There were people from all walks of life present for Capt. Watson's appearance - die hard Sea Shepherd fans, naturalists, conservationists, research scientists, fishermen, avid television-watchers, critics, and curious yet indifferent onlookers who merely wanted to hear what he had to say. Personally my opinion of Capt. Watson has evolved in many directions over the past several years. I remember years ago, my dear grandpa presented me with a magazine article written about Capt. Watson. Knowing my interest in whales and conservation, my grandpa thrust the article into my hands and said I HAD to read it. Grandpa talked with enthusiasm about the man depicted in the article - about how he was a real live pirate that would stop at almost nothing to protect the animals of the ocean. I remember sitting down with the piece and combing through it. I had never heard of Paul Watson before, but I recall thinking, 'wow, this guy is the real deal!' But of course, like everyone else, I had my own criticisms of his bold actions and conquests.
Then Whale Wars hit the air waves. Of course this television show has rocketed Sea Shepherd and Capt. Watson to super-star levels - good and bad. Even before the show first aired, I think there was a lot of hopeful anticipation for the series. While watching the first episodes, I was a bit taken aback... Ok, here are these amazing, brave individuals willing to put their lives on the line to save the lives of whales, but almost no one has any concrete experience being on boats or being out at sea in dangerous conditions for long periods of time. Hmmm... This seemed to be pretty irresponsible to me and it seemed that Sea Shepherd was maybe asking too much of their volunteers. Because I don't have television, I rarely get to see the show and I have to rely of the relay of events from friends and family who do watch the program.
Yet another turn of events - a good friend of mine landed a job with Sea Shepherd here in Friday Harbor. I watched her rocket from a fairly conservation-minded naturalist from Wisconsin to a full-on passionate, dedicated, Sea Shepherd employee, supporter, and activist who is never seen NOT wearing the Sea Shepherd Jolly Roger logo SOMEWHERE on her body. Now, my friend is a very intelligent and enlightened person. Listening to her speak with such passion about Sea Shepherd, their missions, and the fearless Capt. Watson made me question my limited and narrow experience and beliefs of the organization and its leader...
So there I am sitting in a hot, well over-crowded room on a Friday evening waiting to hear the thoughts of one of the most controversial environmental figures in the world (which the fire marshal surely would have put a stop to had he been present). Capt. Watson took the podium with no hesitation and began to speak. At first I think a lot of people are slapped with the "celebrity stick" when he first begins to speak. I'm sure there were many in the room that were thinking, "Wow, that's Paul Watson! I see him on TV every week!" However, I would bet the attendees depressed this sensation quickly because this man came at every one of us like a ton of bricks. I couldn't help being totally engrossed by his speaking style and his important and alarming messages. Here's a guy that doesn't follow the rules. Here's a guy who tells it like it is and doesn't pussy-foot around. Here's a guy who fears no criticism, no government, no law enforcement, and no ill-intentioned human being. He is 'for real'.
He began by speaking about Whale Wars as I am sure he knew that's what a lot of people were there to hear about anyway. He talked about how he wanted the show on the air because it would shed a lot of light on the battle occurring the southern oceans, however, not surprisingly, no one wanted to put it on TV. It was deemed too risky and too controversial. He then went to Discovery Networks and reminded them that their highest grossing and top-rated program was about a bunch of rough-necked fishermen pulling crab out of the Bering Sea. Of course I am speaking of The Deadliest Catch. He told Discovery that he would give them something better and more exciting. How about airing a show featuring brave environmental volunteers spending weeks in violent conditions on an unforgiving, dangerous sea, hundreds of miles from civilization, risking their lives to save endangered whales? Sounds intriguing to me, but Discovery rejected the idea feeling, like all the other networks, that gambling on such a risky subject matter was too bold and uncertain. Then a network exec at Animal Planet reconsidered and I bet Discovery is glad she did. Whale Wars is now one of the most highly-rated shows on the air. However Capt. Watson mentioned that his volunteers would love nothing more than to get the show off TV! He never really gave a clear reason why. It might have something to do with the silly yet incapacitating mistakes sometimes made while trying to complete their missions. I'm not going to go into detail, but if you watch the show, you know exactly what I am talking about.
