Dealing with the Killer Called Stress

By Captain Paul Watson on Wednesday August 19th, 2015

Stress kills Mindfulness. Here are Ten Things you can do to avoid it.

Observations and Advice by Captain Paul Watson

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
– T.S. Elliot

I am often asked how I deal with stress considering I’m wanted by Japan and Costa Rica, I have a price on my head from the shark fin mafia of Costa Rica, we have numerous ships on the sea in dangerous campaigns, I am being sued, threatened and harassed continuously and I have a lot of enemies, critics and people who wish me harm.

The answer to this is simple. I don’t deal with stress, because I do not suffer from stress. And these are ten primary reasons why, and for anyone suffering from anxiety, worry or stress, I would like to offer this advice.

1. It is what it is. Whatever the issue, whatever the threat, whatever the circumstances it simply is what it is. Stressing will not change the situation. All problems can be dealt with or ignored.
2. “It’s always something.” I say this all the time to my crews whenever a problem arises. “It’s always something and if it’s not something, it’s something else, but it is always something.” This means that life comes with obstacles, challenges and problems. Problems should not be unexpected. They are inevitable. All problems can be dealt with by dealing with them, delegating someone else to deal with them, or ignoring them. One thing for sure, on a ship, it is definitely always something.
3. Stay calm. There really is nothing worth getting upset about. For example, if I drop a bottle of wine or tomato sauce and it shatters, my reaction is, “hmmm okay, that needs cleaning up.” If I lose my phone, wallet or keys, my reaction is “I better replace what I lost and take measures to cancel my cards etc. More seriously when my regulator jammed once at 30 meters, I calmly signaled my partner to indicate my situation. Fretting about it will not recover the object. Panicking will not save your life. Anger emanates from stress. Without stress there can be no anger. Without stress there is no panic.
4. Nothing material is permanent and thus objects are not worth stressing about. Your car is damaged, something you own is stolen, or you lost your investments etc. It is really not important. Material objects and comforts are nice but they should not be anchors keeping you attached to stress. Move on.
5. Friends are friends or they are not. A true friend will never betray you and if a “friend” does betray you than he/she is simply not a friend. Always walk away from betrayal and do not stress about it. True and loyal friends are rare treasures and should be treated as such. Loyalty returns loyalty. Compassion returns compassion. Courage returns courage. However you control only your own loyalty, compassion and courage, not that of others. And if they prove disloyal or they betray you, the treasure is no longer a treasure but merely a bauble to be tossed aside. Never stress about betrayal or loss. It is what it is. And if you’ve been betrayed once by someone, do not allow yourself to be betrayed again by that same person.
6. Loneliness is an opportunity. It is an opportunity to discover yourself. You can’t find someone to love you if you don’t love yourself, and the secret to finding the right person is to not look for that person. Love should blossom from the ground like a lovely wild flower. It cannot be cultivated until after it is realized. Do not seek the seed but let the flower reveal an opportunity to you to grow and learn.
7. Relationships are like streams, constantly flowing and as they flow they meet obstacles. Some are minor and others major but a relationship either flows around the obstacle or it is blocked, and if permanently blocked, it ends. This is not cause for stress or angry, resentment or jealously. It is what it is. Move on with appreciation and without bitterness for the relationship that is no more, and open your heart to other possibilities that life presents. The most important factor in maintaining a meaningful relationship with lovers, family or friends is simply acceptance. You need to accept them for who they are and they need to accept you for who you are. If you cannot accept another person for who they are, you need to stop inflicting stress on that person and to walk away. And if another person does not accept you for who you are, you need to walk away no matter the nature of the relationship. Stress kills and living with a person who does not accept you for who you are is like living with a person who is slowly killing you.
8. Fear is a poison that seeps into the soul and paralyzes our senses generating paranoia, insecurity and anger. Never let fear enter your life. There is really nothing to fear because things are what they are and will be what they will be. Remember you are the captain of your fate and the master of your soul and body. Who you are and what you wish to be depends on you and you alone. A person free of fear can accomplish far more than a person shackled to fear.
9. Oscar Wilde once said that the only thing worst than being talked about was not being talked about. People talk, they gossip, they make false accusations, some enjoy insulting and belittling others. They are easily dealt with by ignoring them. Responding to them is what they want, so don’t respond. Reacting to them is what they want, so don’t react. Such people are not worthy of causing stress to you. They come from a place of insecurity, jealously and fear. It is their stress, and their stress is their problem. It should not be yours.
10. Hoka Hey. It’s a good day to die. It’s a Lakota saying and it means to not fear death and to stand firm for what you believe in, to fight against all odds and to never surrender. The one absolute of life is death. We all will die. What matters is not dying but living. It is how you live that is important and the only thing important about dying is how you die. It should be a death without fear, with dignity and with acceptance that it is what it is. The person without fear dies but once, the person shackled by fear dies slowly from stress and anxiety. Accept the inevitable, embrace the final reality of life and smile in the face of the infinite. The real secret to happiness is to not fear your own death, to not fear failure or ridicule, and not to fear others.

