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Photo du rédacteurAmèle Debey

Arrest of Paul Watson: what lies behind Sea Shepherd Global's awkward silence?

Dernière mise à jour : 7 oct.

The arrest of the Sea Shepherd founder last July has cast a spotlight on the division within the movement. In Switzerland as well, volunteers are torn between the new direction initiated by four of Paul Watson's closest collaborators and their loyalty to the famous captain, who remains under the threat of extradition to Japanese prisons. L’Impertinent attempted to shed light on the highly volatile situation.

SSG
Paul Watson / Alex Cornelissen and Peter Hammarstedt at Cinélux in Geneva © A.D

On Tuesday, September 24th, about fifty people gathered at the Cinelux in Geneva to watch the screening of the Netflix documentary Seaspiracy, with Peter Hammarstedt and Alex Cornelissen in attendance. Hammarstedt and Cornelissen, respectively the Campaigns Director and CEO of Sea Shepherd Global (SSG), had traveled to Switzerland for the tenth anniversary of the Swiss branch of the organization.


Now, SSG’s leading figures are only able to fill half of a small room of a hundred people in French-speaking Switzerland. A few days earlier, the event scheduled at the Tibits in Lausanne as part of this tour—which also includes stops in Zurich, Bern, and Lugano—had to be canceled due to lack of registrations, according to the restaurant. However, the organizers attributed it to pressure and threats.


Static on the Line


The reason for these disruptions to the movement—though it refuses to provide information about its Swiss membership, reportedly numbering around a hundred volunteers, with about twenty in French-speaking Switzerland according to our sources—is not due to a lack of interest in marine conservation. Rather, it stems from the strategy of its leaders. Since Paul Watson’s dismissal and the split between Sea Shepherd Global and its French, British, and Brazilian branches in 2022, the four new leaders of the movement—Alex Cornelissen, Peter Hammarstedt, Geert Vons, and Jeff Hansen—have completely cut off communication with their former mentor and carefully avoid the subject.


“This coup has created a global split within the movement,” writes Sea Shepherd France, which remains loyal to the founder, in a statement published on September 26. “Sea Shepherd Global has taken control of branches that do not own the name and logo and now depend on it (Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, Switzerland…). These branches have also ousted Captain Watson without even informing their supporters and have radically changed the course of their actions.”


But since Paul Watson’s arrest last July, the four former disciples can no longer avoid questions about him. Within their own teams, the divisive subject is being raised, and there are growing calls for more transparency. For the sake of our investigation, we managed to speak with several volunteers, despite the blockade that Sea Shepherd Switzerland (SSS) tried to impose following our call for testimonies:


Message

Some of our sources were pushed out of the organization because they expressed their support for Paul Watson too clearly, while others are still part of the association and are questioning its new methods. All of them wished to remain anonymous to avoid retaliation. Therefore, we will not reveal their identities or positions within the organization.


"Global likes to use donor money to fund lawyers"

The hesitations of our witnesses give a fairly accurate picture of the atmosphere within the movement since the split. “On the boats, as soon as something goes wrong or someone’s morale dips, everyone knows about it. And it’s usually quite easy to trace it back to the individuals,” one of them explained to justify the precautions taken. Another told us, “I know Global likes to use donor money to fund lawyers.”

 

Indeed, Sea Shepherd Global filed a lawsuit against the French branch of the movement in April 2023 to prevent it from using the name and flag created by Paul Watson in 1977. The captain had not thought to legally protect them. The Paris Judicial Court dismissed the plaintiffs last March, ordering them to pay €25,000 in attorney fees to Sea Shepherd France.


Change of Course


What stands out most from our interviews with volunteers, both former and current, is the disappointment in seeing this movement, once full of values, stripped of its soul. A volunteer who recently participated in a mission in West Africa for Sea Shepherd Global, whom we will call Isabelle*, shared her surprise with L’Impertinent: "Sea Shepherd Global no longer engages in direct action. They no longer deserve the image they promote on social media. They have betrayed the values of the movement. These people have stolen the NGO from its creator and are all in a state of denial. They are trying to convince themselves they acted rightly, but I feel like they are picking on Paul Watson to ease their conscience. It's an internal war that isn’t necessarily based on facts.”


