WHO WE ARE AND OUR MISSIONCaptain Paul Watson founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an international non-profit organisation whose mission is to stop the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world's oceans.
Sea Shepherd began its journey to become the most effective direct action marine conservation organisation with just one vessel. Our first ship was a British-registered fishing trawler and was aptly named Sea Shepherd. Her major action was ramming and damaging the outlaw pirate whaler the Sierra and the campaign to find and disable the Sierra was Sea Shepherd's first direct action.
While Sea Shepherd started in Canada, today we have operations all over the world. Sea Shepherd is a global movement made up of people, just like you, who care and believe that that we can make a difference. Sea Shepherd runs on the efforts of volunteers and the donations we receive from our supporters around the world.
The original mission of Sea Shepherd was marine mammal protection and conservation with an immediate goal of shutting down illegal whaling and sealing operations, but was later expanded to include all marine wildlife.
Sea Shepherd’s current Mission Statement is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world’s oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species.
Sea Shepherd uses innovative direct-action tactics to investigate, document and take action when necessary to expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas. By safeguarding the biodiversity of our delicately balanced oceanic ecosystems and working to ensure their survival for future generations.
From the gentle giants of the sea to its smallest creatures, Sea Shepherd’s mission is to protect all marine wildlife species living in our oceans. Our campaigns have defended whales, dolphins, seals, sharks, penguins, turtles, fish, krill and aquatic birds from poaching, unsustainable fishing, habitat destruction, and exploitive captivity.
“I have been honoured to serve the whales, dolphins, seals and all the other creatures on this Earth. Their beauty, intelligence, strength, and spirit have inspired me.” - Paul Watson
The ocean environment is an intricately-balanced ecosystem designed to support and sustain marine wildlife. To truly thrive, they need safe sanctuaries to feed, mate and raise their young without pollution, destructive fishing gear, plastics and other marine debris that choke marine wildlife and destroy their habitats. Sea Shepherd opposes the pollution of the fragile ecosystem through off-shore drilling and fisheries, as well as the destruction of coral reefs from trawling, and the loss of coastal nesting sites from commercial development.
“We fight to preserve the planet because we recognize that we share the Earth with other species and that their well-being is inexorably linked to ours. We fight to preserve the planet because it is a matter of sour own survival and we’ve taken the fight to sea.” - Captain Peter Hammarstedt