Zieloni też walczą – ewolucja Sea Shepherd Conservation Society .......... 129

Environmental movements usually brings to mind predominantly peaceful or lowimpact actions executed by smaller or larger groups. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is one of the most recognizable direct action groups for marine conservation. Founded in Canada in 1977, the group has become famous for its completely different style of marine conservation. The organization’s founder Paul Watson abandoned Greenpeace’s pacifist approach in favour of Direct Action Activism. The Sea Shepherd fleet was tasked with at least making illegal whaling and the then virtually unregulated mass killing of seals difficult if not impossible. Determined methods of action elicited an equally determined response leading to both battles at sea and the sinking of ships through battering and lengthy trials to apprehend group members and property. This gradually led to the evolution of the organization’s activities from a quasi-pirate model to that resembling an NGO supporting the Coast Guard and Navy in close cooperation with them. The purpose of this article is to highlight the activities of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and to characterize its evolution with a focus on its Canadian component. In addition, the issue of contemporary ecoterrorism will be addressed.