Aerosmith's Joe Perry and Steven Tyler join forces with Sea Shepherd for the oceans

Sea Shepherd "Freedom Fighters" honour Joe Perry and Steven Tyler on board Sea Shepherd fleet in Melbourne

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Recently, Sea Shepherd crew were honoured to host two of rock's greatest legends, Aerosmith's Joe Perry and Steven Tyler on board Sea Shepherd's fleet in Williamstown, Melbourne, Australia.

Steven and Joe were treated to an in depth tour of three of Sea Shepherd's ships, the Sam Simon, Bob Barker and Steve Irwin, currently docked in Sea Shepherd's new ships operations base. The crew  swapped various campaign and marine conservation topics over lunch with Steven and Joe, which followed an experience in one of Sea Shepherd's fast boats used to pursue the illegal Japanese harpoon whale poaching ships.

Bob Barker ships manager, Andrea Gordon stated, "Having Steven and Joe on board was such an uplifting experience for the crew after Operation Zero Tolerance. Our crew were touched by their words of encouragement, passion and support for the work Sea Shepherd does.  By selflessly speaking up for marine species, they're shining a much needed spotlight on the serious state of the oceans.”

Steven Tyler stated, "Oceans and water is uncharted territory for human beings, they don’t even know the beauty underneath there with a mask and a snorkel, I mean, very few do, it's certainly getting fished to death. The waters in Lake Sunapee, way up in New England are now depleted, the frogs are going, honey bees are going. I was just fortunate enough to just buy a house in Maui and the reefs out in front of my house, I live on Ahihi Bay, which is a fish sanctuary, and the reefs are going away.  It's a very delicate ecosystem, you know, once a little bit goes awry, it all does, it's all connected."

Joe Perry stated, "I always heard about Malibu and all the movie stars that live out there and I found out you’ve got to get a tetanus shot if you go swimming in it.You know, it's pretty screwed up. The laws are in place, but as we know, most of the governments are run by the big business. There is not enough money in it for different countries to send police out for whales and fish. When it starts to hit them in the pocket book, then maybe they will do something, but right now it's up to guys like you, who are true vigilantes, you take the bull by the horns and do it and come what may and you put your lives in danger and for something you believe in. I just wrote a song about one man freedom fighters is another mans terrorist and you guys are freedom fighters and it's great to know you and we will help with your work as much as we can."

On Saturday 4th May, the whole Sea Shepherd crew were invited as VIPs to come and see Aerosmith perform at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. The Melbourne gig was part of their environmentally themed 'Global Warming tour'. There was a hint that something special was planned for the Sea Shepherd crew. Well, Aerosmith did not disappoint with a performance that brought the house down. Steven Tyler and Joe's stage presence was absolutely brilliant, they are born entertainers.The highlight however was the just prior to the song "Living on the Edge" Steven Tyler stated that he and Joe had one of the most amazing experiences during the week by visiting the Sea Shepherd fleet and crew in Melbourne and that he wanted all the crowd to remember the name, "Sea Shepherd!". Then up on the big screen to the 15,000 plus capacity, came a video put together by Aerosmith, showing Steven and Joe's visit to the Sea Shepherd fleet. Steven yelled "where is my Sea Shepherds" as he pointed over to our group with the spotlight to follow, as the song kicked off to the roar of the crowd and the Sea Shepherd crew punched the air with excitement.

Australian Director, Jeff Hansen stated, "To have two world renowned, amazing artists whose spare time is very limited, come and show their support for Sea Shepherd is a very humbling experience, that all of us at Sea Shepherd are very appreciative of and will never forget.  Joe labeled our Sea Shepherd team as Freedom Fighters, a title that we proudly accept, fighting for the freedom of the whales in defence of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary and all our precious marine life for the benefit of future generations. In the short time that I got to spend with both Joe and Steven, I was very impressed by their knowledge on a range of issues regarding marine conservation. We cannot wait to have them both back on board again soon and hopefully next time, with Sea Shepherd founder, Captain Paul Watson.