Paul Watson quotes
Paul Watson
Birthdate: 2. December 1950
Paul Franklin Watson is a Canadian-American marine wildlife conservation and environmental activist, who founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an anti-poaching and direct action group focused on marine conservation and marine conservation activism. The tactics used by Sea Shepherd have attracted opposition, with the group accused of eco-terrorism by both the Japanese government and Greenpeace. Watson is a citizen of Canada and the United States.
The Toronto native joined a Sierra Club protest against nuclear testing in 1969. He was a co-founder of Greenpeace, crewed and skippered for it and a founding board member in 1972. He has been credited by The New York Times, The New Yorker, and other publications with being a founder of Greenpeace. The documentary How to Change the World shows that Watson was indeed one of the original founding members of Greenpeace. Because Watson argued for a strategy of direct action that conflicted with the Greenpeace interpretation of nonviolence, he was ousted from the board in 1977 and subsequently left the organization. That same year, he formed the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. The group was the subject of a reality show named Whale Wars.
He promotes veganism, and a biocentric, rather than anthropocentric, worldview.Watson's activities have led to legal action from authorities in countries including the United States, Canada, Norway, Costa Rica and Japan. He was detained in Germany on an extradition request by Costa Rica in May 2012. The Interpol red notice was issued on September 14, 2012, at the request of Japan and Costa Rica.After staying at sea for 15 months, he returned to Los Angeles late October 2013, going through customs and "was not arrested". He appeared before a US appeals court on November 6, 2013, stating that neither he nor Sea Shepherd violated a 2012 order requiring them to leave whaling vessels alone. Although the United States is a signatory member of Interpol, Watson has not been detained for extradition to Japan or Costa Rica. He was living in Vermont, writing books. He has resided in Paris since July 1, 2014.In March 2019, Costa Rica dropped all charges against Watson and has removed the Interpol red notice. Wikipedia
Quotes Paul Watson
„I think the problem is that we don't really understand what we are.“
"Sharkwater" documentary
Context: I think the problem is that we don't really understand what we are. In essence we're just a conceited, naked ape. But in our minds we're some sort of "divine legend", and we see ourselves as some sort of god. That we can walk around the earth deciding who will live and who will die and what will be destroyed and what will be saved. But the fact is we're just a bunch of primates out of control.
When asked how he addressed accusations of property destruction as being a violent act. Taken from an interview given to the environmentalist magazine, Resistance: Journal of the Earth Liberation Movement http://www.resistancemagazine.org/
„We have intelligent species on our planet that we are not even trying to communicate with.“
Worldfest video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnhqmF-RBu4
"Sharkwater" documentary
When asked to respond to questions of whether Sea Shepherd is too radical/extreme. Taken from an interview given to the environmentalist magazine, Resistance: Journal of the Earth Liberation Movement http://www.resistancemagazine.org/
„I don't eat fish because there is no such thing as sustainable fishing in the world right now.“
The Philosophy of Paul Watson By Frank Johnson https://books.google.com/books?id=QfGXBAAAQBAJ
„Intelligence is the ability of a species to live in harmony with its environment.“
Worldfest video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnhqmF-RBu4
„We cannot allow activism to be stifled because of all the paranoia going around.“
Worldfest video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnhqmF-RBu4
„We are pirates of compassion hunting down, hunting down and destroying pirates of profit.“
Worldfest video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnhqmF-RBu4
quote honored on XOEarth award http://xoearth.org/humpback-whale/
"Commentary by Captain Paul Watson", from his website SeaShepherd.org (6 May 2014) http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-commentary/commentary/v.html
Captain Paul Watson introduced by Persia White at Worldfest on video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnhqmF-RBu4