Being fired upon by Japanese whalers or threatened with hakapiks is an occupational hazard for the crew of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

Just a week ago SSCS President, Paul Watson, was allegedly shot in a confrontation with the whaling ship 'Nisshin Maru' in the Antarctic.

The Japanese reportedly threw flash grenades at the crew while Captain Watson was hit in the chest - his Kevlar vest and anti-poaching badge reportedly saving him from a bullet.

Faced with such danger and living in such cramped, basic conditions for months on end, what would inspire someone to join an organisation which has sometimes been criticised as "environmental terrorists" and "pirates"?

Bermudian Laura Dakin, 24, explains why.

It was a spur of the moment decision which led Laura Dakin to board the Farley Mowat in a bid to save marine wildlife around the world. Three years later her life has changed immeasurably. She has travelled to the ice floes of eastern Canada to protest seal hunters, confronted Japanese whalers in the Antarctic, and confiscated longline fishing lines in the protected marine waters of the Galapagos Islands.

Laura, the Sea Shepherd's chief cook, is now the personal vegan chef to rock star Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Next week she leaves Bermuda to take part in the annual anti-seal hunt campaign, but in a few months' time hopes to return to Los Angeles where she will cook for Kiedis and his young family at their Malibu home.

Laura, the daughter of Andrew, a Royal Australian Navy pilot, and Philippa, a horse riding coach, grew up in Spanish Point with her brothers Matthew, Tristan and Tom. She was working at the Robin Hood pub and the English Sports Shop when she decided to tour the visiting SSCS flagship, the Farley Mowat, one day.

"It was all a bit crazy really," she says. "I went for a tour of the ship and my guide said 'Hey, you should come on the seal campaign with us'. I laughed at the time but he said 'Well if you want to come we leave tomorrow morning'.

"After watching a short video of the seal slaughter, I was inspired enough to throw away my life of luxury in Bermuda for a while.

" I wandered home, promised my boss I would be back in three weeks, stuffed a bag, and ran on down to the docks for my campaign to save the baby harp seals - that was three years ago.

"It was just something I had to do. I had wanted to take part in direct action for animals for a long time and I took the opportunity and didn't turn back. Paul (Watson) is one of my heroes and to be able to work along side your hero is very cool."

Laura says her parents are "very supportive" and says she is ready to take what life - and the whalers - throw at her.

"I do keep in mind the possibility of being injured, but it is a worthwhile risk," she says.

"We do deal with people who have little respect for life. We take safety precautions such as staying together on the ice floes and have a skilled doctor on board, and often a nurse and paramedics.

"I would most definitely put my life on the line if I thought I had a chance to lessen the suffering inflicted on animals."

But she adds: "Throughout Sea Shepherd's history not a single serious injury has occurred and we intend it to stay that way."

SSCS aims to uphold the laws of the United Nations World Charter for Nature through non-violent means. The crew however, often face aggression from hunters and poachers. Laura was confronted by men wielding hakapics and arrested during her first campaign - to film the seal hunt off the east coast of Canada.

"It was an action-packed initiation into Sea Shepherd," she says. "Twice we started sinking in the icy waters, and eventually were rescued by Search and Rescue and the holes were patched. We just made it in time to the hunting grounds where a nasty confrontation with angry sealers with hakapics on the ice floes broke out, after which I was arrested along with several others and charged with disrupting the seal slaughter.

"We were handcuffed on the ice and then dragged to a helicopter."

She spent a night in the cells before being released the next day with five other crew members.

Life at sea also brings its natural dangers. Laura described one journey across the Indian Ocean in the winter as so "treacherous" that the crew prepared for the worst.

"We had such violent weather, at one point we were told to put on survival suits and the first officer was told to radio the Sea Shepherd office with our coordinates in case they were our last."

She has recently enjoyed fairer climes, patrolling the marine wildlife sanctuary of the Galapagos Islands for longline fishing and shark-finning.

"My favourite Sea Shepherd activity is destroying longline and freeing the fish and animals that have been hooked," she says.

"I love being out on the ocean spending time with the animals we are trying to protect. I love my life, although it feels sometimes like my heart is broken every day when I learn of new horrendous ways humans abuse life.

"But it is a pleasure to wake up each day and start my work knowing that it is contributing to direct action against animal abusers."

Laura became a vegan three-and-a-half years ago.

"I became more and more aware of the way humans abuse animals for food, clothing, entertainment, pharmaceutical and cosmetic testing, not to mention the trauma all these industries inflict on the environment and humankind," she says.

"I developed a very firm belief that being vegan, along with a conscious effort to live with as little impact on the environment as possible by buying organic local foods, recycling, and generally consuming less, is the most effective and easiest way an individual can help our Earth continue to roll."

For those interested in trying out a vegan lifestyle, Laura recommends visiting the Seventh Day Adventist shop in Hamilton, which sells meat and dairy alternatives.

"People are always amazed at how varied and yummy vegan food can be," she says.

Life at sea involves sharing very close quarters with up to 25 other crew members.

But Laura says: "Group living suits me. I do get in anti-social moods for sure, and then I simply close the galley door and turn up my music until I'm done.

"I am not fussy and don't have a problem being kind of grubby - which helps.

"But it really makes you appreciate a good shower and a clean bed when you get the chance!

"We do all our washing in the ocean, tie our clothes onto a long rope and then throw it overboard and let it drag behind the ship for a few hours. Then you simply haul it up and rinse it off in fresh water, resulting in some pretty clean clothes.

"We can be out for about 50 days. The crew tend to become both friends and family."

It was at the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's 30th anniversary party in LA that Laura was invited to work for Anthony Kiedis.

The musician became a vegan last year and, with his band, is a long-time supporter of SSCS. He also follows an environmentally-friendly lifestyle at the home in Malibu he shares with girlfriend Heather Christie and their baby Everly Bear.

Laura says: "It is a lovely family home right by the beach. It is on a beautiful patch of land with a lovely garden and pool area. They have totally embraced a very environmentally-friendly lifestyle.

"They have solar electricity, an electric car, no bottled water policy, no plastic shopping bags. It is awesome to see.

"They very non-materialistic and clearly care about what counts - life and the environment that sustains it.

"I have been very lucky in life to have had the opportunity to live and work with people I highly respect and admire. Anthony Kiedis and Paul Watson are incredible people who have both done amazing things in their lives so far."

As for Laura's future, she says: "I am happy just to see where the flow of life takes me. It will always include a vegan lifestyle and direct action for animals though."

If you would like to help Laura and her crew members in the next anti-seal hunting campaign, contact 799 0019. The crew are welcoming donations of vegan foods, linens and other items.

For more information on the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society go to: www.seashepherd.org