Their Turn - The Social Justice Movement of Our Time Their Turn - The Social Justice Movement of Our Time

Archives

Paul Watson: “If The Oceans Die, We Die”

January 7, 2020 by Leave a Comment


The News

Paul Watson, the founder of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, is best known for using direct action to protect whales from Japanese whaling vessels, but he’s also a world-renowned advocate for the oceans and all of its other inhabitants. During an interview with TheirTurn in New York City, Watson explained why protecting the oceans is not only vital to sea animals but also to the very survival of the human species. “If the oceans die, we die.”

Watson explains that oceans, which he describes as the “blue lungs” of the Earth, produce 70% of the oxygen that we breathe and that the source of the oxygen are phytoplankton. Since 1950, the amount of phytoplankton in the oceans has dropped by 40% due to whaling, commercial fishing, animal agriculture and other forms of pollution.

Watson is the subject of new award-winning documentary film, Watson, that chronicles his career as an eco-warrior on the high seas. Watson is available on Animal Planet.


Filed under: WIldlife
Tagged with: , , ,

U.N. Court Curbs Japan’s Whale Hunt

April 2, 2014 by Leave a Comment


The News

The United Nation’s International Court of Justice ruled that Japan must stop its annual whale hunt in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, rejecting the country’s argument that it was conducted for scientific purposes and declaring it to be illegal. Japan stated that it would abide by the court’s decision.  However, Japan, along with Norway and Iceland, will most likely continue to hunt whales on a smaller scale in other areas in defiance of the International Whale Commission’s ban on commercial whaling.

News & Opinion

Japan has circumvented the international treaty banning commercial whaling by claiming that they were capturing and killing whales for scientific purposes. How did Japan get away with this for so many years, given that they didn’t produce scientific data; they admitted to selling the whale meet for food; and they used “tradition” as a defense for the slaughter? The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, whose activists have put their lives at risk sabotaging Japan’s illegal whale hunt in the Southern Ocean, put this issue in the international spotlight, which is what ultimately led to the court’s decision. Ironically, the Japanese government, which is responsible for terrorizing thousands of majestic whales before killing them, describes the activists as “environmental terrorists.” Please thank Sea Shepherd for their heroic work by supporting the organization, which will continue to boldly protect wildlife in the oceans.


Filed under: WIldlife
Tagged with: , ,