Episode 170: Paul Watson Defending the Southern Ocean with Operation Krill Wars
March 20, 2026
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Paul Watson, Founder & Director, Paul Watson Foundation
Captain Paul Watson is a marine wildlife conservation and environmental activist, renowned speaker, accomplished author, and master mariner. Watson was one of the founding members and directors of Greenpeace. In 1977, he left Greenpeace and founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. In 2022, he founded the Captain Paul Watson Foundation.
Overview
In this episode of the Rewilding Earth Podcast, legendary conservationist Paul Watson discusses his new high-stakes campaign: “Krill Wars.” Watson explains that industrial factory trawlers are currently stripping the Southern Ocean of krill (the foundational food source for whales, penguins, and the phytoplankton responsible for most of the planet’s oxygen) to produce fish meal and supplements. Using his signature strategy of “aggressive non-violence,” Watson’s new foundation is deploying ships to intervene directly against these fleets, citing the High Seas Treaty as a legal basis for protection. Throughout the interview, Watson bridges the gap between micro-ecology and global survival, arguing for a shift from human-centered anthropocentrism to biocentrism, where we recognize ourselves not as masters of the planet but as passengers whose lives depend entirely on the “engineers” of the natural world.
Crew of the Bandero 2026 | Krill Wars | Paul Watson Foundation
The “Krill Wars” Campaign
- The Problem: Industrial factory trawlers are vacuuming up krill at an unsustainable rate, primarily to create fish meal for farmed salmon and omega-3 supplements.
- The Tactic: Watson is employing “aggressive non-violence” to provoke confrontations, aiming to create “international incidents” that force mainstream media to cover the issue.
- The Legal Basis: The campaign intends to use the High Seas Treaty and the UN World Charter for Nature as a defense in court, challenging the “biostitute” scientists who provide quotas for corporations.
- The Conflict: Watson details the “hostile takeover” of Sea Shepherd, which forced him to start from scratch with the Captain Paul Watson Foundation and two new ships.
Ecological Interdependence
- Whales as Farmers: A single blue whale can produce three tons of iron-rich manure daily, which fertilizes the phytoplankton at the surface.
- Phytoplankton Decline: These organisms provide 70% of the world’s oxygen, yet populations have dropped by 40% since 1950. If they disappear, the marine food web and human life support systems collapse.
- The “Engineers” vs. Passengers: Watson describes the Earth as a spaceship where humans are merely passengers. Insects, worms, trees, and whales are the “engineers” maintaining the life support system, and we are currently “murdering” them.
Biocentrism vs. Anthropocentrism
- The “Mass Psychosis”: Watson argues that the belief that the Earth was created solely for human use is a form of delusional thinking.
- The Law of Diversity: The strength of any ecosystem lies in its diversity. When one species (humans) steals the carrying capacity of all others, ecological collapse is inevitable.
- Adapt or Die: In nature, species must adapt to their environment. Humans have instead adapted to “diminishment,” accepting lower standards of environmental health (like buying bottled water) rather than fixing the root causes.
Industrial Fishing & Subsidies
- Economic Distortion: Global industrialized fishing only exists because of $100 billion in annual government subsidies. Without this taxpayer funding, the industry would not be profitable.
- The 50-Year Moratorium: Watson calls for a decades-long total ban on mechanized industrial fishing to allow depleted populations, like the Northern Cod, a chance to recover.
- Bycatch and Waste: 40% of all fish caught aren’t even eaten by humans; they are processed into feed for livestock like pigs and chickens, which have become “major aquatic predators” by proxy.
Media & Storytelling
- Public Awareness: Watson emphasizes that the public often knows they are being lied to by governments and “biostitutes,” but they need a dramatic, visual confrontation to snap them out of complacency.
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Extra Credit
- Learn more about Operation Krill Wars.
- Ways to help: Donate, become a volunteer, subscribe to the Foundation’s YouTube channel, and spread the word!
Director of Digital Outreach (D.O.D.O.) for The Rewilding Institute
Host and Producer of the Rewilding Earth Podcast
Jack started Rewilding work as Executive Director of Sky Island Alliance in the mid-1990’s, organizing the Sky Island Wildlands Network design, ripping up illegal roads on forest service lands, installing wolf acclimatization pens on Ted Turner’s Ladder Ranch & conducting howling surveys to help make way for the final stage of the Lobo reintroduction program in the Southwest.
Through the years, Jack has worked with Dave Foreman and the Rewilding Gang to further Rewilding initiatives and education.