DIVE LOG Australasia

Captain Paul Watson Foundation UK estimates that every year 1,100 small cetaceans are slaughtered by the Faroese. They primarily target dolphins like the long finned pilot whale and the Atlantic white-sided dolphin. The Faroese people are very resolute in their desire to continue killing dolphins, even though scientific evidence suggests the dolphin meat is not good for them. They call these dolphin hunts the grindadráp (or grinds for short), and they are horrifically brutal and savage. Entire family groups of dolphins are driven to the shore and slaughtered. It appears that the Danish government would also like for Captain Watson to be behind bars, for it was just last year in 2023 that Paul and his crew sailed the John Paul DeJoria into the Faroese harbor of Tórshavn to stop the grinds. The calculus makes sense. Two countries want to continue to kill marine mammals. There has been a moratorium on whaling since 1988. Since the 1970’s, there has been a swell of support worldwide for protecting marine mammals. Japan and Denmark know that as long as Captain Paul Watson is free, he will continue to shed light on their assault on whales and dolphins. It is that simple. When Paul was arrested, he was on his way to intercept the Kengei Maru . Since Paul has been in prison in Greenland, the Japanese Whalers have harpooned and killed whales. The Japanese quota for this hunt is 142 Minke, 187 Bryde’s, 25 Sei, and 59 Fin whales. Paul and his crew wanted to stop that. At the very least, they wanted the Japanese whalers to know that they are not alone on the ocean, and that their actions will be filmed and documented so that the entire world knows what they are doing to some of the most intelligent beings on the planet. Make no mistake, Paul will sail his vessels

innocence against the charges that Japan has lodged against him. The judge in Greenland has thus far, not allowed Paul to show the evidence in court. Instead, the judge has ordered a continuance of Paul’s detainment, his next court date is on October 2nd. There are rumblings that the officials in Greenland are waiting for the Danish Minister of Justice to make a determination as to whether Paul should be extradited to Japan. It has been 48 days, they’ve had more than enough time. The Captain Paul Watson Foundation, Sea Shepherd France, and Sea Shepherd Brazil are all working in unison to raise awareness of Paul’s detention. Around the world, governments are using obscure laws to silence and lock away activists. Collectively we need to let the Danish government know that we will not stop demanding Paul’s release. This issue will not go away, and in fact, it will certainly get worse should they kowtow to the Japanese and send Paul to Japan. There is something rotten in the State of Denmark. The smell is that of rotten whale flesh, harpooned by the Japanese whalers, with the help of the Danish authorities. By keeping Paul detained, they brought Operation Kangei Maru to a halt, which has allowed whales to die without any interference. If whales are important to you, and you want to help free Paul, please consider going to freepaulwatson.org Paul needs your voice. If we all get involved, we can create a tidal wave of support that hopefully will be heard by the Danish authorities. It is up to them to release Paul, and time is of the essence. The Japanese have set their sights on returning to the South Ocean Whale Sanctuary off the coast of Antarctica to resume killing whales. The dive community has a long history of supporting Captain Watson and his work. Now is the time for us to band together again and ensure his release.

between the harpoon guns and the whales in order to protect them, but even in instances when the Japanese harpoon ships evade Paul, they know Paul and his crew are not far behind. Denmark has a prime minister, Mette Fredricksen, that seems to genuinely care about the environment and whales. Mette and her colleagues in the Danish government have the power to free Captain Paul Watson. They have the power to return this icon of environmentalism back to his ship to protect the oceans that are dying. As of this writing, Paul has been in a prison in Nuuk, Greenland for 48 days. Paul and his lawyers can provide video evidence proving his

Photo credit Paul Watson Foundation

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DIVE LOG Australasia #408 - October ‘24