Japan Harpoons Endangered Fin Whale: #FreePaulWatson
Fin Whale nearby the CPWF flagship, The John Paul DeJoria © paulwatsonfoundation.org
Less than 10 days after the arrest of Paul Watson in Greenland, Japan harpooned its first endangered fin whale in over 50 years, confirming suspicions that a return to high seas slaughter of the world’s largest mammals was always its intention.
On July 21st, Denmark arrested Paul Watson in response to a request from Japan, on allegations stemming from his opposition to Japan’s illegal whaling activities in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. Japan has issued a formal request for his extradition.
In March 2014, Japan’s whaling program was deemed illegal at the International Court of Justice in the Hague, a ruling which Japan breached for several years until pausing its illegal high seas whaling, thanks to Watson’s anti-whaling direct action activism and international pressure from Australia and New Zealand.
“Japan continues to flaunt international conservation law and Paul Watson is being punished for Japan’s crimes. Denmark surely realizes the political motivation here for this arrest request: Japan needs Paul Watson out of the way so they can resume slaughtering the world’s great whales.” Stated Locky MacLean, on board the CPWF (Captain Paul Watson Foundation) flagship off the coast of Greenland, which was en route to the North Pacific to oppose the Japanese whaling effort until Mr. Watson’s arrest.
Fin whales, the world’s second largest whales, remain vulnerable according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, driven to the brink of extinction due to centuries of whaling. The giant mammals can live up to 90 years and are over 25 meters long.
Japan has confirmed that it will allow the catch and kill of up to 59 fin whales in its commercial hunt. Kyodo Senpaku, Japan’s state-owned high seas whaling company, announced that the unfortunate whale was caught off the East Coast of Hokkaido, Japan’s northern island, and was a 19.6 m long male weighing 55 tons. The whale was winched onto Kyodo Senpaku’s whaling mother ship, the Kangei Maru, a $47M factory whaling ship, which Japan at the time of its launching in March, declared would only allow for the hunting of smaller bryde’s, minke, and sei whales, though Kangei Maru boasts a low incline slipway and deck long enough to easily haul whales 25 meters long, such as fin whales.
Paul Watson remains in custody in one of the world’s most remote prisons, in Nuuk, Greenland, awaiting a decision by Denmark’s Ministry of Justice on Japan’s extradition request. An outpouring of support calling for Paul Watson’s release has been coming in from around the world, including French President Macron, Film Director James Cameron, Primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall, and Dr. Sylvia Earle.
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More about Captain Paul Watson
Captian Paul Watson (Credit: MIKAEL VOJINOVIC)
Captain Paul Watson is a marine wildlife conservation and environmental activist. Watson was one of the founding members and directors of Greenpeace. In 1977, he left Greenpeace and founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society which he resigned in 2022 to cofound the Captain Paul Watson Foundation.
A renowned speaker, accomplished author, master mariner, and lifelong environmentalist, Captain Watson has been awarded many honors for his dedication to the oceans and to the planet.
Among many commendations for his work, he received the Genesis Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1998, was named as one of the Top 20 Environmental Heroes of the 20th Century by Time Magazine in 2000 and was inducted into the U.S. Animal Rights Hall of Fame in Washington D.C. in 2002.
He was also awarded the Amazon Peace Prize by the president of Ecuador in 2007. In 2012, Captain Watson became only the second person, after Captain Jacques Cousteau, to be awarded the Jules Verne Award, dedicated to environmentalists and adventurers. In 2022, Captain Paul Watson continues his fight for marine wildlife conservation with the new Captain Paul Watson Foundation. Learn more.
We need your help to #FREEPAULWATSON.
Please sign this petition addressing the Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, to release him from custody. As Paul once said, “Every social revolution in the history of humanity has been carried out by the passion, the imagination and the courage of individuals.”
Now, we need individuals from all over the world to come together and campaign for the release of a man who has dedicated his life to protecting our planet. We need you. Please sign and spread the message amongst your communities. Together, we can do this.
The Captain Paul Watson Foundation is a public charity whose purpose is to support, intervene, educate, and raise awareness regarding Ocean conservation. Learn more at paulwatsonfoundation.org.