Captain Paul Watson — an environmental activist and star of the show “Whale Wars” — has been arrested in Greenland… and a video posted to his foundation’s X account captures the shocking moment.
His foundation, the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, released a video explaining when they landed in Nuuk, Greenland, to refuel for their journey to the Northwest Passage and stop the Japanese whaling ship Kangei Maru.
This morning, Captain Paul Watson was arrested in Nuuk, Greenland, by Danish Federal Police, who boarded the M/Y John Paul DeJoria as soon as it docked.
The crew had stopped to refuel while heading to the Northwest Passage as part of #OpKangeiMaruour campaign aimed at… image.twitter.com/ANWoRFiR42
— Captain Paul Watson Foundation 🐋🏴☠️ (@CaptPaulWatson) July 21, 2024
@CaptainPaulWatson
However, the foundation says that as soon as the ship docked, Danish federal police boarded and arrested Watson.
The video released by the foundation shows officers carrying Watson — who has long white hair and a thick beard — off the boat and into a police vehicle before driving him away.
The Associated Press, citing a police statement, confirmed that Watson had been arrested and that a district court would decide the matter of extradition.
In the clip, it appears that one of the Danish police officers tells the crew that they arrested Paul on an international arrest warrant from Japan… and the foundation is convinced that the longer he remains in Greenland, the more likely he will be extradited to Tokyo.
For those who don’t know… Watson has been an adversary of the whaling industry for years, damaging and sinking ships around the world since founding the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in the late 1970s. He is also a founding member of Greenpeace.
Their story — and the stories of other prominent anti-whaling activists — were captured in the 2008-2015 “Whale Wars” series, where captains of several Sea Shephard ships took down whalers by any means necessary.
Watson’s foundation is asking for money to get him out of detention in Greenland before he is extradited to Japan.
We have contacted the Danish authorities… so far, we have not received a response.