According to NOAA, the US National Ocean Service scientists estimate that 50 to 80% of the oxygen production on earth comes from the ocean. Furthermore, the ocean absorbs 50% more carbon dioxide than the atmosphere does. Scientists also estimate that about 1 million species of animals live in our oceans. So to say that the oceans matter is an understatement. It's a fact that our oceans are the reason for life on our planet. Our guest today Captain Paul Watson says, “We are the ocean.”

In this episode of Follow Your Different, Captain Paul Watson shares his experience as a Sea Shepherd and what it takes to dedicate your life to be on a cause that matters to you. Captain Paul Watson is the founder of Sea Shepherd, a nonprofit focused on saving marine wildlife through direct interventions with poachers and the like. He was also a co-founder of Greenpeace, and talks about why he parted ways with the organization.

That said, whether you love him or hate him, every second of this dialogue is riveting. So stay tuned.
Choosing His Dedication
When asked about how he got started in his cause, Captain Paul shares that even as a child, he had always helped animals that needed it. He would free them from traps that he found around his hometown.

Captain Paul then took it to the next level by cofounding Greenpeace Foundation back in 1969, and eventually established Sea Shepherd in 1977.

As for the challenges he has faced, there was a particular one that stuck with him. This was back in 1973, when he was a volunteer medic for the American Indian Movement. Even as they were surrounded and overwhelmed, Russell Means said this to him:

“Well, we're not concerned about the odds. And we're not concerned about winning or losing, we're here because it's the right place to be the right thing to do in the right time to do it. Don't worry about the future, focus on the present, what we do in the present will define what the future will be.” – Russell Means

 
The Sea Shepherd Society
Captain Paul talks about the activities of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, and their partnerships with several countries to protect marine wildlife. As most of their activities tend to cross over country boundaries, cooperation and coordination with local authorities is important in having an effective campaign.

He then further explains that 40% of the fish that is caught in the world is illegally caught. By illegal, it either was caught by fishing vessels crossing country boundaries without permission, by illegal or unsustainable means, or by overfishing certain species of fish due to demand.

Yet no one questions how their favorite fish arrives in the market. Worse still, not all of the fish that are caught are for human consumption.

“The other problem we have is that a good percentage of the fish caught isn't even eaten by people. It's fed to animals to pigs to chickens to house cats, to domestic salmon to fur bearing animals. 2.8 million tons of fish go just for cat food all the time.” – Captain Paul Watson

 
Plundering the Oceans
Captain Paul points out that it's sad that not a lot of people seem to understand how devastating it would be for everyone if we continue this way. Plundering the oceans is causing incredible diminishment in both its biodiversity and interdependence.

As he said before, we are the ocean. If the ocean dies, we die. Simply put, the ocean is the life support system of our planet.

The ocean plays a huge role in our lives: from providing many households with food, down to the air we breathe.