CAST LIST
Paul F. Watson, Canadian Captain, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
For 30 years, Captain Paul Watson has been at the helm of the world's most active marine protection non-profit organization - Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Paul Watson's career as a master mariner began in 1968 as a seaman with the merchant marines and with the Canadian Coast Guard. Watson majored in communications and linguistics at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia.
In 1972, Watson was a co-founder of the Greenpeace Foundation in Vancouver, British Columbia. From 1971-77, Watson served as first officer on all Greenpeace voyages, and on a campaign against Russian whalers, he implemented his idea of putting activists in a zodiac between the harpoon and the whale. From 1976-77, he led all of the Greenpeace expeditions to protect harp seals on the ice floes of eastern Canada. In 1977, Watson left Greenpeace because he felt the original goals of the organization were being compromised, and because he saw a specific, global need to continue directaction, conservation activities on the high seas.
In 1977, Watson founded Sea Shepherd Conservation Society - dedicated to research, investigation, and the enforcement of laws, treaties, resolutions, and regulations established to protect marine wildlife and their habitats worldwide. Since then, Watson has traveled and lectured extensively at universities and events around the world, including Pasadena College of Design and UCLA. He has authored six books: Shepherds of the Sea (1979); Sea Shepherd: My Fight for Whales and Seals (1982); Cry Wolf (1985); Earthforce! (1993); Ocean Warrior (1994); and Seal Wars (2002). In addition, he has been the subject of numerous magazine articles and profiles including being chosen by Time Magazine as one of the environmental heroes of the 20th Century in the year 2000.
Shannon Mann, Canadian Quartermaster, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Shannon was born in the prairies of Canada, spending summers exploring the northern forests and lakes of the Canadian flatlands. Early in her life she developed an affinity for animal life and their interaction with the environment. Shannon has always had a compassionate eye to the earth and the creatures that inhabit it.
Scholastic by nature, she studied drosophila flies during university life and later developed high-tech software for cell phone companies. However, her passion for the beleagueredearth and its creatures was never far from her heart.
In 2005, Shannon heard Paul Watson speak at the Annual Animal Rights Conference in Los Angeles. She understood immediately that his was a cause worth being involved in. She returned from the summer conference, contacted the Sea Shepherd, and was accepted as a volunteer for the Antarctic campaign of 2006-2007.
Shannon's tenacious personality and rock-solid belief system have perpetuated her understanding of boundaries, limits and the power of the human spirit. She credits Watson with helping her to understand the power of dedication and fight. During her journey with the Sea Shepherd, she's developed confidence in her ability to navigate the sea and whip up delicious vegan fare, all while fighting for the animals who are helpless to defend themselves.
While Shannon battles on the rocky seas, she relies on the kindred spirit of her sister to care for her best buddy Jack, her beloved rescue dog back home. Shannon's non-profit organization FLEA (Friends of Life, Environment, and Animals) was granted charitable status in Canada in 2008, fueling her passion for the environment and shaping a plan for her future endeavors. Her most passionate goal is to put an end to whaling in the Antarctic Sanctuary once and for all.