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The fact that you've actually lived and caused a species to be saved from extintion
is a nobel legacy and one that people can be proud of.
And of course here in Australia, there's Steve Irwin
Who I think has motivated probably more children around the world
to become conservationists than anybody else I know.
And when it comes to education, you know, it's no match.
Even Jacques Cousteau didn't have that kind of influence.
Because Steve knew that his audience had to be children
Because children what are changing the world, and he knew that.
And of course Terri and Bindi and Robert are carrying that on.
And that is really what is changing, because I'm finding more and more children all the time
who are coming up and saying, you know...
They're not asking what they're gonna do,
they're telling us what they are going to do
and that's really really really gratifying, you know
Because most adults feel powerless, they feel they can't do anything
and what we're trying to do is to motivate people to understand that they can make a difference
You know a few years ago I got a call from a guy in Scottland and he said:
„They're killing Grey Seals up here in the Orkney Islands, what are you gonna do about it?“
I said: „I don't know, I'm at the coast of North America, what are you gonna do about it?“
He's all like: „What can I do about it?!“
So anyway, we talked and everything, he got a group of scottish volunteers and
they went up to the Orkney Islands and they stood on the beach when the Sealers landed
they actually took my words of advise literally
and they walked up and started pulling the rifles out of the hands of the sealers and throwing them in the water
and getting into a lot of trouble and getting arrested.
But creating so much publicity that we raised enough money to buy that island
and it's now a Seal Sanctuary.
So that was done by one man.
And that was all accomplished by one man, who said:
„Well, what can I do?“
And you know the fact is that each end every one of us has the ability to change the world.
And we just need to know that, you know, that we have the power to do that.
Because unfortunately in our society we're always told:
„Well, if you wanna change the world you can vote.“
You know.
Or you can sign a petition.
We're not used to people actually intervening directly and taking it into their own hands.
Fortunately we've been able to that over the years
and do it in a responsible manner.
And when I say responsible.
We have to do what we do, making sure that we don't injure anybody.
And it's very very difficult.
The Japanese down there are trying to kill us.
They are literally trying to kill us and if they do,
if they injure or kill us.
Their government will justify and defend it.
We have to do what we do, making sure that we don't hurt them,
knowing that our governments are going condemn us for whatever we do
because our governments don't like to be shown up.
And we're in fact doing the job that they refuse to do.
So I'm quiet confident that this year we'll be able to finish this war- to save the whales.
And Whale Wars as a show has been incredibly successful.
I knew it would be, because when I went to sell the show
I went to all the networks and Animal Planet went for it.
But I said to each and every one of these networks:
„You know the biggest show on discovery right now, is a bunch of guys
who are going out to a remote part of the Barren Sea and catching crabs.
Deatlies catch.
And I said: „That's all they're doing is catching crabs.
I said: „We'll take men and women from around the world to a far more remote area,
far rougher oceans to save whales and we'll throwing some penguins and some icebergs
and it's gotta be more compelling than catching crabs.
And they went for it and it's now the highest rated show on Animal Planet.
So that has gotten us a lot of support.
So I'm really quiet confident that this is going to be the year that's gonna turn things around.
If it isn't we will be back again next year.
Because we cannot retreat from this.
We cannot surrender from this.
We gotta keep the preasure on until we win.
And right after this campaign, we'll be taking our ships to the Mediterranean
to defend the Bluefin Tuna.
The Tuna will be extinct within five years unless we intervene.
And Japan, the Mitsubishi Corporation in Japan is building giant refigerating warehouses
to stuff as much Bluefin Tuna in it as they possibly can.
The reason being is, they're literally investing in extinction.
They want that fish to go extinct.
The reason being, it's a quarter million dollar fish right now.
That's how much one of those little things goes for on the Japanese fish market.
But if there's no more and you're sitting on tens of thousands of them in the warehouse
You've got a million dollar fish.
And they'll be able to set the price for it.
That's what they're aiming for.
So what we're actually have is people who are literally investing in the extinction of species.
Because there's a lot of money to being made from it.
