Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
 Logo |
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| Founded | 1977 |
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| Founder | Paul Watson |
| Type | Public charity (USA); registered charity (UK) |
| Focus | Marine conservation |
| Location |
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Area served
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Global |
| Method | Direct action |
| Website | seashepherd.org |
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is a non-profit, marine conservation organization based in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, Washington, in the United States.
Sea Shepherd uses direct action tactics to protect marine life. The organization was founded in 1977 under the name Earth Force Society by Paul Watson, a former member of Greenpeace, after a dispute with that organization over what Watson saw as its lack of more aggressive intervention. The group has a strong focus on public relations to spread its message via the media. In 2008, Animal Planet began filming the weekly series Whale Wars based on the group's encounters with the Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean, a development which brought the group much publicity.
Sea Shepherd currently operates nine vessels (see: Neptune's Navy). Operations have included scuttling and disabling whaling vessels at harbor, intervening in Canadian and Namibian seal hunts, shining laser light into the eyes of whalers, throwing bottles of foul-smelling butyric acid onto vessels at sea, boarding of whaling vessels while at sea, and seizure and destruction of drift nets at sea. Sea Shepherd claims that their aggressive actions are necessary, as the international community has shown itself unwilling or unable to stop species-endangering whaling and fishing practices.
Sea Shepherd has received support for its tactics against fishing, whaling, and seal hunting from many celebrities, such as musicians and TV personalities. The tactics of Sea Shepherd have been opposed, even by those who denounce whaling, such as Greenpeace and the governments of Australia and New Zealand. The Japanese government have called them eco-terrorists. However, in March 2014 the International Court of Justice ruled the Japanese whaling program in the Southern Ocean was not, as claimed, for scientific purposes, and ordered Japan to cease operations.
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