Stress is an obstacle to mindfulness

Stress is an obstacle to mindfulness and an impediment to impeccability. Stress is the cause of migraines, cancer and many other ailments. It is the reason people smoke, take drugs, and drink excessively. When people ask me why I’ve never smoked anything, the reason being is that I have never felt inclined to do so. It never seemed healthy to me and I have always been mindful of the consequences. I think that stress blocks mindfulness of consequences. The same holds true to getting drunk or stoned. Without stress there is no need, nor a desire to do either.

Mindfulness is simply awareness of who you are and what you are doing. A person who is mindful is a person free of stress.

Depending upon luxuries leads to stress

Unfulfilled desire leads to stress. Wanting nothing allows you to appreciate what you have. When you want nothing, you want for nothing. We all have basic needs for food, for warmth and shelter, for clothing and for companionship. Mindfulness allows you to be secure with your basic needs. Everything else is a luxury and although luxuries may be appreciated, you should not depend upon them. Depending upon luxuries leads to stress.

I have never worked a day in my life for the sole purpose of making money. I have never wanted to own anything and although I now do own property and material things, I do not allow those things to own me. I never engage in arguments about money or debts. I tend to avoid debts but when debts occur my position is that they are what they are and certainly not anything to be troubled with.

As far as basic needs, I learned to address this as a teenager when I left home at 15. I had no money, no place to stay, no prospects. I jumped a freight train, rode in the automobiles being transported from Toronto all the way to Vancouver. I arrived and camped in the abandoned gun towers on Wreck Beach and the first thing I did was to go to Vancouver City College to enroll. I found a job, moved out of the gun tower into a single room I rented and went from there. Looking back I see it as an adventure. I had nothing, but there was no stress. I simply reframed the insecurity of my position into an adventurous experience. I treated every job as a learning experience and working as a longshoreman, teamster, tree planter, warehouse man, short order cook, baker, painter, carpet layer, postman, tour guide, landscaper, and seaman all were educational experiences.

Life is an adventure, death is inevitable

The truth is that all of life is an adventure, the good and the bad, the ups and the downs, the experiences, the hardships, the thrills and the times that were lonely, happy or difficult. Even the loss of friends and family is simply dealt with by acknowledging that death is as it is. It is inevitable and although we may sincerely mourn we can do so without being stressed. This may be difficult to understand but it is indeed quite possible. With the passing of every friend, with the passing of my brother I have silently said “Good-bye” with the appreciation of having known them.

I have gone into situations many times where the risks of injury, death or imprisonment were practically a certainty. My approach has always been acceptance. And amazingly I am still alive and still free. When I have had nothing I have had everything I need, and when I have risked all, I have usually been successful. One of the things that concerns me is when I read about, or hear of people, especially young people committing suicide because of bullying. I wish that I could talk to such people before they make such a terminal decision. I would tell them to not let the insecurities and fears of others influence them in any way. I would tell them to accept that all the ridicule, insults, bullying and peer pressure is irrelevant and simply unimportant to who they are. If a parent is unaccepting of who you are, you need to say to them that if you are unacceptable to them they have no right to be your parent and you should walk away from them. Too many people are enslaved to parents, partners and friends who do not accept them.

Unacceptance and bullying are forms of violence and everyone should walk away from violence with dignity. No one should tell you what to believe, how to think, how to dress, how to behave or to dictate your sexual orientation or condemn you for your compassion, your passion, your imagination and your character. You are who you are and that is what it is, and how it should be, and if others do not tolerate who you are, don’t give them the satisfaction of destroying you. Simply symbolically spit in their eye, walk away and concentrate on being who you are for the benefit of yourself.

