Whale Wars ''Whale Wars'' is a weekly American Reality television#Documentary-style, documentary-style reality television series that premiered on November 7, 2008 on the Animal Planet cable channel. The program followed Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shep ...

'' is a weekly American documentary-style reality television series that premiered on November 7, 2008, on the

Animal Planet Animal Planet (stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American multinational pay television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1, 1996, the network is primarily dev ...

cable channel. The program follows

Paul Watson Paul Franklin Watson (born December 2, 1950) is a Canadian-American conservation and environmental movement, environmental activist, who founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an anti-poaching and direct action group focused on marine c ...

, founder of the

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is a non-profit, marine conservation activism organization based in Friday Harbor, Washington, Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, Washington, in the United States. Sea Shepherd employs direct action t ...

, as he and his crew aboard their various vessels attempt to deter

Japanese whaling Japanese whaling, in terms of active hunting of whales, is estimated by the Japan Whaling Association to have begun around the 12th century. However, Japanese whaling on an industrial scale began around the 1890s when Japan started to participate ...

off the coast of Antarctica. The fourth season concluded on August 12, 2011. A spin-off titled ''Whale Wars: Viking Shores'' features the Sea Shepherd trying to stop

Whaling in the Faroe Islands Whaling in the Faroe Islands, or (from the Faroese terms , meaning pilot whale, and , meaning killing), is a type of drive hunting that involves herding various species of whales and dolphins, but primarily pilot whales, into shallow bays ...

. The spin-off season aired during 2012. Also aired in 2012 were two special episodes, " Operation Bluefin" and " Seal Wars". Season 6 consisted of a special two-hour episode titled "Whale Wars: A Commander Rises", which was aired on December 13, 2013. It features the Sea Shepherds once again attempting to stop Japanese whaling in the

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is regarded as the second-small ...

and the

Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary The Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary is an area of 50 million square kilometres surrounding the continent of Antarctica where the International Whaling Commission (IWC) has banned all types of commercial whaling. To date, the IWC has designated two ...

during the 2013 whaling season.

Series overview

;Notes

Episodes

Season 1 (2008)

Season 1 consisted of 7 episodes and aired from November 7, 2008, to December 19, 2008. Much of the action depicted in this season occurred between November 2007 and February 2008. Season One is now available on DVD. The first season of Whale Wars was the most watched program ever for Animal Planet, capturing more than one million viewers for its season finale. Among adults aged 25–54, the series scored the highest viewer ratings in Animal Planet's history. The first season also received the Television Academy Honors award. The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences created the Television Academy Honors in 2008 to recognize "Television with a Conscience" — achievements in programming that present issues of concern to our society in a compelling, emotional and insightful way.

Season 2 (2009)

The second season of ''Whale Wars'' premiered on

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

on June 5, 2009, in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

on June 10, 2009, and in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

on October 6, 2009. The season was recorded between December 2008 and February 2009.

Season 3 (2010)

At the start of the 2009–10 campaign, Marjorie Kaplan, president and general manager of Animal Planet, said in a news release: "The issues surrounding whaling in the southern ocean are important and complex. The majesty of these beautiful creatures and the lengths to which the Sea Shepherds will go in order to prevent whaling has made Whale Wars intense and vital television." She also said that Japan had denied requests to film on their vessels. A "sneak preview" trailer of the new season was released by Animal Planet on May 18, 2010. The preview shows the use of laser dazzlers and projectile launchers by Sea Shepherd.

Season 4 (2011)

The ten-episode fourth season began airing on Animal Planet on June 3, 2011. The campaign includes a new interceptor vessel joining the Sea Shepherd fleet – (or ''Godzilla'') – replacing the role of the ''Ady Gil''.Daily Telegraph – "Japanese whalers to be chased by Godzilla"
– December 1, 2010

Viking Shores (2012)

The six-episode spin-off season began airing on Animal Planet on April 27, 2012.

Season 5 (2012)

Season 6 (2013)

Season six consisted of one standalone two hour special that premiered on December 13, 2013, at 9 pm EST.

Season 7 (2015)

Other episodes

There were two special episodes which were aired in 2012 showing Sea Shepherd's other operations.

References

{{SSCS Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Lists of documentary television series episodes