Captain Paul Watson, from sperm whales to the dungeon

Paul Watson and his crew were on their way to the North Pacific with the aim of intercepting the Japanese whaling ship Kangei Maru, a brand new factory ship capable of storing up to 800 tons of meat. An “aberration” in the eyes of the captain Paul Watsonused to clashing with fishing boats at sea to prevent the capture of whales.

Japan defends whaling as a matter of “food security” in the resource-poor country, which imports large quantities of animal meat. But consumption has fallen to about 2,000 tonnes a year, down from 200 times that in the 1960s. Japan left the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in 2019 to free itself from a global moratorium on whaling. It is now whaling openly again for commercial reasons, but only in its own maritime space.

“Save as many cetaceans as possible”

The Kangei Maru set out on an expedition in May with a goal: to capture nearly 200 whales by 2024. “The aim was to save as many cetaceans as possible by getting in the way of the factory ship or by obstructing the towing of the animals on the rear ramp, as we did for years in the Antarctic where Japan was fishing illegally.”explains Lamya Essemlali, the president of the French branch of Sea Shepherd and a friend of the activist. The flagship of the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, the M/Y John Paul DeJoria, had left Dublin, Ireland, on July 12 and was heading for the Northwest Passage – a sea route connecting, through the Canadian Arctic archipelago, the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

But as soon as he arrived in Greenland, Paul Watson was arrested inside his ship and taken away by force by the police. Japan, which had issued an international arrest warrant against him, accused him of damaging a whaling ship. Since July 21, he has been imprisoned in Greenland. The members of his foundation fear extradition to Japan.

A “revenge” from Japan?

“Paul Watson sees the positive side of the whole affair, which is that whaling has never been so much talked aboutsays Lamya Essemlali. On the other hand, there is a growing sense of injustice. He hopes that it is becoming increasingly clear to everyone that this is not a story of justice, but a story of revenge on the part of Japan, which has been humiliated by the actions of Paul Watson. He has shone a spotlight on what this country is doing, which has behaved like a truly eco-terrorist state within the international whale sanctuary.”