And if anyone is inclined to commit suicide my advice is to commit social suicide instead. That is, to drop out of your life as it is and begin another life, in another place with new ideas. Adventure is the antidote for depression. Take a chance, jump into the unknown and you will be amazed at what is awaiting you after you do.

I am not infallible. I have made mistakes in my life, many of them. I have at times in the past responded with anger although rarely physical and limited to the poison of the pen. I have let some people down, disappointed others and missed opportunities. But the one thing that I have been able to do in my life is to avoid stress.

At 64, I am healthy, happy, optimistic, and as passionate as I ever have been. Even more so because I have had the grace of experience and the satisfaction of achievement in those areas that I chose to address.

The point of this posting is this: Do not let stress ruin your health, your love or your life. Dreadnaught and live the adventure, this adventure that is life. It may well be the only life you will ever have. Even if you believe in the afterlife (oh and don’t stress about that either) the fact is you will never know for sure, so no sense wasting the unique life that you have.

A stress free life is not only possible, it’s also essential for your health and your happiness.

Originally appeared on Captain Paul Watson’s Facebook page.

How do you feel about this article? Join the conversation.

Words By Captain Paul Watson

Founder of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Eco-Warrior and published author.

The Facebook Hateicator by Paul Watson

The Facebook Hateicator 

Paul Watson

September 10 at 5:22am ·

Facebook, more than any other media illustrates the level of animosity and hate directed towards an individual or a cause.

I call it the Hateicator and it is a valuable tool for gauging the impact of thoughts and actions.

I have always felt that social media feedback ranging from insults to death threats gives a good measure how much the opposition is being offended.

As Captain James Tiberius Kirk once said,

“The best defense is a good offense and I'm ready to offend”

Over the last year the number of hate comments that I have received has literally numbered in the thousands. The most vicious comments have come from the Faroe Islands from pro-whalers and that is understandable considering the impact of Grindstop 2014. The next largest barrage of hate messages came when I criticized the idiotic TV series the Duck Dynasty suggesting that the guys who fake sexual come-ons to ducks should not be equating homosexuality with bestiality. Lots of very un-Christian comments from fake Christians erupted as a result of that. The Duck Dynasty fans were the most amusing and also the dumbest bunch of crazies I’ve ever seen in my history of cataloguing hate comments.

The third largest feedback of hate messages and threats came from Denmark in response to my article about the killing of the baby giraffe by the Copenhagen Zoo. This was surprising. I was amazed at the number of Danes who jumped to the defense of the slaughter of this innocent animal.

Between the Faroes and the Copenhagen Zoo I think I aroused an agitated spurt of Danish nationalism, as in my country right or wrong.

I still get a steady stream of hate comments from Newfoundland supporters of baby-seal bashing. I do not get many comments from Japan over Taiji about the slaughter of dolphins but that can be attributed to both the language barrier and the culture of apathy in Japan. Or they could just be much more polite than their equally vicious dolphin killing bretheran in the Faroe Islands.

The most flattering reaction has been the number of anti-Sea Shepherd and anti Paul Watson facebook pages. When people take the time and the energy to actually set up websites and facebook sites to attack you, you know you’ve got their attention.

On my facebook sites, I make a practice of banning people who make insulting or threatening comments. I do so because such people are my indicators of success. I send them to my Facebook dungeon of banned and undesirable persons. This way I can keep track of the numbers. I think I have close to 5,000 on the banned list but considering that I have close to 500,000 on my fan page, that is only about 1% so that’s a very healthy ratio. 99% supporters (or people who post nothing) and 1% haters.

For anyone contemplating being a social activist you need to accept that haters are going to hate and there is no need to be upset about it. In fact if you don’t get any hate messages or threats, you’re probably not doing anything that is making much of an impact. You need this negative feedback to gauge how effective you are.

Also don’t take any of the feedback personally. You don’t know these people. They are simply rising to the defense of that which you are opposing.

To be hated by some because you champion life, conservation and environmentalism is a compliment to your activism.

In other words, you can say to your detractors, “you hate, therefore I am effective.” Although I advise everyone to not bother to respond directly to your critics. They are useful as indicators but it’s a waste of time to engage them, unless you do so out of curiosity, challenge or amusement.

And remember, anyone who has done anything or achieved anything has had their legions of haters. In fact last year when I wrote a tribute to Nelson Mandela, there was a hate reaction by people who hated Mandela.

