January 2013: Legendary free divers Enzo and Patrizia Maiorca join Sea Shepherd’s Board of Advisors.
January 2013: Captain Paul Watson is the second activist to be granted an Aboriginal Nation Passport by the First Peoples of Australia.
January 2013: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society files two petitions with the White House. The first asks for the government to uphold conservation laws and take action against the Japanese whalers, and the second requests that the U.S. does not extradite Captain Paul Watson.
February 2013: Due to a Sea Shepherd investigation, indictments and charges are placed against a Los Angeles restaurant for serving whale sushi. The two sushi chefs face up to 67 years in prison.
February 2013: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society files application with the U.S. Supreme Court asking for the injunction against them by the ICR to be removed. Famed environmental attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. phones in to briefing as a show of support.
February 2013: The Ninth Circuit issues an opinion in support of its injunction, ruling that Sea Shepherd’s activities are piracy. ICR asks the Ninth Circuit to hold Sea Shepherd in contempt because other foreign, independent entities that also use some form of the “Sea Shepherd” name came within 500 yards of ICR’s vessels during Operation Zero Tolerance.
March 2013: Dam Guardians return to Columbia River to document the horrific torture and murder of California sea lions for the crime of eating endangered salmon.
March 2013: Sea Shepherd joins the movement to free South America’s last captive orca, Kshamenk.
April 2013: Smashing Pumpkins violinist and composer Ysanne, donates proceeds of Mermaid Song Project to Sea Shepherd.
April 2013: Captain Paul Watson in exile on the deserted island of Ofalanga in Tonga. Spends time cleaning the plastic debris from the beach.
April 2013: Dam Guardians witness the death and injury to several sea lions.
May 2013: World renowned scientist Louise Leakey speaks out for Sea Shepherd.
May 2013: Sea Shepherd launches Operation Reef Defense in Hawaii, a global campaign to end the destruction of coral reefs.
May 2013: Turtle Conservationist Jairo Mora Sandoval is murdered on a Costa Rican Caribbean beach. Captain Watson offered a $30,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killers.
June 2013: Sea Shepherd France is awarded 20,000 euros from illegal gooseneck barnacle smugglers after being ordered by the French courts.
June 2013: Sea Shepherd backs Australia in legal case to end research whaling.
July 2013: Sea Shepherd Brazil responds to reports of whale abuse and harassment off the Santa Catarina Coast and documents and shares these illegal activities with the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation.
July 2013: Sea Shepherd calls for removal of brutal “research” scientist Matt Tennis.
July 2013: Captain Watson spends his time in exile cleaning beaches in Vanuatu, New Caledonia and the Great Barrier Reef until late September.
August 2013: Cove Guardians arrive in Taiji for Operation Infinite Patience. Police force is in place and waiting for Sea Shepherd to arrive.
August 2013: Brazil’s federal court rules in favor of keeping injunction on whale watching tours in place, following a complaint filed by Sea Shepherd Brazil.
September 2013: Sea Shepherd announces Cove to Captivity video challenge, calling on supporters to create videos highlighting the gruesome path of the dolphins of Taiji.
September 2013: 120 pilot whales are killed in one of the Faroe Islands’ brutal grind hunts as Sea Shepherd Global prepares for Operation GrindStop 2014.
October 2013: Captain Paul Watson is granted permission by the U.S. State Department to return to the USA and lands in Los Angeles onboard the Brigitte Bardot.
October 2013: Contempt proceedings between the Institute of Cetacean Research and Sea Shepherd Conservation Society begin in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
December 2013: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society awards $11,500 NZD to an individual who gave information that led to the conviction of two criminals involved in the vicious and illegal murder of 23 fur seals in New Zealand.
December 2013: A pod of 75-80 dolphins are trapped in the Cove, beginning the process of captive selection and slaughter. The Cove Guardians on the ground document and live stream the atrocities to the world.