He quickly left the topic of Whale Wars as a TV show and began to speak of more important and deserving matters. This may have surprised some. Before his talk on Friday night, I think many thought he was a pompous ego-maniac who wanted to plug his television show and raise his profits. Nothing could have been further from the truth! Because the topic of Whale Wars immediately brings the Japanese to the forefront of the conversation, this is where he continued by speaking about the plight of Blue Fin Tuna.
Blue Fin Tuna are incredible animals. They migrate over vast distances across oceans. They weigh hundreds of pounds. They can live 30 years or more. And they are the fastest swimming creatures in the sea and can exceed speeds of 55 miles per hour when chasing prey. Their downfall? People happen to think they are very tasty, especially in Japan. Blue Fin Tuna are prized because of their wonderful texture and flavor and because they are the best sushi and sashimi meat on the market. Because of this, the Blue Fin Tuna is the most expensive fish specie in the world if you want to make them a meal. In January 2010 a 510 pound Blue Fin was sold for $180,000 at an auction in Tokyo, Japan! Talk about big bucks and human greed will mean the extinction of this specie if direct and immediate action is not taken. Blue Fin Tuna are being caught faster than they can reproduce. According to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) overfishing has caused an 82% decline of Blue Fin in the world's oceans and very little is being done to impose correct fishing quotas on these animals so that they will be able to survive. These fish are primarily caught using long lines. I consider long-lining to be the devil of fishing because of the high bi catch that results when using this method. Long lines entangle everything in their path (not just tuna) including endangered sea turtles, sharks, birds, and marine mammals who die a slow death when they become ensnared. This method of fishing should be outlawed, yet it continues.
Tuna ranches are also being employed in Canada and the Mediterranean. Fisherman catch young, sexually immature Blue Fins and hold them in sea pens until they grow to maturity and can be sold at market for high value. What's the problem with this? The fish are being plucked out of the wild population before they have a chance to reproduce therefore threatening the survival of the species.
Then Capt. Watson brought up an issue I had no idea people would be evil enough to put into action. Some countries, including Japan, are making huge profits off the extinction of animal species. They actually WANT certain species of animals to become extinct because of the profits that can be gained from it. For example - Blue Fin Tuna. Japan has a several-year stock of Blue Fin Tuna frozen and stored in their warehouses. They would like to gain a 15-year stock and drive the fish into extinction. I can see your jaw on the floor now. You are probably even shaking your head and gasping in disbelief. Why would a civilization ever want to drive one of their food sources into extinction? The answer is one word - MONEY - and I will tell you why - If all the wild Blue Fin are fished out of the ocean and there are none left, Japan is sitting pretty because they have a 15 year supply of Blue Fin in their possession. They can jack up the price of tuna as high as they want and people will pay to eat it therefore making Japan a very rich country. Greed and money. That's all some people think about. They never stop to consider the long-term consequences of decimating an animal specie. Some people might argue this point: a high percentage of all the species that ever lived on this planet are now extinct. Fair enough, but one must search a little deeper. Most of those species became extinct due to violent and catastrophic geological and meteorological events that had absolutely nothing to do with the actions of a single, and over-populated animal specie (Hello!? Humans!). The actions and over population of humans are driving species to extinction faster than any other cause in the history of this planet. Harvard entomologist Edward O. Wilson predicts that half of all the species on this earth with be extinct by 2100. He also predicts that three species per hour are becoming extinct right now! If this is true, then this idea is beyond alarming! Capt. Watson spoke a lot about over-fishing and made it very clear that the oceans are dying at an incredible rate. He also made a very simple, yet weighty point - if the oceans die, we will not survive. Period.