“What we’re doing there no longer aligns with the principles established by Paul Watson”

“What we’re doing there makes sense, but the way it's done no longer aligns with the principles established by Paul Watson. In fact, even mentioning his name irritates everyone on the boat," explains Isabelle. "I’ve only heard people criticize him. I imagine a silent minority still respects what he’s done." The main criticisms directed at Paul Watson seem to involve his navigation style and his bold, confrontational actions. Today, SSG no longer considers interposing itself between fishermen and a whale, for example. “There are quite a few people who are there just because it’s cool to enjoy three months at sea for free,” Isabelle adds. “Paul Watson once famously said: if you’re not ready to die for a whale, you have no place on a Sea Shepherd ship. I don’t think that applies to many people on these ships anymore.”


And Isabelle concludes: “What Global is doing now is useful, it must be done, because it

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saves millions of lives. But to oppose it to what Paul Watson did is counterproductive. The Global leaders should have created their own NGO and called it something else if they wanted to act differently. Paul Watson also said that those who donate to Sea Shepherd should not decide the actions. That clearly isn’t respected anymore either.”


“The DNA of Sea Shepherd was still about being no-nonsense and transparent,” adds another volunteer, who left the organization, tired of the lack of openness surrounding the current situation. Sybille* gave seven years of her life to Sea Shepherd Switzerland. She hesitated to leave because, after “spending so much time and energy in an organization we went on campaigns for,” it’s hard to walk away. According to her, this is the calculation made by volunteers who stay. “Sea Shepherd Global doesn’t want to part with any branch that brings in money. However, it is true that the Swiss branch is less 'rebellious' because the volunteers and donors from Ticino and the German-speaking regions are less exposed to what Sea Shepherd France says,” she explains.


Christophe*, on the other hand, had a hard time with the secrecy that began to reign within the Swiss team after the split: “We had questions. Volunteers from almost all the local groups left the organization at that time because there was a lot of unsaid things, and we didn’t have all the information," he explains. "We were presented with the situation as an ego war that wouldn’t affect direct actions – the reason we had signed up in the first place – which are still present, but in another form. The change of course dates back to 2013-2014. No one is completely good or bad in this story. But with everyone saying what they want, it’s hard to know what to make of it.”


Shady Transactions


During his interview with L’Impertinent in October 2023, Peter Hammarstedt notably stated that Sea Shepherd Global does not work with Austral Fisheries, one of Australia’s largest commercial fishing companies. He said at the time: “We don’t work with any fishing industry, only with governments and their authorities in charge of enforcing fishing laws, or national park authorities, coast guards, and the Navy (…) We don’t have a partnership with Austral Fisheries. We bought a ship from them to turn a fishing vessel into a conservation boat, and I think that’s great.”


While it is true that Sea Shepherd Australia collaborates with Austral Fisheries, it is also the Australian branch that purchased the ship.


David Carter, the CEO of Austral Fisheries, with whom we spoke, confirms this partnership and is full of praise: “I usually describe our collaboration as ‘bold’ or ‘unlikely,’” he explains about SSG. “The fact is, we come from very different worlds but share the same commitment to eliminating illegal fishing, climate action, and fighting marine plastic pollution. The unlikeliness of this alliance makes it strong.”


“We have every interest in ensuring that all fisheries are regulated and managed”

According to Carter, the collaboration with SSG benefits both parties: “For legal operators, who must face the burden of regulations and compliance in a well-managed fishery, illegal fishing is the scourge that depletes our fish stocks, floods our markets, and damages our reputation," he explains. "We have every interest in ensuring that all fisheries are regulated and managed.” As for SSG's interest in this collaboration, Carter reveals: “As part of this relationship, Austral Fisheries also used its political influence to secure charitable status for Sea Shepherd Australia, allowing donations to be treated as tax deductions. Before our intervention, the organization had tried for eleven years to gain this recognition.”


This comes in handy because, according to an internal exchange we were able to review, the ship that Sea Shepherd Global purchased from Austral Fisheries at a discounted price came with a little extra. “We are happy with the deal we made, with around 180,000 liters of fuel onboard, plus a donation of USD 150,000 (...) or approximately AUD 210,000,” wrote Jeff Hansen, Director of Sea Shepherd Australia, in May 2022.


As for Paul Watson, David Carter, whose company is 50% owned by a Japanese fishing company, does not hide his annoyance: “I don’t believe he’s helped the cause at all. He’s been the source of much anxiety for the Sea Shepherd machine. I think he’s like Donald Trump: egocentric and selfish.”