And it does not matter how good you are, how successful you are or how noble your cause. There are people who hate the Dalai Lama, Pope Francis, Bill Gates, Tom Hanks, Paul McCartney, Ophrah Winfrey and well everyone really. In fact every single one of us has people who hate us even if we don’t always realize that they do.

That is however almost always compensated by the fact that we have far more people who respect or love us.

Remember hate works in the same way that any action brings forth a reaction. No matter what your stance, position or standing is on any subject, there will be people who agree with you, people who disagree with you and people who will hatefully disagree with you.

As a student of media, having been a communications major in my university days, I have seen the evolution of social media and the accompanying evolution of behavior molded by each new media. Facebook has given rise to the commenting coward. These are people who unleash their vitriolic vileness at every provocation from behind their craven cover of anonymity. They bark but they don’t bite and although barking may be annoying it can easily be rectified by blocking the barkers. And I do love to block the barkers.

Another interesting phenomena is the parasitical facebook hater. This is an individual who becomes obsessed with someone and makes it their personal crusade to attack, insult, annoy and irritate you. Anyone who is anybody on social networks has one or more of these strange characters attempting to hound them. Some even resort to posting You Tube rants and it is truly amazing the investment of time and resources they put into obsessing over people they do not know and have never met. In the real world these crazies are called stalkers and more to be pitied than feared. Again an easy solution – block them.

Ban, delete and block are the three mechanisms that Facebook provides to deal with vile people and vile comments.

I do however value and appreciate my haters. They keep me uplifted with the knowledge that if I am provoking such emotions from them I must be making progress in championing a cause they oppose.

And I keep them all safely tucked away in my little cyber dungeon where once I’ve counted their heads for the benefit of my hateicator, I need not hear from them ever again.

I’ll leave you all with some quotes about haters:

“Haters are the people who will broadcast your failures and whisper your success.”

“Behind every successful person lies a vicious pack of haters.”

“You are not successful when people tell you are awesome. It’s when they start to hate that you know you have their attention.”

“I love haters because they give you all their attention.”

“They will hate you if you’re pretty. They will hate you if you’re not. They will hate you for what you lack and they will hate you for what you got.”

“Haters are like crickets. They make a lot of noise. You can hear them but never see them, then you walk right by them and they are quiet.”

The First Day of Summer 2013 -- COMMENTARY BY SEA SHEPHERD FOUNDER, PAUL WATSON

http://www.seashepherd.org.au/commentary-and-editorials/2013/06/21/the-first-day-of-summer-2013-615

June 21, 2013

The First Day of Summer 2013 

COMMENTARY BY SEA SHEPHERD FOUNDER, PAUL WATSON

Today is the first day of summer and it marks four complete seasons that I have been in exile and unable to return home.

It has been a challenging year but more importantly it has been a very rewarding year.

Passionate Sea Shepherd volunteers saved 932 whales during Operation Zero Tolerance in the Southern Ocean including 50 endangered Fin whales. And our volunteers were saving lives all over the globe from Taiji, Japan to LaReunion Island in the Indian Ocean to the coast of Brazil in the South Atlantic and onto the Galapagos in the Pacific.

Many of the new-born whale calves born this spring off Australia and Tonga and New Zealand  were born because Sea Shepherd intervened. That has brought me more joy than anything else this year.

I think the most rewarding thing however is the growing realization that the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is not a centralized organization. It is a global movement.

What I established in 1977 is now a free flowing movement with thousands of passionate and imaginative men and women worldwide doing what they can with the resources available to them to defend and protect our oceans.

And we are doing so non-violently and effectively.

In many ways I think it has been a positive thing that I have been forced by Japanese pressure to be exiled from the movement that I created. As a result I have seen so many people around the world rise to the occasion with campaigns protecting everything from gooseneck barnacles and sea cucumbers to sharks, turtles and whales.

Neither one person nor one organization can change the world, but a free flowing ever evolving movement that encourages individuals to act, to create campaigns and ideas and to exercise their courage and their initiative against the forces of oceanic and global destruction can indeed change the world.

The Sea Shepherd movement is strong, and it is global, and it is growing, and it will certainly survive without me.

These corporations and governments so intent upon destroying life in our oceans must understand that there are millions of people who will defend the endangered, protected and threatened species and habitats.

We will continue to fight the whalers, sealers, turtle and fish poachers, shark finners and polluters on the sea, in the courts and in the media.

Last month Jairo Mora Sandoval, a young conservationist protecting sea-turtles in Costa Rica was brutally murdered. He was only 26. Compared to his sacrifice, my exile, and the legal suits against us are relatively minor.

