The SSCS considers the 1982 United Nations World Charter for Nature to be its personal mandate to take action. In 1995, Paul Watson successfully cited the charter as part of his defense when he was charged with felony mischief by Canadian authorities; he was acquitted by “reason of colour of right,” which is a legal defense defined as “an honest belief that an act is justifiable.”
The SSCS also adheres to an Equality Statement, which was likely introduced after the organization was accused of racism due to its focus on Japanese whalers. The statement reads:
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society operates internationally without prejudice towards race, color, nationality, religious belief, or any other consideration except for an impartial adherence to upholding international conservation law to protect endangered marine species and ecosystems.
Those illegal operations that we oppose routinely attempt to accuse Sea Shepherd of being anti-Japanese, anti-Native American, or anti-Scandinavian etc, for our opposition to illegal whaling or the killing of dolphins. We are accused of being anti-Canadian or anti-African for opposing the slaughter of seals. We have been accused of being anti-Latino for opposing illegal South American shark finning operations.
Nothing could be further from the truth. We do not oppose Japanese or Norwegian whaling we oppose illegal whaling as defined under international conservation law. We do not oppose Canadian or Namibian sealing, we oppose the killing of seals.
Sea Shepherd operates outside the petty cultural chauvinism of the human species. Our clients are whales, dolphins, seals, turtles, sea-birds, and fish. We represent their interests.
Our volunteer crewmembers come from all over the world including from the nations that we are forced to oppose such as Japan, Norway, and Canada.
We are not anti-any nationality or culture. We are pro-Ocean and we work in the interests of all life on Earth. We only oppose criminals and criminal operations.
The SSCS is governed by a board of trustees, whose members are:
- Paul Watson: Founder, President, and Executive Director
- Pamela Anderson: Chairwoman
- Pritam Singh: Vice President
- Peter Rysman: Secretary-Treasurer
- Tambrey Laine: Director
It also has several advisory boards focused on different aspects of their operations. These are:
- Scientific, Technical, and Conservation Advisory Board
- Legal and Law Enforcement Advisory Board
- Financial and Management Advisory Board
- Photography Advisory Board
- Media and Arts Advisory Board
- Animal Welfare, Humane and Animal Rights Advisory Board
- Ocean Advocacy Advisory Board
- Children’s Education and Activities Advisory Board
The SSCS also has a set of laws and charters that they claim to follow.
It is important to note that the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and Sea Shepherd Global are two different organizations. The SSCS is based in the US, whereas the SSG is an international umbrella organization that coordinates efforts between regional and national groups in over 20 countries. The SSG website explains:
“These groups are united by a common mission through the Amsterdam-based Sea Shepherd Global, established in 2013, which coordinates finances, communications, logistics and a fleet of five ships to cooperate on direct-action marine conservation campaigns around the world. Sea Shepherd Global is a non-profit registered in the Netherlands as “Stichting Sea Shepherd Global” led by CEO Captain Alex Cornelissen. Sea Shepherd Global operates autonomously – both fiscally and legally – from the US-based Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS).”