   the sea shepherd conservation society (sscs) is a non-profit, marine conservation organization based in friday harbor on san juan island, washington in the united states. sea shepherd uses direct action tactics to protect marine life. the organization was founded in 1977 under the name earth force society by paul watson, a former member of greenpeace, after a dispute with that organization over what watson saw as its lack of more aggressive intervention. the group has a strong focus on public relations to spread its message via the media. in 2008, animal planet began filming the weekly series whale wars based on the group's encounters with the japanese whaling fleet in the southern ocean, a development which brought the group much publicity. sea shepherd currently operates the vessels , the , the  (donated by the founder of the simpsons for the 2012 campaign) and the . operations have included scuttling and disabling whaling vessels at harbor, intervening in canadian and namibian seal hunts, shining laser light into the eyes of whalers,{{cite news|title=street fight on the high seas|publisher=the new yorker|date=january 12, 2010|url=http://www.newyorker.com/online/blo
Sea_Shepherd_Conservation_Society