Sea Shepherd
Mediterranean Bluefin tuna defense campaign
Sea Shepherd marine conservation group was founded by Paul Watson in 1977 after he broke away from Greenpeace. Sea Shepherd uses direct action tactics to defend and protect marine life and enforce international conservation laws. The Blue Rage 2 campaign was an operation to protect the blue fin tuna, the worlds fastest fish and one of the top predators in the marine ecosystem, from extreme overfishing. The bluefin tuna is listed by the IUCN (international Union for the Conservation of Nature) as endangered. However because of the extraordinary high prices the meat fetches on the international market, poaching continues and as the fish becomes rarer in the ocean the price paid goes higher. The Blue Rage campaign has now evolved into Operation Siso which in partnership with Italian authorities works to tackle illegal and unregulated fishing in Mediterranean waters.
In May 2011 I joined Sea Shepherd in the Mediterranean as campaign photographer to document the Blue Rage 2 operation.
