January: Captain Watson’s offer to purchase enslaved dolphin Misty from Dolphin Base in Taiji, is rejected.
January: Through a classified U.S. State Department document quoting the Japanese Fisheries Agency, Wikileaks reveals that Sea Shepherd is a considered a serious threat by the illegal Japanese whaling fleet.
January: Gojira deploys weather balloons equipped with cameras and radar detection to track the Japanese whaling fleet.
January: Sea Shepherd ships intercept the Sun Laurel, the supply vessel for the Japanese whaling fleet
February: Sea Shepherd’s first outdoor advertising campaign is launched in Times Square in NYC. A large graphic depicting a breaching whale and a harpoon exploding into a whale’s back are featured on the CBS spectacular screen.
February: In what will become an on-going contribution, the Dutch Postcode Lottery donates one million Euros to Sea Shepherd.
February: After being tailed by the Bob Barker for nine days, the Japanese whaling fleet flees the Southern Ocean; Operation No Compromise is declared a victory.
February: The Steve Irwin assists in the search for missing Norwegian vessel Berserk. Sea Shepherd recovers the vessel’s life raft, however the Berserk is never found.
March: Gojira and crew are welcomed to Tahiti by the Minister for the Environment.
March: Members of Sea Shepherd’s Cove Guardian campaign witness the Tsunami in Japan. Campaign leader Scott West guides the crew to safety in Otsuchi.
April: Sea Shepherd awarded 4-star rating for the third consecutive year by Charity Navigator
May: The Steve Irwin is tailed by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden
May: Sea Shepherd Galapagos launches environmental law manual
May: Sea Shepherd vessel Gojira becomes the Brigitte Bardot, named after the dedicated animal rights activist.
May: Operation Blue Rage 2011 commences in the Mediterranean Sea.
June: Tunisian fishing vessels become hostile towards Sea Shepherd vessels throwing stones and steel chain links at the crew on deck. A French naval jet flies over several times to document the incident.
July: The Steve Irwin is detained in the Shetland Island after Maltese fishing company, Fish & Fish files a suit against Sea Shepherd in civil court for alleged damage to fishing gear caused during Operation Blue Rage.
July: The industrial fishing vessel Fer Mary is caught longlining in the Galapagos Marine Reserve. It is discovered to have the bodies of over 300 sharks onboard in what will become the biggest case of shark killing so far in the GMR.
July: The crew aboard the Brigitte Bardot discover a massive Pilot Whale graveyard in the Faeroe Islands where the whales are discarded after mass slaughters called grinds.
July: Operation Desert Seal begins in Namibia. Crews attempt to document and expose the largest slaughter of marine mammals in the world, Cape Fur Seals. Crewmembers are robbed, harassed, and chased.
August: The Steve Irwin is released after Sea Shepherd supporters raise $735,000 to free the ship.
August: Sea Shepherd celebrates 25 years of being banned from International Whaling Commission Meetings.
August: Operation Ferocious Isles, Sea Shepherd’s Pilot whale defense campaign in the Faeroe Islands comes to an end with no Pilot Whales slaughtered while Sea Shepherd was present.
September: Operation Infinite Patience begins its second season as Cove Guardian arrive in Taiji.
September: Sea Shepherd representatives meet with Namibia’s Ombudsman to discuss the county’s annual seal slaughter at Cape Cross Seal Reserve
September: Sea Shepherd Galapagos participates in the apprehension of longliner Reina del Cisne inside the Galapagos Marine Reserve.
October: Sea Shepherd offers an $11,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of a Pilot Whale killer in New Jersey.
October: Sea Shepherd Galapagos completes the installation of AIS sites to help track fishing vessels in the marine reserve.
November: Cove Guardian Rosie Kunneke is harassed in Taiji. Police believe it was an attempted kidnapping.
November: Sea Shepherd Australia is instrumental in raising awareness to prevent a proposed shark cull in Western Australia.
November: Sea Shepherd launches skateboard line with Sector 9.
December: Sea Shepherd welcomes Sean Connery, pro surfer Stephanie Gilmore, and Simpson’s co-creator Sam Simon to the Board of Directors.
December: Armed with $30 million dollars in tsunami relief funds, the ICR files a lawsuit against Sea Shepherd in U.S. court. The goal is to keep Sea Shepherd ships from harassing the illegal whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean.
December: Cellist Michael Goldschlager joins the Sea Shepherd Board of Advisors
December: Cove Guardian Erwin Vermeulen is arrested in Taiji for allegedly pushing a dolphin trainer. Erwin is later aquitted.
December: Operation Divine Wind, Sea Shepherd’s eighth Antarctic whale defense campaign kicks off as crews use drones to intercept the illegal Japanese whaling fleet.
December: The Brigitte Bardot is damaged by a rogue wave in the Southern Ocean and must be escorted back to Australia for repairs.
December: A Galapagos judge annuls the Fer Mary case, allowing the vessel and the defendants to go free.