Captain Watson also spoke at length about shark-finning, the Japanese dolphin slaughters, and scientific whaling - all of which I may go into detail in later postings. However, I sincerely encourage you to do your own research on these subject as they are just as worth while and deserving of attention.
Near the end of his talk, I think maybe feeling the desperation of the audience to want to do something to help make the world a better place, Capt. Watson made one point powerfully clear: it is the passion and power of individuals that will ultimately make a difference! Not governments, news organizations, or big corporations. Individuals! I truly believe, and maybe he does too, that the individual human being wants to do good and perhaps remains largely uncorrupted by the evil forces and motives that all too often mold the contents of our societies.
He ended the evening with an influential and haunting story. He spoke of a time when he and a fellow activist were well offshore of the California coast in a tiny inflatable dinghy. They were the only obstacle in between a pod of sperm whales and a Russian whaling ship. They naively thought that the Russians would not fire a harpoon and risk killing two people and for a while this seemed to hold true. The man operating the harpoon gun would not fire while Paul and his colleague were in the way. Until the captain of the harpoon ship stormed from the wheelhouse to the bow where he screamed in the harpoon man's ear to FIRE! Suddenly a gut-wrenching explosion sounded and Paul watched as a massive harpoon sailed over his head and embedded itself in the back of a female sperm whale. The whale screamed. He said he could hear the scream above the surface of the sea. It was so loud. The big male (male sperm whales are known to be very protective of their pod mates) turned and raced toward the harpoon ship. He then launched himself at the harpoon man who in turn shot him in mid-air. The whale collapsed into the sea leaving a trail of blood. The male then rose again, this time aiming his aggression toward Paul in the little raft. Capt. Watson said the huge head of the male was out of the water and he was feet from the eye of the whale. The whale's head was going to come down on top of them! Then something remarkable and life-changing happened. Paul said he saw understanding in the eye of the whale. The whale consciously stopped the motion of its head to keep from crashing down upon their little boat. Paul said the whale seemed to understand that they were trying to help. However, he saw something else in the whale's eye - pity. Pity for a specie that doesn't understand that it is destroying itself. The whale then sank into the water and only left a trail of bloody bubbles. Paul's voice cracked at that moment and it was clear he was close to tears. He said he knew at that moment of watching the great whale die that he was going to have to take a much more assertive approach when it came to saving the animals of the sea. Sea Shepherd was born.
I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to hear Capt. Watson speak. My opinion of him has changed once again and I certainly have more respect for him and his mission. We need more people like him. Most people will sit around, look at all the horror going on in the world and then say, "Oh my God, that's terrible." Then they will find some organization to throw money at and that's the end of it. How many people actually have so much faith and courage in their convictions that they will actually stand up and fight for what they believe in? How many are willing to risk their lives for the life of a helpless species? How many are willing to be a voice for those that have none...? Sadly, not very many. But it doesn't have to be that way. Everyone can contribute something and play to their powers to make this world a better place. Educate yourself! Don't be a dummy on the sidelines (we are all guilty of this). What are your powers? What can you do? Will you do something? Will you do anything...?
I don't know what to say now. I have no happy words and I feel I've rambled on long enough. However that does not mean that I do not have hope for our planet or for the human race. I do believe that people can change. I do believe that people can gain an understanding. It takes time, education, and patience, but oh yes, there is hope. This may seem corny to some, but I don't really care - I am reminded of an inspiring conversation between Samwise Gamgee and Frodo Baggins in J.R.R. Tolkien's masterpiece The Lord of the Rings:
Sam: It's like in the great stories Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn't want to know the end because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end it's only a passing thing this shadow, even darkness must pass. A new day will come, and when the sun shines it'll shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you, that meant something even if you were too small to understand why. But I think Mr. Frodo, I do understand, I know now folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going because they were holding on to something.
Frodo: What are we holding onto, Sam?
Sam: That there's some good in the world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for.
