Jay Alabaster 
Anti-whalers attack Japanese whaling ships. (©Institute of Cetacean Research)
Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson and Japan’s whalers are caught in powerful undercurrents, pulling them toward yet another clash at sea.
The warhorse anti-whaler needs the clicks and views he knows whaling campaigns bring, even if it means ignoring far more urgent issues.
Meanwhile, the Japanese whaling coalition has doubled and tripled down on catching and selling mass quantities of whale meat, even as the domestic palate drifts away.
Media Savant, not a Terrorist
Watson portrays himself as an environmental pirate, and many within Japan have labeled him an “eco-terrorist.” However, the Japanese side should understand that they are primarily facing a media savant with decades of experience.
Watson is the antagonistic campaigner who helped found Greenpeace and later Sea Shepherd. At Greenpeace, he was one of the pioneers of the concept of the “mindbomb” image or video that spreads on its shock value. Today these would be called going viral. Greenpeace’s first successful mindbomb was a video of activists floating in a rubber raft in front of a Russian whaling ship.
Ousted from both groups, Watson founded a third group in 2022. A year later he plotted a course for Japanese whaling grounds, hoping to ride the success of past campaigns. He was arrested en route and narrowly avoided extradition to Tokyo.
Prolonged Arrest Brings Media Attention
His campaign was foiled. But his incarceration in Greenland dragged on for five months, gifting his fledgling organization with intense media attention.
Japan quit the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which regulates the world’s hunts, in 2019. After decades of fruitless negotiations and legal setbacks, the country abandoned its bid for international sanction and began commercial whaling in local waters. In 2024, its whaling conglomerate launched a massive new ¥8 billion JPY ($51 million USD) factory whaling ship, greatly boosting efficiency and capacity but anchoring it to weighty financial burdens.
Watson is under no obligation to attempt a return to Japanese waters. Officials with the Japan Coast Guard have stated unequivocally that they intend to arrest him for past infractions in the Antarctic if the opportunity arises.
Golden Opportunity to Return to Japan
But his arrest and subsequent release in December 2024 have presented him with a golden opportunity. Before those events, his organization and its anti-Japanese-whaling campaign barely registered with the international press. His time in jail drew favorable media coverage from the world’s biggest media outlets, while search engine queries and social media mentions spiked.
Any return to Japanese waters would be a must-cover event. Even if he failed to find or document any actual whale hunts, the story of his arrival would undoubtedly go global.
Watson is not a terrorist. He is not running an eco-business for profit. He is a media activist.
The lifeblood of any fledgling activist group is attention. As the articles and mentions pile up, so do the donations and volunteers.
Everything for the Camera
Watson’s most egregious attacks against Japanese whaling ships in the Antarctic, while indisputably dangerous, were all media performances. As he lobbed acid at whalers and put his ships in the path of Japanese catcher boats, he made sure the cameras on board were rolling. At the time his ships were both host to and star of “Whale Wars,” a heavily biased show on the Antarctic clashes.
Japan and its whalers should be prepared for the international media attention that is sure to come. Any lengthy standoff at sea, shipboarding, or imprisonment will only make media martyrs of their antagonists.
Preaching to the Whaling Choir
Arguments for whaling within Japan, where few oppose the practice, don’t work abroad.
A TV news special in January featured whaling advocates such as Hideki Tokoro, the president of Japanese whaling firm Kyodo Senpaku. He was passionate as always on the topic and outlined his company’s efforts and strict adherence to quotas and regulations.
However, he also argued for whaling using the oft-used reasoning that whaling increases Japan’s food independence. This is easily refuted and shouldn’t be used in an international forum. In Japan, domestic crop harvests are regularly curbed to increase profits, and the meat of hundreds of thousands of wild deer and boar are wasted each year.
Similarly, arguments based on the rationale that killing whales leaves more fish for people are simplistic and make little sense under the comparative scales of whaling and fish consumption.
New Advantages for Whalers
Still, numerous factors will make the task of anti-whalers more difficult. Unlike its predecessor, the newly built 9,300-ton Kangei Maru is a factory whaling ship with a completely enclosed flensing space, making it far more difficult to get the bloody footage that activists crave.
Previous campaigns often argued that Japan violated international agreements by whaling in the Antarctic. But now the Japanese hunts take place completely within the country’s own exclusive economic zone (EEZ), where it has full rights to marine resources.
Furthermore, however repugnant many Westerners may find whaling, there is far more general knowledge today on the real risks that whales face. Whaling is no longer a real danger to any species. The “Whale Wars” are over.
Bigger Issues than Whaling for Whales
The annual Japanese whaling quotas issued by the Fisheries Agency total roughly 400 animals. About another 1200 small cetaceans are caught each year. None of the targeted species are endangered.
The numbers are insignificant compared to the over 300,000 whale and dolphin deaths estimated from entanglement in fishing gear. Scientists have even called for the disbandment of the IWC.
Ironically, the oceans are in desperate need of determined, grizzled activists like Paul Watson.
Endangered Species Need Watson
An example is North Atlantic right whales. They are highly endangered, with only about 370 individuals left. As the US government points out “whaling is no longer a threat” to the species, while fishing gear and ship strikes are their leading causes of death.
During Watson’s journey toward Japanese waters in 2023, his ship departed from Dublin and crossed the Atlantic toward Greenland, taking him directly through the habitat of the North Atlantic right whale.
If only he would apply his talents where they are so desperately needed.
RELATED:
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- France Protects Anti-whaling 'Activist' Engaged in Terrorist Activities
Author: Jay Alabaster