They can take our property, our money, our freedom but they cannot take away our passion and our dedication to defend life and diversity in the ocean. And if they take our lives, as they did with Jairo, we need to let them know that we are prepared to die in our defense of life and diversity in the seas.

This is serious business. Defending diversity in the oceans is the single most important cause on the planet. More important than curing cancer, or defeating terrorism, more important that anything that we can imagine because the ocean is our life support system and without the ocean, we die, all of us.

And thus this is a movement that cuts across all cultural, class and political concerns because it involves us all, even those people too ecologically ignorant to understand the fragile web of interdependent life that holds our global life support system together.

If over the last century millions have died in wars to defend real estate and oil wells, I think that risking all to defend the future of life in the seas and thus our own survival is a far more noble pursuit.

If there is one message that I have spent my life trying to convey it is simply this; if the oceans die, we die!

This is a movement for life and a movement against death, a movement for the future and against greed and short-term visions.

Everything we do sends ripples, positive or negative, into the future and the future of all the people and animals yet unborn is determined by our actions.

And as for my own situation, I am free upon the seas and it has not been unpleasant. In fact it has been quite the adventure. I have crossed three oceans to the far side of the world from where I began without papers or harassment. I have been able to swim with the sharks and turtles, to watch the whales, the dolphins and the albatross, to see the daily rising and setting of the sun, to feel the wind in my hair and the taste of salt on my lips.

I have not felt so excitingly alive in years as I have over the past year. I have friends and supporters, a family that supports me and I have enemies to keep me strong and vigilant.

In short I have everything that I need to be secure and happy. It also gives me time to write.

Tomorrow will mark the day when the moon will be the closest to the Earth for the entire year. At night the galaxy tosses tens of thousands of stars across the sky.  Each day reveals a new pattern of clouds and new experiences with the weather and the winds. Life is beautiful and a treasure to be appreciated every single day.

So to all the Sea Shepherd warriors around the world all I can say is you are all doing an incredible job in your efforts to defend life in the ocean and on this planet.  I may not be able to be with you, to speak directly to you but I am, and I always will be, with you all.

Sea Shepherd Call to Action: Your Signature Needed Fast

Time is running out! ACT FAST − the deadline is February 28th and we urgently need your signature on two petitions to help Captain Watson and the whales! The United States government has created a quick and easy way for the people's voice to be heard − and you don't even have to be a US citizen or resident to voice your opinion! Official petitions can be created on White House's website, and once a petition receives 100,000 signatures within 30 days, it elicits an official response from the President. This is urgent! We need the President of the United States to seriously consider the following: Take strong action to stop the Japanese from killing whales in the Southern Ocean Antarctic Whale Sanctuary: http://wh.gov/Vnbu Provide safe haven to Captain Paul Watson, Founder of Sea Shepherd:http://wh.gov/VnRf It only takes two minutes. Please sign these petitions. You can be part of an historic effort to provide safe haven to one of the greatest environmentalists of our era AND enact real change via the United States government to see whaling in the Southern Ocean Antarctic Whale Sanctuary come to an end!     Anyone over age 13 can sign the petitions and you do not have to be a US citizen. However, you must create an account on the White House's website, but only name and email are required fields.Please sign and share today! Time is running out! For the oceans, Your friends at Sea Shepherd Conservation SocietyP.S. We only have until February 28th to gather the required 100,000 signatures! For more information on this situation, please visit our website.  Sea Shepherd Conservation Society | PO Box 2616 | Friday Harbor | WA | 98250 | USA Privacy Policy | Unsubscribe | Donate We need this message to go viral! It's the only way to ensure our goal is met. Please share and reshare; tweet and retweet! Thank-you!  Share on Facebook Tweet this message

Sea Shepherd International: Sea Shepherd Needs Your Help To Save Whales & Help Captain Watson

Sea Shepherd International :: Sea Shepherd Needs Your Help To Save Whales & Help Captain Watson

January 29, 2013

Sea Shepherd Needs Your Help To Save Whales & Help Captain Watson

Conservation Group Launches Two White House Petitions; Has 30 Days to Collect 100,000 Signatures

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, the world’s leading direct-action conservation non-profit, today has filed two petitions on the White House  “We The People” page of the website which seek the U.S. Government’s support in upholding conservation law regarding protecting at-risk whales in the Antarctic’s Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary and with ensuring safe haven for the organization’s respected founder, Captain Paul Watson.