The Bluefin Tuna. The most magnificent fish in the ocean.
A warm blooded creature that can swim at 70 miles per hour, you know.
It can go from North Dakota to Africa in two weeks.
I mean the most incredible fish in the ocean and they wanna wipe it out.
And one of the reason, that we promote vegetarianism on the ships is
not for animal right reasones, but for environmental conservation reasons.
People just are not aware of the connections on this.
Do you know that the biggest aquatic predator on the planet right now is the pig.
Pigs are eating more fish than all the worlds sharks put together.
Because 35% of all the fish removed from the ocean is turned into fish meal and fet to life stock.
Albatross and puffins are starving because we're taking the sand eal and the fish that they eat
and grind them up into fish meal to feed factory farm chickens in Europe.
Chickens are eating more fish than albatross and puffins.
Domestic house cats are eating more tuna than all the worlds seals put together.
And people are not aware of these connections.
And they say, you know, there's a farm-raised fish,
we're gonna have a farm-raised salmon here. So we're part of the solution.
No, to raise one salmon on a fish farm, takes 70 fish caught from the ocean to raise and feet it.
and feed and raise it.
Of course since salmon by the way get their red flesh from the fact that they feed on grill in the deep seas.
Farm-raised salmon don't have that kind of color of flesh.
They have a dirty white flesh.
Nobody's gonna buy that, so what they do is, they put dye in the food pallets to dye their flesh that color
and they fill it all full of antibiotics and hormons and everything else.
The most unhealthy fish on the market!
But we're encouraging more and more people to eat fish.
When in fact the problem is, is that we're running out of fish.
And the oceans are dying.
There's simply not enough fish in the oceans to continue to feed the ever expanding population of human beings.
And what that means is, is that if the fish disappear, the oceans die.
If the oceans die civilisation collapses and we all die.
That is the connection.
Last year the FOX Network actually criticized me and said that I
I don't like people. Which is true.
But they said that I thought that worms are more important than people and
how could I possibly say something so horoble.
And they called me up at night, did an interview and said:
„Did you that worms are more important than people?“
I said: „Yes!“
Ang they said: „How do you justify that?“
I said: „Very simple! Worms can live on the earth without people. People cannot live on the earth without worms.
Ecological speaking, we need them, they don't need us.
Therefore ecological speaking they're more important than we are.“
As are our honey-bees and beatles and ants and you know a thousand other species,
that if without them, if they were to disappear we would not be able to survive.
So that's the thing that we have to understand, is that we have to live in harmony with all of this other species.
Because if we don't then we're gonna take one of them out too many
and the whole thing is gonna crash down and we will be responsible for driving our own species into extinction.
We're not very smart ecologically.
We might think that we're all high and mighty when in fact we're just a bunch of overly conceded apes
who are divine legends in on their own mind.
But the fact is, is that: We don't know that much.
And just to finish off, one whaler in Norway said:
„Paul Watson you say that whales are more intelligent then people.
This is a so stupid thing to say. How could you say something so stupid.
And I said: „Well George, I meassure intelligence by the ability to live in harmony with the natural world.
and by that criteria, whales are far more intelligence than people are.
And he's all: „By that criteria cockroaches are more intelligent than people.
I said: „George, you're beginning to understand what I'm trying to tell you here.“
The fact is: We have a lot to learn, even from cockroaches, and that.
So thank you very much for your support and thank you all for coming.
And uhm Sue and Traver have a....
...picture here for ya.
And thank you for all of your support.
Oh here. Come down.
So thank you all for everything you've done for us.
Her: Thank you
Him: Thank you very much
Paul: Thanks.Thanks.
And thank you Terri and Bindi and Robert for coming here tonight.
And you know we're really really proud of the fact that we have Steve Irwin's name on our ship.
And I thought it was really funny last year when Japan tried to say that we couldn't …
you know that they wanted Australia to close the ports to us and not let us back in.
I said: „Nah, that's not gonna happen, there's no way that Australia is going
to refuse a ship named the Steve Irwin to come into Australia.
So and in fact that proofed to be the case.
So thank you.