 
 

When asked about its ties with Austral Fisheries, Sea Shepherd Global's communications team responded: “It’s clear that everything we do, we do for one reason: to protect the ocean and the marine life that inhabits it. We measure our success by the number of lives we’ve saved, nothing else. And you, Amèle? How many lives have you saved this year? Are you vegan? :-)”


Turbulent Collaborations


In April 2021, Allianz Insurance announced a partnership with Sea Shepherd Global. In its press release, the company explained its commitment “to clean oceans and coasts, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable fishing practices” by partnering with the international marine conservation organization Sea Shepherd Global.

 

It was also revealed that four Allianz companies are financing the newly acquired Sea Eagle ship and the organization’s fishing activities and crew, who will be tasked with removing fishing nets illegally left in the coastal areas of Italy in the Mediterranean Sea. This partnership has sparked controversy within Sea Shepherd, as Allianz is one of the four most polluting insurance companies in the world. “Last year, Allianz (Germany), AXA and CNP Assurances (France), and Generali (Italy) released into the Earth’s atmosphere the equivalent of at least 40.2 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2),” wrote the Scottish investigative platform The Ferret in 2022. According to British journalists, “the pollution caused by these companies—resulting from their investments in other sectors and contributing to the climate crisis—was comparable to that produced annually within the borders of other mid-sized European countries, including Portugal and Switzerland.”


“The campaign leader on board is a member of the Israeli Defense Forces”

On April 25, a wildlife photographer named Christian Gomez posted a video on his Instagram account, in which he explains why he will no longer work with Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS), also known as Sea Shepherd US, in its current state, and why he urges crew members to do the same, as well as donors to cease their support. “I worked on the Sea Horse during a campaign with Sea Shepherd US (SSCS) in Mexico. In April 2023, I learned that the operations leader and some crew members on board were members of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF),” he explains. “At the time, I found this information problematic, but selfishly thought that SSCS’s work was too important to risk jeopardizing it by revealing this. Later that same year, I learned that the SSCS operations leader had returned to Gaza as a member of the IDF. To me, it became clear that this person had no place in an organization claiming to protect lives. I naively thought Sea Shepherd US would react. That they couldn’t continue employing someone actively involved in such military operations while claiming to save marine life. That Sea Shepherd’s leaders couldn’t be that cynical. But I discovered that this campaign leader had an Instagram account filled with photos of him taking the lives of other human beings.”



As Christian Gomez recounts, the campaign leader’s Instagram account was switched to private following the publication of his video. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society then removed the individual’s name and image from their websites. We were able to view the soldier’s war-related posts, including those of executions, and confirmed that his profile had indeed been removed from the site. However, according to Christian Gomez, the soldier remains active within the organization. Before Christian Gomez’s video, the soldier was featured on the SSCS website.

SSCS

According to our information, the Israeli company Yamasec, based in Uganda, has been hiring these mercenaries to provide security on Sea Shepherd Global boats for about seven years. The company is also mentioned in the 2022 tax report of the American branch:


Tax report

The presence of these soldiers on Sea Shepherd Global ships has also been confirmed to us by Isabelle: “They are there to help us in case of pirate attacks and to manage the local soldiers who board with us and give us the legitimacy to dock fishing vessels. One of Yamasec’s bosses has privileged contacts with governments. I was told that without Yamasec, we wouldn’t be able to be there, which surprised me since they’re the ones working for us, not the other way around. There’s a link I find unhealthy between a private security company and local presidents. We were told they were there for training purposes. I couldn’t help but think of another well-known militia, which claims to train soldiers but has hidden agendas.”


“Not to mention that the presence of an Israeli militia seems to pose a problem for many in a group that is typically left-leaning politically,” Isabelle adds. “When I raised questions, I was told that if I ever wanted to board a ship again, I couldn’t criticize Yamasec.”


“I was told I was a danger to the organization”

“We are in full cognitive dissonance,” laments Sybille, who sees this collaboration as a case of cronyism, where Sea Shepherd gives mandates to Yamasec in exchange for access to their network. “On the one hand, they tell us they have nothing to hide, but on the other, we mustn’t talk about it. When volunteers tried to ask questions, they were met with insinuations of anti-Semitism. I was also told I was a danger to the organization.”


