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Captain Paul Watson was arrested
yesterday in Germany for extradition to Costa Rica. The German police have said
that the warrant for Captain Watson's arrest is in response to an alleged
violation of ships traffic in Costa Rica, which occurred during the filming of
Sharkwater in 2002. The specific "violation of ships traffic" incident took
place on the high seas in Guatemalan waters, when Sea Shepherd encountered an
illegal shark finning operation, run by a Costa Rican ship called the Varadero.
On order of the Guatemalan authorities, Sea Shepherd instructed the crew of the
Varadero to cease their shark finning activities and head back to port to be
prosecuted. While escorting the Varadero back to port, the tables were turned
and a Guatemalan gunboat was dispatched to intercept the Sea Shepherd crew. The
crew of the Varadero accused the Sea Shepherds of trying to kill them, while the
video evidence proves this to be a fallacy. To avoid the Guatemalan gunboat, Sea
Shepherd then set sail for Costa Rica, where they uncovered even more illegal
shark finning activities such as dried shark fins by the thousands on the
roofs of industrial buildings.
Conservationists around the world maintain
hope that the Costa Ricans will drop the charges against Captain Watson. There
is also a chance that the charges have already been dropped, but Sea Shepherd
has been unable to confirm that with the Costa Rican officials. With Costa
Rica's rich biodiversity, it would be a travesty for them not to stand up for
sharks, which sit at the highest levels of the food chain assuring balance among
ecological communities in the ocean.
While in jail, Captain Watson is
being assisted by the European Parliament Vice President Daniel Cohn Bendit and
the European deputy Jose Bove. Our hope is that these two honorable gentlemen
can set Captain Watson free before this nonsense goes any further. The European
Sea Shepherds have also mobilized to support Captain Watson.
