Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS)

• IDENTIFICATION: International nonprofit organization devoted to the conservation of marine wildlife
• DATE: Founded in 1977
• The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s use of direct action and confrontation to disrupt fishing, seal hunting, and whaling operations has been the subject of controversy, but the group’s activities have nonetheless focused public and policy attention on the overexploitation of the seas.

In 1977, Paul Watson, a founding member of the environmental organization Greenpeace, left that organization after a disagreement with other members and founded the Earthforce Society, the group that later became the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS). One of the first interventions carried out by Earthforce was the ramming of a vessel hunting whales in contravention of the worldwide whaling moratorium, an incident that set the tone for subsequent campaigns. Other actions the group has carried out since then have included marking baby seals with an organic dye so their pelts would be worthless to hunters, exposing illegal shark finners, capturing and destroying drift nets, and harassing the Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

SSCS has been controversial since its inception. Detractors often label it a vigilante organization (a label SSCS proudly adopts) or an ecoterrorism group, whereas supporters note that SSCS enforces marine conservation laws and treaties that would otherwise go unenforced. On occasion, SSCS has partnered with governments unable to police their own waters for illegal fishing, but it also operates on its own in national waters and on the high seas. SSCS cites Article 21 of the United Nations World Charter for Nature as the legal grounding for its activities, although legal scholars note that the organization’s interpretation is probably outside the spirit of the text. Despite efforts by governments of targeted operations to disenfranchise SSCS by impounding its vessels, arresting members, and protesting to the nations in which SSCS branches are located, the organization remains largely unhindered. In fact, it has often used its encounters with law enforcement agencies and the upset citizenry to increase its profile in the news media.

Beginning in 2016, the SSCS began regularly cooperating with national governments in anti-poaching operations. Notably, it conducted operations with the Italian Coast Guard and the Mexican Navy. In 2022, after repeated disagreements with the rest of the organization about cooperating with governments, Watson was removed from the board of directors of Sea Shepherd Global. He then founded his own activist group, Sea Shepherd Origins. In 2025, Sea Shepherd signed an agreement with the Mexican Navy to collaborate on monitoring and protecting the marine environment and the endangered vaquita porpoise.

Bibliography

Kilvert, Nick. "He's Walked the Plank, but Ousted Sea Shepherd Captain Paul Watson Says He's Building a 'Navy.'" ABC, 26 Nov. 2022, www.abc.net.au/news/science/2022-11-27/sea-shepherd-paul-watson-exiled-building-navy/101570694. Accessed 25 Aug. 2025.

Nousari, Malen. "From Pirate to Partner: Sea Shepherd's Evolution in Maritime Conservation and the Pursuit of High Seas Legitimacy." University of Miami Law Review, 27 Feb. 2024, lawreview.law.miami.edu/from-pirate-to-partner-sea-shepherds-evolution-in-maritime-conservation-and-the-pursuit-of-high-seas-legitimacy. Accessed 25 Aug. 2025.

"Our Mission." Sea Shepherd, seashepherd.org/our-mission. Accessed 25 Aug. 2025.

"Sea Shepherd and Mexican Navy Expand Partnership to Protect More Waters ." Sea Shepherd, 13 Feb. 2025, seashepherd.org/2025/02/13/sea-shepherd-and-mexican-navy-expand-partnership-to-protect-more-waters. Accessed 25 Aug. 2025.

Valo, Martine. "Ocean Defense NGO Sea Shepherd Torn Apart." Le Monde, 14 Feb. 2023, www.lemonde.fr/en/environment/article/2023/02/14/ocean-defense-ngo-sea-shepherd-torn-apart_6015719_114.html. Accessed 25 Aug. 2025.