“Finally Free”: Interpol Drops Red Notice for Anti-Whaling Icon Paul Watson

After 14 years on the run from Japan’s whaling authorities, Sea Shepherd founder and legendary marine activist Paul Watson is officially off Interpol’s most-wanted list.

The global police agency has scrapped the red notice it issued for Watson — a move that Watson himself says closes a long and exhausting chapter. “Finally I am free,” the 74-year-old Canadian-American wrote on social media via the Captain Paul Watson Foundation. “The Japanese whalers have been after me since 2012. It’s been an incredible pursuit by a very powerful nation using unlimited resources.”

The warrant stemmed from a 2010 confrontation with a Japanese whaling ship in Antarctic waters — one of many daring campaigns led by Watson and his crew in defense of marine life. He’s been known for ramming illegal whaling vessels, throwing stink bombs, and drawing global headlines for his ocean battles.

Interpol confirmed Tuesday that its Commission for the Control of Interpol’s Files (CCF) dropped the red notice after “new facts” came to light — including Denmark’s recent refusal to extradite Watson to Japan, despite his arrest in Greenland last year.

Watson was detained in July 2024 while in Greenland, based on Japan’s years-old extradition request accusing him of injuring a whaler and damaging a vessel. Denmark ultimately rejected the request in December, and Watson left for France shortly after — where his children attend school.

Watson’s lawyer, William Julie, said Interpol’s own review panel ruled that the red notice was “disproportionate.” He noted the age of the allegations, Denmark’s refusal to cooperate, and the fact that other countries had also declined to act on Japan’s request.

In short: the world has largely moved on, and Interpol just caught up.

While this is a big win for Watson and the Sea Shepherd movement, it’s not an all-clear just yet. Lamya Essemlali, president of Sea Shepherd France, celebrated the removal of the notice but warned, “He could still be arrested and extradited to Japan depending on the country.”

Still, Watson, a lifelong ocean warrior who’s been dodging political and legal bullets for over a decade, finally has a bit of breathing room.

Whether you see him as a hero or a troublemaker, one thing is clear: he’s not done fighting for the oceans.

With input from Al Jazeera