CAMPBELL RIVER, B.C- The captain of the Sea Shepherd recently denied accusations that his team harassed fish farm employees, but one site manager disagrees.
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Reacting to a press release from the BC Salmon Farmers Association accusing them of harassment, founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Paul Watson, said the allegations were untrue.
“Well, they’re lying. We haven’t been harassing anybody,” he said.
“And if we have, why don’t they have us charged?”
Maurice Isaac, site manager at Midsummer Island fish farm, said he had first hand experience of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society harassing employees at their workplace.
“The harassment was the constant pictures of the employees who gave no consent to that type of behaviour,” said Isaac, a member of the Tlowitsis Nation.
He said the team also verbally harassed workers.
“Their comments to us, that we’re killing the wildstocks, we’re killing the First Nation’s food source, just a lot of crazy accusations made,” said Isaac.
“If you can imagine having someone with a camera in your face while you’re trying to do your job. Then we’re targets, this gets publicly shown. We get posted in their photos and videos.”
“We’re just working men and women of the industry, trying to provide for our families,” Isaac said.
Watson said the Sea Shepherd Society would be researching in the area again this summer, and that they have the right of free navigation in British Columbian waters.
Isaac said he wasn’t looking forward to it.
“We care about the environment too, it’s not like we’re just out here without a care.”
