Paul Watson, a Canadian-American environmental, conservation and animal rights activist who established the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, was detained on Tuesday under an international arrest warrant issued by Japan. The 73-year-old who gained fame attempting to disrupt Japanese whalers on the reality TV show Whale Wars was traveling from Dublin, Ireland, to the North Pacific on the John Paul DeJoria ship with 25 crew members. They were reportedly planning to intercept Japan’s newly-built $48 million factory whaling ship, the Kangei Maru. Watson was arrested when the ship docked in Greenland’s capital of Nuuk.
The Captain Paul Watson Foundation (CPWF) believes his arrest is “connected to a previous Red Notice issued for Watson’s anti-whaling activities in the Antarctic.” The statement continued: “This development comes as a surprise since the Foundation’s lawyers had reported that the Red Notice had been withdrawn. However, it appears that Japan had made the notice confidential to facilitate Paul’s travel for the purpose of making an arrest.” It believes the reactivation of the Red Notice was ordered to coincide with the launch of the new factory ship. Director Locky MacLean added, “We implore the Danish government to release Captain Watson and not entertain this politically-motivated request.”
Who Is Paul Watson?
Watson established the Earth Force Society — the predecessor to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society — in 1977 after being expelled from Greenpeace due to his aggressive tactics. In April 2010, the Japanese Coast Guard obtained an arrest warrant for the activist, accusing him of endangering the lives of whaling crews in clashes in the Antarctic. He was issued with a Red Notice by Interpol two years later. Watson, who founded the CPWF after being ousted from Sea Shepherd, now faces possible extradition to Japan. His case will first be brought before a district court where the police will request to detain him.
