The time I met the Shepherds
In late 2019, the Sea Shepherd vessel Ocean Warrior was docked in Singapore for maintenance. Sea Shepherd is an international direct-action conservation charity that carries out targeted actions to stop illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. They have been on the front lines to save marine wildlife, conduct vital research and stop illegal activity through collaborative campaigns with communities and governments through lawful means and in accordance with international charters and declarations.
The work of the Shepherds
I got the lucky opportunity to go onboard the Ocean Warrior for a tour through Animal Allies, a local non-governmental organisation that aims to educate the public on the importance of plant-based living in this age of climate crisis. My biocentrism journey began with an interest in whales that led me to find out about Sea Shepherd through ‘Whale Wars’ on Discovery World. I found myself dumbfounded at how the crew risked their lives halting whaling vessels while facing the wrath of high-speed water jets out in the choppy seas. They made me see the inherent value of all living things through their dedication to protecting marine lives.
Their work also helps to protect human rights and stop abuse. It is especially common that they come across fishing vessels fishing illegally ‘employing’ slaves from countries like the Philippines, Bangladesh and Thailand. Large groups of men that were promised good payouts are forced to work at gunpoint out in the high seas where no one will ever find their carcass when they die.
Antoine, an Ocean Warrior crew member, was looking at one of his drone shots of a fishing vessel in Timor Leste waters when he saw a worker who dipped his hand into shark’s blood and wrote ‘HELP’, looked at the drone, then erased it. It was this horrific scene that fuelled Operation Apex Harmony, where the Sea Shepherds partnered the East Timor National Police to apprehend a fleet of 15 industrial fishing ships suspected of targeting sharks in the waters surrounding East Timor and Australia. Fortunately, this story has a good ending – Sea Shepherd managed to provide leads to the East Timor National Police to nab those illegally slaughtering sharks and freed the slaves.1
However, the IUU fishing vessels present out at sea today still vastly outnumber the number of Sea Shepherd vessels. Despite putting themselves and their vessels out there to stop IUU fishing fleets, their untold hard work will be in vain if we continue supporting the seafood industry.
Fish are friends, not food
Our seafood in Singapore is sourced from everywhere and tracing sources of seafood imported to Singapore is also out of the question. This boils down to the opaqueness of the seafood industry that is similar to the garment industry. The possibility of our seafood coming at the expense of the enslavement of others is real – precisely to meet the enormous consumer demand that we fuel.
. For sure, the world is not going to stop eating seafood overnight. Boycotting seafood is not enough, but it is a starting point. We also need to demand more transparency in our food sources.
Even though the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is not an animal rights or animal welfare organization, meals on Sea Shepherd ships are vegan because it is a powerful alternative to the continued, unsustainable consumption of ocean life. The ocean is the heart of the planet and it sustains all life both on land and in the sea.
Sea Shepherd’s position is that only relatively “sustainable” fisheries are artisanal fishermen working from very small boats out of tiny ports in India and Africa2. We need to remove the corporations, the big trawlers, seiners, and long-liners, the heavy gear, the big nets, the long lines and the factory ships – for the sake of our oceans.
Glossary
Biocentrism: A perspective holding that all life deserves equal moral consideration or has equal moral standing.
Cover photo from Sea Shepherd Conservation Society