The first petition is titled, “Take strong action to stop the Japanese from killing whales in the Southern Ocean Antarctic Whale Sanctuary” and can be found at:http://wh.gov/Vnbu. The full text of the petition language follows:

“The President must take swift and decisive action against Japan's illegal whaling.

Under the Pelly Amendment and the Packwood-Magnuson Amendment, the President has the power to apply economic sanctions against Japan for its continued whale slaughter in the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary. The United States asserts that it resolutely opposes whale hunting by Japan, but does little to actually bring a halt to the practice.

The U.S. State Dept. has declared: “We remain resolute in our opposition to commercial whaling, including so-called ‘scientific’ whaling, in particular in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary established by the International Whaling Commission. In this context we wish to emphasize that lethal techniques are not required in modern whale conservation and management.”

The second petition is titled, “Provide Safe Haven to Captain Paul Watson, Founder of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society” and can be found at: http://wh.gov/VnRf. The full text of the petition language follows: 

We request the U.S. not extradite U.S citizen Paul F. Watson.

There are two active Interpol Red Notices issued against Captain Watson at the request of Costa Rica and Japan. Underlying these notices are non-lethal acts in defense of marine life suffering from illegal shark fishing and whaling operations. The warrants are politically motivated.

Captain Watson is a world-renowned and highly respected leader in environmental issues. In 1999, he was awarded President George H.W. Bush’s "Daily Points of Light" Award and in 2000, he was named one of Time Magazine’s “Top 20 Environmental Heroes of the 20th Century.” In 2012, he became only the second person ever to be honored with the Jules Verne Award for environmentalists and adventurers. Captain Watson is a national treasure.

According to the procedures on the “We the People” White House Petitions page, Sea Shepherd has until close of business on February 28^th (30 days) to garner 100,000 bonafide signatures from individuals 13 years and older who support these motions in order for the White House to consider taking action on the petitions.

Sea Shepherd has been engaging in interventions on the high seas in defense of marine wildlife for 35 years and for the last eight seasons against Japan’s Institute for Cetacean Research (ICR) — a front for illegal, government-subsidized whaling — all within the confines of the law and without causing serious injury. Launching of the petitions is the latest effort by the conservation group to fight the ICR’s efforts to kill whales in a designated sanctuary and persecute the group’s founder, Captain Paul Watson.

“The majority of citizens in the free world have demonstrated time and again they are against the killing of intelligent, sentient whales, particularly when it involves killing in an internationally designated sanctuary,” said Scott West, Director of Investigations for Sea Shepherd. “Now is the time for everyone who values majestic marine wildlife in our oceans to sign this petition and encourage the Obama Administration to act to protect these at-risk whales who should not have to be subjected to harassment and a cruel, painful death from grenade-tipped harpoons shot within the confines of a sanctuary,” he added.

The second petition, which focuses on the legal status of Sea Shepherd founder, Captain Watson, asks for him to be provided safe haven in the U.S. Captain Watson is currently at sea as an observer with this season’s current Antarctic Whale Defense Campaign, on the SSS Steve Irwin. He cannot make landfall due to being the target of two ‘red notices’ issued by Interpol put forth at the request of Costa Rica and Japan, which seek to extradite him to those nations for trial on trumped up, politically motivated charges related to defending marine wildlife from poachers.

“Captain Watson is an eco-hero doing the job of enforcing marine conservation law that governments have shown they lack the political will or economic means to do,” said Susan Hartland, Administrative Director, Sea Shepherd. “He has won countless awards including President George H.W. Bush’s ‘Daily Points of Light Award’ for his conservation work and should be on a list of national heroes, not on Interpol’s “Red List,” she said. “The charges against him are clearly politically motivated and we, as a society, should be asking why, instead of Captain Watson, are the illegal whale poachers and shark-finners not being targeted by authorities and put on Interpol’s ‘Red List’?,” she added.

To sign “Take strong action to stop the Japanese from killing whales in the Southern Ocean Antarctic Whale Sanctuary,” go to: http://wh.gov/Vnbu. Credit: White House We The People Petition Page

To sign “Provide Safe Haven to Captain Paul Watson, Founder of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society,” go to:http://wh.gov/VnRf.  Credit: White House We The People Petition Page

SEA SHEPHERD, CAPTAIN WATSON THE WHALES THANK YOU!