The ‘Whale Wars’ star delivered a passionate keynote address designed to galvanize people into helping to stop the exploitation of endangered sea life.
By Katherline Hao / Special to The Malibu Times
Eco warrior Capt. Paul Watson was among the celebrity keynote speakers and environmentalists at this year’s Go Green Expo, held at the Los Angeles Convention Center this past weekend. The Expo, which promotes environmentally friendly products and services, and Watson’s appearance are one of many events taking place in advance of and in conjunction with Earth Day, which is April 22.
Famous for his aggressive nonviolence campaign to stop Japanese whaling fleets in the Antarctic Ocean and star of the Animal Planet series “Whale Wars,” Watson spoke at Saturday’s expo about the need to understand our role in the environment and protect the biodiversity.
Tired of protesting and motivated to take direct-action tactics, Watson left Greenpeace, which he cofounded, in 1977 and founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an ocean preservation organization, which gained the support of local Malibu celebrity activists such as John Paul DeJoria, Pierce Brosnan, Martin Sheen and Sean Penn. Red Hot Chili Pepper front man Anthony Kiedis serves as director of the Sea Shepherd.
Watson said that Sea Shepherd has cultivated strong support from the surfing and diving community through a common understanding of the intimate connection with the ocean. World Champion professional surfer Kelly Slater is one of Sea Shepherd’s advisory board members.
The seafaring activist and his crew, known for disrupting whaling operations by hurling stink bombs, intercepting harpoon boats and boarding whaling ships, celebrated their victory in the Southern Ocean in February that forced a Japanese whaling fleet to retreat home one month early. Watson attributes the success of this campaign to his 88 volunteer crew members, along with off-shore support.
“I think they’ll be out of the Southern Ocean permanently,” he said. “We’re ready to go back if they return, but, economically, I just don’t see them returning. They know we can shut them down.”
However, Watson predicted that the recent tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan will motivate Japanese fisheries to send their fleets farther worldwide. This summer, the Sea Shepherd’s three vessels, armed with drone aircraft to detect illegal fishing vessels, will head to the coast of Libya to intervene in the illegal overfishing of blue fin tuna. They will also travel to the Faeros Islands to stop the slaughter of pilot whales, to the warm waters of Palau to protect the sharks and to the Galapagos Islands to police poaching activities.
“We are killing our oceans and we need to understand how interconnected we are with our oceans,” Watson told his audience at Go Green. “If we drive all other species to extinction, we drive ourselves to extinction. The solution to our problems is achieved by the passion of individuals and people.”
Criticized by some for using a radical approach, Watson and his crew uphold international conservation law without incurring any injuries, convictions of crimes or lawsuits. The success of this year’s campaign, which resulted in saving the lives of more whales than the Japanese were able to kill, demonstrates that their brand of activism has been effective, Watson said.
With the success of “Whale Wars,” the environmental movement has gained increasing awareness by “taking something that was out of sight, and out of mind, in a very remote area, and putting it into everybody’s living room.” The challenge now, Watson said, “is to get people to care.”
Watson added that we can not expect any solutions from the government. “The strength of this movement lies in the passion of individuals, small groups and people’s ideas put into motion and then doing something,” he said. “We need to have more people involved. Each and every one of us can make a difference. We have that power to make that change.”
CELEBRATING EARTH DAY
Friday
The City of Malibu hosts an Earth Day celebration, featuring educational, earth-friendly booths; a scavenger hunt and other activities, at Legacy Park, at Webb Way and Civic Center Way, at 12 p.m.
Saturday
The 12th annual Topanga Earth Day celebration takes place, featuring musical performances, guest speakers and organic foods and beverages, at the Topanga Community House, 1440 Topanga Canyon Blvd., in Topanga Canyon, at 10 a.m. $12.
A hosted nature walk, through Malibu Lagoon State Park, at Pacific Coast Highway and Cross Creek Road, at 9 a.m.