Thursday, October 30, 2014

Putting The Sheen On Ocean Research

Award-winning actor Martin Sheen teamed up with conservation group Sea Shepherd this month in California, to launch a new research vessel for the group.
Sheen Snr's support comes hard on the heels of the support given by his son, Charlie Sheen, to SS's confrontational efforts against the Faroe Islands' grindadrap (pilot whale slaughter) this season.
However,as you can see from the photos, this boat is not built for clashing with whaling crews in the Southern Oceans. The 80-foot oceangoing ketch R/V Martin Sheen will focus on battling maritime litter like plastics in the world's oceans.
This vessel carries the prefix of R/V because it'll be a research vessel. Unlike Japan's so-called "research" whaling vessels, this ship will be engaged in legitimate research — including documentation and investigation of ocean-borne pollution.
Golden Globe and Emmy-winning Apocalypse Now and West Wing actor Martin Sheen: "Plastic has become the deadliest predator of the sea. If we fail to clean up the plastic mess that humans have made and stop the pollution ... we face the potential extinction of many species of sea life."
Martin Sheen's been a long-time supporter of Sea Shepherd: he sits on Sea Shepherd USA's Media and Arts Advisory Board and has been friends with SS founder Paul Watson for decades.
For more on ocean plastics, click (here) and (here).

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