Christophe, too, saw this information as the last straw: “We wondered if it was wise, given current events. We’re supposed to be apolitical.” Once again, Sea Shepherd Global’s communications team only responded to our inquiries with sarcasm and provocations. On the side of Sea Shepherd France (SSF), it seems that the president and Paul Watson himself were unaware of this collaboration with Yamasec: “It sounds crazy, but no, we didn’t know,” confides Lamya Essemlali. “It was never discussed during board meetings, and we never approved any contract. Neither Paul nor I have ever been on the African campaigns, and the issue was never raised at Global’s general assemblies.”


“Internal documents, including Yamasec contracts, were kept hidden from us”

According to Essemlali, this is precisely why Sea Shepherd France filed a lawsuit against Global in Amsterdam, “to access the internal documents that were hidden from us, especially these contracts. The Dutch judge refused to grant us access, so we have appealed.” She adds that SSF also requested an investigation from the Paris public prosecutor's office regarding the Yamasec case. As of the time of writing, Yamasec’s website is still under construction, the three contact numbers provided are inactive, and our email inquiries remain unanswered.


Low Tide


At the Cinélux in Geneva, Swiss branch director Natalie Maspoli tried to rally the half-empty room with a “Ready to meet real pirates tonight?” The discomfort was palpable. Especially since some Sea Shepherd France volunteers had traveled across the border to get answers about SSG’s inaction regarding Paul Watson. L’Impertinent, present on-site, publicly questioned the two captains about their silence and inaction following Paul Watson’s arrest. Indeed, the support protest organized in Geneva to oppose this legal gambit was not set up by Sea Shepherd Switzerland but by Virginia Markus and her association Co&xister, which gathered around a hundred people.


“We were shocked by his arrest, like everyone. We have communicated that the charges against him are nonsense,” Alex Cornelissen reluctantly responded. “This is a legal matter to be decided in a court of law, and we believe Paul Watson is armed with the best defense team possible. If they contacted us, we would be ready to provide information and help in any way possible. But this case should not be resolved by public opinion. We must wait and see what happens, but we strongly doubt he will be extradited to Japan.”


post

Our second question—about the removal of posts supporting Paul Watson from SSG’s various virtual pages—could not be asked, as the microphone was forcefully taken away from us. Promises to answer in bilateral discussions at the end of the event were not kept. Natalie Maspoli never responded to our questions (nor to those of the volunteers who came to express their support for Paul Watson outside the cinema, as shown in the video below), and our number was blocked.



This kind of atmosphere raises questions about the climate within certain organizations. A former volunteer, who left the movement before the split, told us he had grown tired of the atmosphere within the nonprofit sector in general: “There are a lot of internal conflicts among activists and a lot of ideology.”


The person we will call Hugo* has his opinion on Sea Shepherd Switzerland’s stance: “They could have organized rallies, shown their support by sharing petitions, and spread the word in Switzerland. It’s important to stay united. No matter the differences they may have had, what is happening to Paul Watson is serious. Since it’s a political issue, public support is crucial. Sea Shepherd Global could do a lot to raise awareness. Their silence is a show of cowardice toward Paul Watson and the movement he created.”


Sea Shepherd Global’s attitude is all the more difficult for some volunteers to understand given that donations have reportedly surged since the famous captain’s arrest. In French-speaking Switzerland alone, merchandising revenues have increased by 66% at the Paléo stand since Paul Watson’s imprisonment, according to one of our well-placed sources. In previous years, the increases were around 10 to 20%. When asked about this, SSG’s media representative did not respond. However, our source noted that sales had already increased before the arrest.

 
 

Lamya Essemlali believes she knows the reason: “SSG sponsored a lot of Google ads for their shop in France, which came up ahead of ours, even in France. The same goes for Sea Shepherd Germany, which included the name Sea Shepherd France shop in their title to create confusion.”


“Global’s real motivations are indefensible, so they stay silent, hoping the controversy will die down and people will move on, which might have happened if we hadn’t made such a fuss in France,” Lamya Essemlali reflects. “They want to oust Paul because he’s incompatible with the compromises they want to make. Peter himself said he wants to change Sea Shepherd’s brand image. Change its DNA. Become more mainstream, institutionalize. My position is that those who want to institutionalize Sea Shepherd should leave and create their own organization.”


And now? Paul Watson's imprisonment has just been extended again in Greenland, where he is awaiting to find out whether he will be extradited to Japan. The cameras of France 2 went to meet him. However, the media buzz hasn’t matched that of Pavel Durov, who was arrested a month later and is now under house arrest. Perhaps it’s not too late for humanity as a whole to reassess its priorities?

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