The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is a non-profit, marine conservation activism organization based in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, Washington, in the United States. Sea Shepherd employs direct action tactics to achieve its goals, most famously by deploying its fleet of ships to track, report on and actively impede the work of fishing vessels they believe to be engaged in illegal and unregulated activities causing the unsustainable exploitation of marine life. Sea Shepherd has been criticised by some environmental groups and national governments that oppose its tactics. The Japanese government, whose whaling industry is a leading target of the organization's efforts, has called Sea Shepherd eco-terrorists for "impeding their research".
History
The predecessor organization of Sea Shepherd, the "Earth Force Society", was formed in 1977, after its founder, Paul Watson, was ousted from the board of Greenpeace for disagreements over his direct action activism which clashed with their pacifist nature. Watson soon left Greenpeace. Initially without funding and with only a small group of supporters, Watson convinced Cleveland Amory, head of the Fund for Animals, to fund Watson's first vessel, the Sea Shepherd in 1978. The first direct action undertaken by the organization was against Canadian seal hunting in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in March 1979. The same year, the Sea Shepherd also rammed an unregulated Portuguese whaling vessel, the notorious Sierra. After the Portugal campaign, the first Sea Shepherd had to be scuttled, but Watson sold the story to raise money to fund his next vessel. He then spent the 1980s undertaking a variety of controversial and dangerous operations in support of various marine conservation aims, and physically intervened against Russian, Spanish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Makah, Faroese, and Japanese whalers. In the 1990s the group is described as having undertaken a shift in its public attitude. Having previously argued primarily from an ethical viewpoint, Sea Shepherd began to describe itself as an anti-poaching agency, a claim it based on its interpretation of the maritime and conservation law. The decade also saw the organization make more progress in saving wildlife, including by teaming up with other groups to reduce the prevalence of driftnet fishing. In 1994, Sea Shepherd sank an illegal Norwegian whaling vessel. However, no charges were brought as the vessel had been involved in even more illegal behavior than anticipated by the authorities. The organization began in the 2000s by assisting with the clean up of the Petrobras oil spill, Brazil's worst oil spill to date, after being contracted by the Rio government to mitigate against the devastation. Sea Shepherd also cooperated with other governments against maritime poaching, including in Costa Rica, though not always with good outcomes. In 2008, Sea Shepherd conducted two trips around Antarctica to disrupt illegal whaling practices. Since 2014, Sea Shepherd has increasingly co-operated with national governments in assisting anti-poaching activity in national territorial waters and marine reserves, including with the Italian Coast Guard in Sicily (Operation Siracusa), Mexican Navy (Operation Milagro) and the Coastguards of Gabon and São Tomé and Príncipe (Operation Albacore), which saw Gabonese military marines sail aboard Sea Shepherd vessels. In late 2022, a schism occurred after Paul Watson was removed from the board of directors of Sea Shepherd Global, a move which, he says, was due to the organization shifting away from his policy of independent, direct action to one of collaboration with governments. Watson subsequently formed his own organization, the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, and a competing Sea Shepherd group called Sea Shepherd Origins. The France, UK, and Brazil chapters of Sea Shepherd have pledged their allegiance to Paul Watson and Sea Shepherd Origins, and have left the umbrella of Sea Shepherd Global. Neither Sea Shepherd Global or the regional chapters that remain loyal to it have issued statements in regard to these events.
Organization
Sea Shepherd is a non-governmental, non-profit environmental organization. In the United States it has a 501(c)(3) tax exempt status. Most of the organization's revenue is spent on its programs – 89.9 percent in 2019, with just 10.1 percent spent on administrative costs and fundraising. Sea Shepherd has also been rated highly for financial transparency and accountability. The group is supported by private and corporate donations, lectures by Watson, internet advertising and grants. It is operated by volunteers and a small paid staff, and is committed to staying small and with low spending on fundraising or recruitment. Sea Shepherd is governed by a board of directors and several boards of advisers, each addressing an area of expertise. The Scientific, Technical and Conservation Advisory Board includes Earth First! founder Dave Foreman and Horst Klienschmidt, a former deputy chair of the International Whaling Commission (2006). The Legal and Law Enforcement Advisory Board includes Ian Campbell, a former Australian Minister of the Environment and Heritage (2004–07). The Animal Welfare, Humane and Animal Rights Advisory Board included animal rights philosopher Tom Regan, until his death in 2017. There is also a Media and Arts Advisory Board, Photography Advisory Board and a Financial and Management Advisory Board.
Direct action activism
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