After another successful Antarctic Defence Campaign, we spent March showcasing our new vessel the Allankay for Australians across the East Coast. The tour highlighted the urgent issue of krill harvesting, with industrial krill fishing and climate change causing krill numbers to crash. This is in turn affecting humpback pregnancies and penguin populations. Thousands visited the ship in Hobart, Melbourne, Sydney, and other key ports.

People were shocked to see footage of large industrial trawlers ploughing right though the middle of feeding whales and penguins, showing a keen interest in helping to stop this harmful industry. Our team and volunteer crews across the East Coast worked hard to make the fundraising and awareness tour a big success. This was our biggest tour to date, raising critical funds for Tuvalu and towards the Allankay refit.

We also executed our first anti-illegal fishing campaign in the South Pacific this April, partnering with the Tuvalu government to patrol their waters after a cyclone took out the nation’s only patrol vessel in 2023. Sea Shepherd provides the ship and crew, while our new government partner provided the authority on our ship. The presence of the Allankay deterred illegal fishing in the region and confiscated over 9km of illegal fishing gear - a massive win for the ocean.

We stood strong on the beaches in remote locations like Mapoon and Yalangbara, proudly working alongside First Nations people cleaning up sacred country and critical sea turtle nesting habitats. This was possible due to ongoing relationships, proper funding, and the passion and conviction of our volunteers on the ground.

Sea Shepherd is a movement to defend life in the sea, and given most of the air we breathe comes from our oceans, our collective efforts benefit all humanity. The tasks are huge, the challenges immense, though we have proven time and time again that when we work together, the impossible becomes possible.

OUTREACH:

2024 has been an invigorating year for our local volunteer ground crews, known as ‘chapters’, with the arrival of the Allankay on Australian shores marking a landmark moment for the Sea Shepherd Volunteer Program in 2024.

The East Coast fundraising tour provided an unparalleled opportunity for widespread involvement and support. By introducing an onshore convoy alongside the Allankay’s journey, our onshore crew from across the country became an integral part of this exciting venture. Covering 21 fundraising and outreach events, the crew raised close to $100,000 on the ground. These events allowed our key personnel to interact with major supporters and donors, raising an additional $270k, with the impact exceeding expectations.

The success of this tour simply would not have been possible without the incredible efforts of our chapters. Their enthusiasm and commitment were evident as they engaged with the community, educated the public about our mission, and coordinated various events and activities. The substantial increase in merchandise sales and donations reflected the convoy’s success, providing essential funding for our ongoing campaigns.

The Hobart chapter especially has put in a monumental effort over the past four months, hosting the Allankay refit whilst she has been docked in Tasmania, achieving fantastic results - hosting a massive number of ship tours, and raising critical funds, bringing greater community awareness to our mission to end industrial krill fishing in the Southern Ocean.

The Hobart chapter's tireless efforts every weekend hosting events and ensuring the crew had everything they needed have been an instrumental part of the Sea Shepherd mission.

Over the last four months across 11 event days, the chapter hosted 114 tours for a total of 2,103 people, and raised an incredible $50,000 in merchandise sales and donations!

We are also delighted to have welcomed two new chapters into the Sea Shepherd Australia family this year – on the Sapphire Coast NSW, and Hervey Bay NSW, in addition to the re-opening of the South Sydney chapter.

We look forward to working closely with our chapters next year to expand the impact of our collective efforts even further in 2025.

MARINE DEBRIS CAMPAIGN:

The Marine Debris Campaign had a mammoth year with the expansion of our Remote Marine Debris projects and impressive community efforts across the country. Grahame, Karolina and Liza have done a fantastic job co-ordinating a diverse array of events with many logistical challenges and tough conditions, with fantastic results. We are already preparing for an even bigger year in 2025!

Community Clean-ups:
In 2024, we hosted 120 community clean-ups across Australia, removing over 5 tonnes of trash from 54km of coastline! Our dedicated volunteer teams, alongside 2,150 local community members, filled over 1,000 collection bags and sorted through more than 215,000 pieces of rubbish.

The top three items removed in 2024:
- Cigarette butts – 41,946
- Soft Plastic remnants – 26,985
- Nurdles - 21,113  

Remote Clean-ups:
In 2024, we undertook six major remote clean-up expeditions and two minor remotes in Moreton Bay and Janes Bay. Between our North Australian remotes, Moreton Bay, Cocos Keeling Islands and Janes Bay, we removed a whopping 37,624 kilos of marine trash from 64 kilometres of shoreline.

Our partnerships with local Indigenous Ranger groups and government projects such as the Ghost Nets Initiative and Indigenous Ranger Coastal Clean-up Project have never been stronger and have been an essential factor in the success of our remote Marine Debris Campaign.

SHARK DEFENCE CAMPAIGN:
The past year has been marked by significant progress and challenges for the Shark Defence Campaign. While setbacks like the NSW Government’s decision to redeploy shark nets have occurred, the overall momentum is positive. Increased public awareness, community support, and political advocacy indicate a shifting perspective on shark conservation.

The Shark Defence Campaign has continued to diligently put pressure on the NSW and Queensland state governments and raise community awareness and support for the removal of deadly and ineffective shark nets, remaining steadfast in their commitment to protect marine life. They achieved this through parliamentary engagement and advocacy, a huge Nets Out Now community forum in NSW and the expansion of our patrols to Hervey Bay to showcase the Humpback Whales which are frequently entangled in shark nets during their east coast migration.

SDC will continue to advocate for the removal of lethal shark control methods in favour of sustainable, non-lethal alternatives into 2025 and beyond.

STRATEGIC INITIATIVES & PARTNERSHIPS:
In May, we attended the Ghost Nets Symposium hosted by Agency Projects at the Garma site in North-East Arnhem Land. 22 Indigenous ranger groups attended, along with science and technology experts, Marine Parks Australia, government representatives, and the National Gallery of Victoria.

With the monumental problem of plastics and ghost nets polluting the Gulf and Carpentaria, we gathered to discuss innovative approaches and plans of action we can work together on implementing to tackle this ongoing issue. Sea Shepherd has been working with Indigenous ranger groups since 2018 and our efforts are being highly recognised, to the point that Aboriginal leaders have expressed that our work in Australia is reconciliation through conservation. Although not the purpose of our work, this recognition fills our hearts with pride.

With the resources, knowledge and support of local Indigenous ranger groups, our dedicated crews can remove more trash from more kilometres of coastline than ever before.

We are excited about numerous new partnerships, such as Phytality, who provide a range of plant-based omega supplements – providing consumers with an ethical alternative to krill oil. At the end of the day, we can live without eating krill, but whales and penguins and other precious Antarctic marine life cannot.

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT IN 2024:
Whether you donate, volunteer, work, crew or captain one of our ships, we simply cannot do what we do without us all pulling together, casting the lines to sail into harm’s way once more for life, for if there is one thing worth fighting for on this wondrous planet we call home, its life.

The crew here at Sea Shepherd Australia would like to wholeheartedly thank all the good shepherds out there that have stayed the course this past year, you, we, have made a difference, we have been the difference. In a world crying out for less talk and action for Mother Earth, we bring together in spades.

We are Sea Shepherd, we are boots on the ground, we are on the frontline. Onwards we forge, shoulder to shoulder, in defence of nature, the most spectacular show on earth.