against the outlaw whalers, for the Sierra’s owners would collect insurance only in the event of an accident. For sabotage, there was no payoff…. All of these actions, I am proud to say, took place without loss of life or injury to the crews of the ships involved.” (Pg. 250)
This book will be of great interest to studying the more ‘radical’ forms of environmental protest.
Paul Franklin Watson (born 1950) is a Canadian-American environmental activist, who was a co-founder of Greenpeace in 1972, but was ousted from its board in 1977; he then founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a more radical anti-whaling project, which was the subject of a 6-season reality show, ‘Whale Wars.’ (Not surprisingly, he has had numerous clashes with the authorities of various countries.)
The Introduction to this 1982 book by Cleveland Amory states, “When I formed the Fund for Animals in 1967… I wanted a tough team able to take on---head on, if need be---the major cruelties to which so many animals are regularly and ruthlessly subjected… From the beginning, Paul [Watson] was different… He has been beaten and starved, frozen, half-drowned, and imprisoned. But … he has never been stopped.”
Watson explains, “During my years as an activist, I have been emotionally and spiritually torn between the opposing philosophies of violence and nonviolence. Morally, I know, violence is wrong and nonviolence is right. But what about results? What obtains the most results with the least amount of delay and obfuscation?” (Pg. 25-26)
He recounts how during one encounter with Soviet ships killing whales, “[The whale] rose slowly out of the water… His eye fell upon Fred and me, two tiny men in a little rubber raft, and he looked at us. It was a gaze, a gentle, knowing, forgiving gaze… I had one more glimpse of that gazing eye, and then he was gone from our world. What had I seen? Was it understanding? We wept… for the whales and for ourselves… I no longer try to understand what happened between that dying Sperm bull and me. I know only that I felt a commitment. This whale… had died at the hands of men. But his dying was different. This death of a whale I had attended, and I owed something.” (Pg. 40-41)
He points out about seal killing, “One excuse trotted out by the Canadian and Norwegian governments was that the harp seals interfere with commercial cod fishing because they eat the cod and also carry a work that gets into the cod and makes the fish taste unpleasant, unless treated with … an expensive process. However, the facts are that the seals do not feed on cod but on capelin, a non-commercial fish. Further, no conclusive evidence ever has been offered that the seals carry the worms and pass them on to cod. Yet, by solemnly making such statements, these governments give the impression of nobly acting on behalf of their people… Yet, in truth, the many who actually go out on the ice and club the baby seals to death get only one dollar from the four or five hundred dollars that each pelt actually brings in the fur market… The big profit goes to commercial interests…” (Pg. 75)
He recalls that after his (and others’) plan to spray the seals with paint (making them unsaleable) was rejected by Greenpeace, “Our supporters in Vancouver… expressed disappointment and dismay. Some of them even crushed their Greenpeace buttons … Charges of ‘sell-out’ were to haunt us for years afterward.” (Pg. 87-88) As their action proceeded, “It was maddening to see how little effect we were having on the hunt. There were so few of us and so many of them. We simply could not be in enough places at the right time to save enough seals. The Norwegians were swearing, and I was swearing, and … two men were chasing after me, shouting for me to stop interfering and announcing that they were inspectors with the Canadian Ministry of Fisheries.” (Pg. 93-94)
He laments, “The Greenpeace Foundation… was undergoing what might be called… a severe case of growing pains. We had some eighty thousand members… but we were miserably in debt, and the leadership … seemed to be bogged down over who should hold what office… and so on. It seemed to me we were in danger of becoming an internal debating society and losing sight of what we had organized for: effective, dramatic protest.” (Pg. 128-129)
Ultimately, “the people in Vancouver who were running the Greenpeace Foundation decided I was one founder of the organization they would do without. Apparently, the ultimate transgression was that I had picked up a sealer’s club and had thrown it into the water. I was voted out of Greenpeace. I vowed not to be bitter… but to keep on going as my conscience dictated, and continue to be nonviolent and yet to defy authority whenever I considered it wrong---and whenever its policies worked against the sea mammals.” (Pg. 152-153)
He says of Cleveland Amory, “[he was] the driving force behind the Fund for Animals, which has emerged as one of the world’s most energetic and successful conservation groups, [and] was extremely supportive of our efforts than, and, throughout the years, he has never wavered.” (Pg. 104) But Watson proposed that “I wanted to shift now to fighting for whales. I wanted to go after the most infamous whales then operating, the ‘Sierra’… I felt we could demonstrate our power and dedication with dramatic impact by showing versatility---saving seals in … the spring, and then saving whales in … the summer. And this time, I knew, we would get maximum world attention when I rammed the ‘Sierra’ with the ‘Sea Shepherd.’ Cleveland was hesitant, and I knew why… A high-seas attack on another ship was a far cry from the nonviolent defense of animals… I was asking for … his blessing and support in an admitted gamble that could end in disaster.” (Pg. 211)
