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 activist. He works to protect animals and nature. He is famous for starting the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. This group uses "direct action" to protect marine life. Direct action means they actively stop things like illegal whaling.
Paul Watson grew up in Toronto, Canada. He became an environmental activist when he was a teenager. In 1969, he joined a Sierra Club protest against nuclear testing. He was also involved in the early days of Greenpeace. In 1977, he started the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
Watson believes in veganism, which means not eating animal products. He also believes that all living things are important, not just humans.
Contents
Early Life and Career
Paul Watson was born in Toronto, Canada. He was the oldest of six children. He grew up in St. Andrews, New Brunswick.
After working as a tour guide at Expo 67 in Montreal, Watson moved to Vancouver. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he joined the Canadian Coast Guard. He worked on ships that helped with weather, search and rescue, and maintaining buoys. He also worked as a merchant seaman on large cargo ships. This experience helped him learn about the ocean.
Environmental Activism
Starting with Greenpeace
In October 1969, Watson joined a Sierra Club protest. They were protesting nuclear testing at Amchitka Island. This protest group later became known as Greenpeace. In the early 1970s, Watson was very active with other groups too.
He sailed on Greenpeace ships, including the Greenpeace Too! and the Astral. He continued to be a crew member and skipper on many Greenpeace trips in the mid-1970s. Some sources say Watson was a founding member of Greenpeace. However, Greenpeace says he was an important early member, but not a founder.
Founding Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
The first Sea Shepherd ship was bought in December 1978. It was called the Sea Shepherd. Groups like the Fund for Animals helped buy it. Sea Shepherd quickly became known for its strong actions to protect the environment. They sometimes threw things onto whaling ships to stop them.
In 2013, Paul Watson stopped being the captain of the Steve Irwin, a famous Sea Shepherd ship. The work of Sea Shepherd to stop whaling was shown in a TV show called Whale Wars on Animal Planet. Watson left Sea Shepherd on September 3, 2022.
Other Environmental Work
Paul Watson also worked for other environmental groups. He was a field correspondent for Defenders of Wildlife from 1976 to 1980. He also worked for the Fund for Animals. Watson helped start other groups like Friends of the Wolf.
In the 1980s, Watson supported Earth First!. He even called Sea Shepherd the "navy" of Earth First! He also worked with the Green Party of British Columbia in Vancouver. In 2003, Watson was elected to the board of directors for the Sierra Club. He served for three years.
Personal Life
Paul Watson has been married four times. He has one daughter, Lilliolani, from his first marriage. His third wife, Allison Lance, is also an animal rights activist. She volunteered on Sea Shepherd ships.
Watson married his fourth wife, Yana Rusinovich, in 2015. They have two sons, Tiger and Murtagh. Paul Watson also has two grandchildren.
Awards and Recognition
Paul Watson has received many awards for his work.
- On October 10, 2012, he received the Jules Verne Award. He was the second person, after Captain Jacques Cousteau, to get this award for environmental work.
- In 2010, he received the Defense of Marine Life Award.
- In 2002, he was added to the US Animal Rights Hall of Fame.
- In 1999, he received the George H. W. Bush Daily Points of Light Award.
- In 2000, Time Magazine named him one of the Top 20 Environmental Heroes of the 20th Century.
- In 2007, he received the Amazon Peace Prize from Ecuador.
- In 2019, the Governor of Connecticut honored him for his work.
- In 2024, he was named an Honorary Citizen of Paris. He also received The Medal of the National Assembly and the medal for the city of Nice in 2025.
Interesting Facts About Paul Watson
- Watson is a citizen of both Canada and the United States.
- As a child, he was part of the Kindness Club. This club taught him to respect and protect animals.
- In January 2008, The Guardian newspaper named Paul Watson as one of "50 people who could save the planet." This was for the work of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
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."
Books by Paul Watson
Paul Watson has written many books about his work and environmental ideas:
- Sea Shepherd: My Fight for Whales and Seals (1981)
- Earthforce! An Earth Warrior's Guide to Strategy (1993)
- Ocean Warrior: My Battle to End the Illegal Slaughter on the High Seas (1994)
- Seal Wars: Twenty-Five Years on the Front Lines With the Harp Seals (2002)
- The War That Saved the Whales (2019)
- We Are the Ocean (2022) (This is a children's book!)
See also
In Spanish: Paul Watson para niños
- List of conservationists
- List of vegans
