Militant conservationist and Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson will join this year’s campaign against Japanese whalers despite an Interpol notice for his arrest, the group said on Friday.
The Canadian national has not been seen since he skipped bail in Germany in July on charges stemming from a high-seas confrontation over shark finning in 2002 but he has pledged to lead the fight against the harpoonists.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is due to kick off its annual campaign against the whalers on Monday, with four ships and more than 100 international crew readying for the southern hemisphere summer pursuit.
“It is expected Captain Paul Watson would appear in command of one of the vessels when the action begins,” said Peter Hammarstedt, captain of the Sea Shepherd’s Bob Barker vessel.
The environmentalists begin their campaign on Monday with the Steve Irwin, previously captained by Watson, leaving the southern Australian port of Williamstown skippered by Indian Siddharth Chakravarty.
The Bob Barker, currently in Sydney, is due to leave later in November, while Sea Shepherd has not revealed the location of its two other ships, new mystery vessel the Sam Simon and the Brigitte Bardot.
“The plan is for our fleet to meet the whaling fleet in the North Pacific off Japan,” Hammarstedt said in a statement.