Sea Shepherd Founder Paul Watson Fights Extradition to Costa Rica for 2002 Shark Defense
Captain Paul Watson,
founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, has been released on
bail in Germany following his arrest for possible extradition to Costa
Rica on decade-old charges stemming from a confrontation between a Sea
Shepherd vessel with shark fin poachers off the coast of Guatemala. Sea
Shepherd is known for using nonviolent direct action to enforce
international fishing and conservation laws and has been highly
recognized for its anti-whaling efforts.
Sea Shepherd continues to
maintain that Watson’s arrest was politically motivated and is calling
on its supporters to come together in a day of action on Wednesday when
Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla visits Germany. Watson joins us
from Frankfurt. "We’ve never injured anybody," Watson says. "The most
powerful weapon in the world, as far as I’m concerned, is the camera.
So, we go into battle armed with cameras. … Right now 90 million sharks a
year are being destroyed to feed the shark fin industry in Asia. And
that means the fins are cut off of these animals, and they’re thrown
back into the ocean. And this is what we filmed off of Guatemala, and
this is what we intervened against: a highly illegal operation."
Guest:
Paul Watson, founder and executive director of the anti-poaching organization Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.