He assembled his crew on deck, “and I spelled out the situation… I emphasized that the price … might be higher than some might care to pay: death or imprisonment. I offered my crew members a choice: to remain on board or to leave. Fourteen decided that what had seemed so noble and adventurous … when it was all highly theoretical, had a different aspect … here… I gave them ten minutes to pack… standing on the pier… They looked quite bewildered. Captain Sellers took charge immediately, using money I had given him to pay for everybody’s transportation home. I was disappointed by some of the resignations, surprised by others, and relieved by still others. But the two who remained and stood by me proved to be an inspiration… Now they were with me to attempt to do the impossible. I was determined to man our ship with only three hands.” (Pg. 228-229)
He recounts, “We made straight for the Sierra. My intention was to try to crash our bow into her bow in such a way that the harpoon gun would be cut away… We hit just behind the harpoon gun’s platform .. and we kept on going… there was plenty of damage where the two ships had come together.” (Pg. 230-231) He continues, “My crew of two and I were full of fight now. Damaging the whaler would not be enough. We wanted her on the bottom… If possible, I would cut her in half this time… But that was not to be… the Sierra’s engineers cranked her up to full speed, and she raced for the mouth of the harbor… We chased for a while, but then we broke off, realizing that we could not catch her before she mingled with the innocent ships inside. Peter immediately set a course for England---the Sea Sheperd’s run for freedom.” (Pg. 233)
Ultimately, the Sierra was blown up (not by Watson’s group, apparently). “This was the coup de grace against the outlaw whalers, for the Sierra’s owners would collect insurance only in the event of an accident. For sabotage, there was no payoff…. All of these actions, I am proud to say, took place without loss of life or injury to the crews of the ships involved.” (Pg. 250)
This book will be of great interest to studying the more ‘radical’ forms of environmental protest.
April 3, 2021
Relating the story of Paul Watson's environmental activism up until early 1980, this book is an interesting insight into his efforts and, to a lesser degree, the start of the Greenpeace organization in Canada. Not being quite old enough to form my own views on the actions and reactions to environmental activism at the time, this book provides a (necessarily) one sided-view of how these played out over that period. One sided only because this is Mr Watson's book and his perspective of those events, however I wanted this view so that is no problem.
The book is clearly written, easy to follow, and devoid of jargon and (surprisingly) hubris or anger - except for that directed at whalers and sealers, and even that for what they did, not who they were.
An interesting read about the early days and, given the lack (I couldn't find much anyway) of books about Sea Shepherd, a welcome addition to my shelves.
The book is clearly written, easy to follow, and devoid of jargon and (surprisingly) hubris or anger - except for that directed at whalers and sealers, and even that for what they did, not who they were.
An interesting read about the early days and, given the lack (I couldn't find much anyway) of books about Sea Shepherd, a welcome addition to my shelves.
August 22, 2022
What a banger! The story of the Sierra is one for the history books, but hearing Paul Watson's account was simply riveting. The protest and intervention against the baby seal hunt is history, but hearing the first hand account is both wrenching and insightful in a way the pictures aren't. Watson's separation from Greenpeace is anecdotally well known, but to hear how it all went down is intriguing.
For the conservation movement understanding the history and direct intervention is crucial to understanding the laws and restrictions today (Seal Protection Act).
For the conservation movement understanding the history and direct intervention is crucial to understanding the laws and restrictions today (Seal Protection Act).
March 30, 2023
Thoroughly depressing throughout but worthwhile reading. A true warrior and one that won't die wondering.
We need more people that have the courage and conviction of Paul Watson.
Extra star given because of the issue at hand
We need more people that have the courage and conviction of Paul Watson.
Extra star given because of the issue at hand
March 4, 2024
An inspiring story of a man willing to sacrifice a lot to save those in need. A necessary read for anyone and everyone doubting that their actions are too little. And an interesting set of stories that shows un the hidden power of some players.
November 30, 2009
Very interesting account on Paul Watson's first experiences in conservationism. It ends right where Ocean Warrior picks up, right after the ramming of the whaling ship Sierra.
August 6, 2015
Interesting and I pleased to be a supporter of sea shepherd after learning more from this book.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews