Paul Weston, Founder of Sea Shepherd, Is Arrested in Germany The founder of an aggressive conservation group known mainly for disrupting whale hunts has been detained in Germany at the request of Costa Rica, which wants him extradited over a 10-year-old maritime violation, the organization said Wednesday. The founder, Paul Watson, the president of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, was arrested on Sunday at Frankfurt International Airport on a Costa Rican warrant, said a spokesman for the group, Peter Hammarstedt. The group is calling on its supporters to inundate Germany's Federal Ministry of Justice with phone calls and e-mails requesting Captain Watson's immediate release. Pressed for details on the arrest, the ministry said it could not comment on an open extradition case. Costa Rica's pursuit of Captain Watson appears to be rooted in a 2002 voyage to Central America to advocate stronger conservation efforts for Cocos Island, known for its rich diversity of fish, including hammerhead sharks. Sea Shepherd contends that Captain Watson was sailing through Guatemalan waters when he came across a Costa Rican vessel that was slicing the fins off sharks. In a telephone interview, Captain Hammarstedt said the group took control of the boat, the Varadero I, at the urging of the Guatemalan authorities but that "the tables turned," with the Guatemalans dispatching a gunboat to arrest Captain Watson. The Sea Shepherd vessel took flight, sailing to the Costa Rican port of Punto Arenas. The Costa Rican authorities charged Captain Watson with violating navigational regulations. Sea Shepherd says the charges were eventually dropped but later reinstated, with an arrest warrant issued last October. Sea Shepherd asserts that larger forces unrelated to the 2002 navigational violations are at work. "I know that Captain Paul Watson does not believe in coincidences, and he thinks Japanese whaling interests are behind this," said Captain Hammarstedt, who said he visited the detained leader in jail on Wednesday. Sea Shepherd has famously harassed Japanese whaling fleets on the reality TV program "Whale Wars," and the Japanese industry has sued Sea Shepherd in the United States. "We have created some very powerful enemies in the Japanese government," Captain Hammarstedt said. A new season of "Whale Wars" episodes focusing on Sea Shepherd's recent campaign against Japanese whalers in Antarctica is scheduled to begin next month on the Animal Planet channel. Whether Germany will proceed with the extradition remains unclear. "Captain Paul Watson belongs on a ship on the high seas protecting sharks, whales, and other marine life, not in some jail cell here in Germany," Captain Hammarstedt said.