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00:00Since July, Paul Watson has been detained in Greenland, awaiting possible extradition to Japan.
00:05How are you? Your reaction to this?
00:07It is what it is and it puts more pressure on Japan.
00:11Yet still, he remains upbeat.
00:13After almost 50 years of tireless anti-whaler activism,
00:17the environmentalist was nabbed under an international arrest warrant issued by Japan
00:22for allegedly causing damage to one of the country's whaling ships in the Antarctic
00:26over a decade ago.
00:28Watson is the founder of Sea Shepherd and well known for his often radical tactics
00:32in defence of marine life, such as confronting whaling ships out at sea.
00:40His direct action is said to have saved more than 5,000 whales around the world,
00:45making him an icon for environmentalists and a problem for whaling nations.
00:50This is part of why Watson and his supporters feel there is a vendetta against him.
00:55They say the alleged crime warrants a fine and not a potential 15-year prison sentence.
01:00These allegations are actually no more than misdemeanours and hooligism.
01:05You know, you'd get a $1,500, sorry, $1,500 kroner fine
01:10and you wouldn't face any time inside it or in jail.
01:13So it's ridiculous this man's been held on misdemeanour allegations,
01:18you know, from another country.
01:20More than 120,000 people have signed a petition for his release
01:24and in Paris on Wednesday, crowds gathered to show their support.
01:28They see him not as a criminal but rather a man who has dedicated his life to protecting the planet.