Paul Watson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Paul Watson
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Watson, with the MY Steve Irwin docked in Hobart, in 2009
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| Born | December 2, 1950 |
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| Known for | Environmental, conservational and animal rights activism |
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| Children | 3 |
Paul Franklin Watson (born December 2, 1950) is a Canadian-American environmental, conservation and animal rights activist. He is best known for founding the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a direct action group focused on marine conservation activism.
Watson, a native of Toronto, has been an environmental activist since his teens. He joined a Sierra Club protest against nuclear testing in 1969, and was involved in the early years of Greenpeace. In 1977, he formed the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
Watson promotes veganism, population reduction and a biocentric worldview.
His activities have led to legal action from authorities in countries including the United States, Canada, Norway, Costa Rica and Japan.
Contents
Early and career
Paul Watson was born in Toronto, the oldest child of Anthony Joseph Watson and Annamarie Larsen. Watson grew up in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. He has two younger sisters and three younger brothers.
After working as a tour guide at Expo 67, the World's Fair that took place in Montreal in 1967, Watson moved to Vancouver.
In 1968 and the early 1970s, he joined the Canadian Coast Guard, where he served aboard weatherships, search and rescue hovercraft, and buoy tenders. He signed up as a merchant seaman in 1969 with the Norwegian Consulate in Vancouver and shipped out on the 30,000 ton bulk carrier Bris as a deckhand. In 1972 he shipped out of San Francisco on the 35,000 ton bulk Swedish carrier Jarl R. Trapp and manifested for the Indian Ocean and Pacific trade.
Activism
Early years
In October 1969, Watson joined a Sierra Club protest against nuclear testing at Amchitka Island. The group which formed as a result of that protest was the Don't Make a Wave Committee, which evolved into the group known today as Greenpeace. In the early 1970s, Watson was also active with the Vancouver Liberation Front and the Vancouver Yippies. Watson sailed as a crew member aboard the Greenpeace Too! ship in 1971 and skippered the Greenpeace boat Astral in 1972. Paul Watson continued as a crew member, skipper, and officer aboard several Greenpeace voyages throughout the mid-1970s.
According to The New Yorker, The New York Times, and other sources, Watson was a founding member of Greenpeace, but the organization denies this stating he "was an influential early member but not, as he sometimes claims, a founder." Greenpeace claims that Watson joined Greenpeace on its Amchitka expedition, which they claim to be their second expedition, but Paul Watson claims that this was Greenpeace's first meeting.
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
The first Sea Shepherd vessel, the Sea Shepherd, was purchased in December 1978 with assistance from the Fund for Animals and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Sea Shepherd soon established itself as one of the more controversial environmental groups, known for provocative direct action tactics. These tactics have included throwing objects onto the decks of whaling ships. In January 2013, Watson relinquished captaincy of the Steve Irwin. The organization and its activities to halt whaling are the focus of a reality TV series, Whale Wars, airing on Animal Planet.
In 2010, Watson personally received more than $120,000 from Sea Shepherd.
Because of mounting legal complications, Watson stepped down as head of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in 2013. He left Sea Shephard on September 3, 2022.
Other environmental activities
Watson was a field correspondent for Defenders of Wildlife from 1976 to 1980 and a field representative for the Fund for Animals from 1978 to 1981. Watson also was a co-founder of Friends of the Wolf and Earthforce Environmental Society.
During the 1980s, Watson declared his support for Earth First! and cultivated friendships with David Foreman and Edward Abbey. He proclaimed Sea Shepherd to be the "navy" of Earth First! According to The New Yorker, Watson revived the 19th-century practice of tree spiking.
Watson worked with the Green Party of British Columbia in Vancouver in the 1980s and 90s. He ran for mayor in 1996, placing fourth.
In April 2003, Watson was elected to the board of directors of the Sierra Club for a three-year term. In 2006, he did not seek re-election. He resigned from the board a month before his term ended.
Personal life
Watson has been married four times. He has one daughter, Lilliolani (born 1980), with his first wife, Starlet Lum. His second marriage was to Lisa Distefano. His third wife, Allison Lance, is an animal rights activist and a volunteer crew member of Sea Shepherd.
Watson married his fourth wife Yana Rusinovich on February 14, 2015, in Paris. Watson and Rusinovich have two sons. Tiger and Murtagh.
Watson has two grandchildren.
Awards
On June 28, 2010, Paul received the Asociación de Amigos del Museo de Anclas Philippe Cousteau: Defense of Marine Life Award, in recognition of his merits achieved by the work done in defense of marine life. In 2002, Paul was inducted into the US Animal Rights Hall of Fame for his outstanding contributions to animal liberation. Paul received the George H. W. Bush Daily Points of Light Award in 1999. On May 23, 2019, Paul Watson received an official commendation by Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont stating that the "State of Connecticut conveyed both honor and recognition to Captain Paul Watson." In 2007 Watson received the Amazon Peace Prize presented by the Vice President of Ecuador Lenin Moreno. In September 2024, The Perfect World Foundation announced that Watson would receive the 2025 Perfect World Foundation Award.
Interesting facts about Paul Watson
- Watson is a citizen of Canada and the United States.
- As a child, he was a member of the Kindness Club, which taught him to respect and defend animals.
- In January 2008, Paul Watson was named by The Guardian as one of its "50 people who could save the planet" for the work of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
- He received the Jules Verne Award on October 10, 2012. He was the second person after Captain Jacques Cousteau to be honored with a Jules Verne Award dedicated to environmentalists and adventurers.
- In 2000, he was named one of Time Magazine's Top 20 Environmental Heroes of the 20th Century.
Paul Watson quotes
- "In the great scheme of things, what matters is not how long you live but why you live, what you stand for and what you are willing to die for."
- "Intelligence is the ability of a species to live in harmony with its environment."
- "I can't think of a greater legacy than, "Because you lived, another species survived."
- "What we need now is heroes - millions of them. Sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul."
- "Be a voice for the future and a voice for the planet."
List of works
- Sea Shepherd: My Fight for Whales and Seals (1981) (ISBN: 0-393-01499-1)
- Earthforce! An Earth Warrior's Guide to Strategy (1993) (ISBN: 0-9616019-5-7)
- Ocean Warrior: My Battle to End the Illegal Slaughter on the High Seas (1994) (ISBN: 1-55013-599-6)
- Seal Wars: Twenty-Five Years on the Front Lines With the Harp Seals (2002) (ISBN: 1-55297-751-X)
- Contributor to Terrorists or Freedom Fighters?: Reflections on the Liberations of Animals (2004) (ISBN: 1-59056-054-X)
- Earthforce! An Earth Warrior's Guide to Strategy 2nd Edition (2012) ISBN: 978-1-61419-016-5
- The War That Saved the Whales (2019) ISBN: 978-09600391-1-1
- Songs from the Southern Ocean (2020) ISBN: 979-8625175999
- The Haunted Mariner (2020) ISBN: 978-1089213710
- Dealing with Climate Change and Stress (2020) ISBN: 979-8629972723
- Orcapedia (2020) ISBN: 978-1570678264
- Desperate Mythologies: Theology, Ecology and the General Insanity of Humanity (2020) ISBN: 979-8643376071
- Death of a Whale (2021) ISBN: 978-1-57067-401-3
- URGENT! Save Our Ocean to Survive Climate Change (2021) ISBN: 978-1-57067-403-7
See also
In Spanish: Paul Watson para niños
- List of conservationists
- List of vegans
