Lamya Essemlali

“Our overall goal is to raise awareness about what humans are doing to the ocean . The next goal, which stems from the first, is to change regulations that are completely lax and permissive. We may have to fight against horrific but technically legal practices.”

“When it comes to ecology, we are all totally overwhelmed by the multiplication of problems and the scale of the issues . If we want to act, we are forced to choose a battle. The sea represents 70% of the earth's surface and, for the moment, Sea Shepherd is the only association with ships to take concrete action on the ground . So I chose this environment because it is a major issue and there is enormous room for improvement. For me, it was a strategic choice, not an ideological one.”

“When a whale gets harpooned, it's not a big deal to anyone. But we figure if humans risk their lives for it, then it can become a big deal. So our job is to shine a spotlight on what's happening at sea . We're whistleblowers. If the ocean dies, we die . We don't have a choice about whether or not to act, so we have to do it.”

“Today, when we evaluate the fish population, we still talk in tons, not in number of individuals . This is something we don't do with any other animal! We talk about fish in terms of stocks. This is serious! This is what fuels this view that we must change. The ocean is not a warehouse with goods that we must manage! It is a living environment that we must respect, for ethical reasons but also more selfishly for our own survival.”