Whaling protest captain receives 'Crocodile Hunter' honour
SYDNEY (AFP) — The captain of a militant protest ship involved in a series of high-seas clashes with Japanese whalers received an award Thursday from the widow of "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin.
Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society was named "Wildlife Warrior" of the year by the conservation foundation set up by Irwin, who died from a stingray barb in 2006.
Watson captained the ship "Steve Irwin" -- named after the conservationist -- in the Southern Ocean, harassing Japanese whalers pursuing the giant mammals.
The International Whaling Commission has condemned Watson's tactics, which include throwing stink bombs on whalers and boarding the Japanese vessels, but he was unrepentant.
Watson also claimed he was shot earlier this month in a clash with a whaling ship when flash grenades were thrown in the direction of the protesters.
"Paul is a wildlife warrior in every sense of the world," Irwin's widow Terri said at the award ceremony in Queensland state.
Watson said his critics were "talking about what to do to save whales while we're down there saving whales".
"It was an extremely successful campaign, the Japanese have admitted they're not even going to get half their quota," Watson said.
"If you find a whale that criticises or is upset about what we do, we'll pay attention."
Japan had planned to kill 850 minke whales and 50 fin whales in this year's hunt, which is carried out under a loophole in international rules allowing whaling for scientific purposes.
