Life began in the ocean, and the ocean is the lifeblood of our planet. Yet commercial whaling, illegal poaching, the slaughter of marine life, and the vast quantities of waste dumped into the sea every year have already triggered an ecological catastrophe of staggering proportions. To mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, Discovery Channel is airing a special tribute, Ocean Guardian: Paul Watson, honoring the man who has dedicated his entire life to marine conservation — Paul Watson, a legendary and endlessly controversial ocean defender. This self-described eco-terrorist, the weathered old captain with fierce, blazing eyes, has spent a lifetime fighting for marine life: risking his own life to protect endangered species and threatened habitats. To shield seals, he threw himself in front of moving vessels. To stop whale hunts, he fearlessly rammed his ship directly into whaling boats. These wildly audacious acts were aimed at forcefully halting the illegal mass slaughter of ocean species — yet they also made him a target for smear campaigns and personal harm. He became a wanted man in Costa Rica and Japan, and even Interpol issued a Red Notice against him.
Watson was once the subject of an Interpol Red Notice — a thorn in the side of international law enforcement.
He once said: "You have to make waves and upset certain people — if you don't, you're not doing your job." What is the conviction that drives Paul Watson behind all his daring exploits and hard-won battles? How has he spent a lifetime doing what he believes is right? Discovery Channel will air Ocean Guardian: Paul Watson on April 22nd, Earth Day's 50th anniversary, at 10 p.m. — telling the full story of his extraordinary life through the lens of award-winning documentary director Lesley Chilcott, with the aim of awakening global marine conservation awareness.
Boarding a Japanese vessel and documenting every moment of his captivity, Watson successfully waged a media war that earned international headlines.
Using His Body as a Shield — Fighting on the Front Lines for Marine Conservation!
People kill ninety million sharks every year just for their fins — a fleeting culinary indulgence; defenseless baby seals are clubbed to death, their pristine white fur stripped from their living bodies; and for military and economic purposes — including the manufacture of intercontinental ballistic missiles — the Soviet Union slaughtered whales on a massive scale to obtain whale oil. These were the blood-soaked scenes that Paul Watson witnessed firsthand, and they set him irrevocably on the path of fighting for marine life.
A whale robbed of its fins can only sink silently to the ocean floor and wait quietly for death to come.
Ocean Guardian: Paul Watson weaves together interviews with Captain Watson, jaw-dropping archival footage from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, and breathtaking, epic vistas of underwater wonders. This self-described eco-terrorist — eyes burning with intensity — leads viewers through faded photographs as he revisits his remarkable and illustrious conservation legacy. To defend marine life, he and his crew sailed ships flying the Jolly Roger into direct confrontations with hunting fleets time and again — in Europe, the Antarctic seas, and beyond. To prevent Canadian fishermen from killing seals, he put his own body in front of the vessels. To stop Russian whaling fleets in their tracks, he drove his ship fearlessly between the whalers and the whales. He even dared to board the Nisshin Maru — dubbed "the world's largest whale-killing machine" — and even while held as a hostage, refused to back down from stopping the slaughter. These radical tactics repeatedly put him in danger and drew fierce controversy. He made countless enemies: seal hunters once broke down his door and fifty men beat him alone; Costa Rica and Japan separately accused him of endangering vessels and illegal trespassing, leaving him cornered and forced to flee — ultimately leading to his arrest and imprisonment. Yet this defiant fighter showed not a flicker of regret, saying with unshakeable calm: "Risking your life to protect an endangered species or a threatened habitat — that kind of courage is deeply noble."
Watson and his companions physically blocked a Norwegian seal-hunting vessel, successfully forcing it to abandon the hunt.
Playing the Media, Stirring Global Opinion — All for the Ocean Life He Loves!
Watson also understands that in "a world of media culture, if there's no camera, it didn't happen." So his ships always carry cameras, documenting everything they do and sharing it with the media at every opportunity. Beyond documentation, Watson has been willing to use bold, provocative stunts to draw global attention to marine conservation — creating headlines and stirring controversy. "If we have to stand on our heads to get people to pay attention, then that's what we'll do!" He believes that "if you want to be an effective conservationist, you have to be prepared to say what people don't want to hear, and to do what people want done but don't want to be seen doing. You have to make waves and upset certain people — if you don't, you're not doing your job."
He uses the analogy of a spacecraft's life-support system, its crew, and its passengers to describe the relationship between the ocean, ocean species, and humanity — explaining that the life-support system generates oxygen, provides food, and regulates temperature and climate, and must be operated by the crew. Yet we humans are relentlessly harming and killing that crew. "Once you kill too many crew members, the life-support system begins to collapse. The death of the ocean is the death of humanity!" What a chilling warning. Watson — a warrior who knows exactly what he's doing — has moved the hearts of millions around the world with his fearlessness and unwavering passion, inspiring people not only to support his cause but to join the conservation movement themselves. Today, they command the world's largest non-governmental naval force, Sea Shepherd Global, continuing to patrol the waters of more than a dozen countries worldwide to protect marine life.
Tune in to Discovery Channel at 10 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22nd for Ocean Guardian: Paul Watson — and let Watson's legend plant a seed in your heart that blooms into something beautiful.
As more and more people join the cause of ocean protection, Watson has built the world's largest non-governmental navy.
Watson deliberately handcuffed himself to a sealskin and was dragged across the ice alongside it, making a powerful statement of protest.
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is the flagship television network of the Discovery Communications Group, dedicated to producing the highest-quality factual programming in the world and one of the most dynamic channels on television. Launched in 1985, Discovery Channel now reaches 220 million households across the Asia-Pacific region. It offers viewers the richest and most diverse range of high-quality factual entertainment — from classic wildlife documentaries to science and engineering, history and civilization, culture, and adventure. To learn more about Discovery Channel, visit www.discoverychannel.com.tw or search "Discovery 頻道" on Facebook.
Related links:
