Eco-activist Paul Watson has ended 15 months at sea and entered the United States, braving a previous Interpol call for his arrest to testify in Seattle in defense of his organization's direct actions to stop Japanese whalers in Antarctic waters.
The 62-year-old Canadian, known as "The Captain," arrived in Los Angeles without being arrested, organizers with Sea Shepherd, a direct-action wildlife conservation organization that Watson founded in 1977, announced Thursday.
"I have returned to the United States," he declared Thursday on his Facebook page.
"Heading to Seattle to defend Sea Shepherd and myself from the SLAPP civil suit launched by the Japanese whalers," he added. "We carry on with our efforts to save the oceans, undeterred and undaunted."
He stated that he believes the Interpol "red notice" has been dropped.
Watson was arrested last year by Frankfurt authorities, who picked him up on a warrant from Costa Rica, where he staged a marine protest against shark finning over ten years ago. After being released on bail, he did not appear at his court-ordered meetings with police and instead skipped town, taking to the sea where he has been until his recent disembarkation in the United States.
Last winter, while on his marine journey, he participated in a blockade to protest Japanese whaling ships in the Antarctic.
Watson has slammed the Japanese government for politically targeting him due to his efforts to protect the oceans.
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