Ashkr was raised vegetarian until age seven, when he began eating seafood. He had quite a nomadic upbringing, travelling around Australia while being home schooled, until his family decided to call Melbourne home at age 10.
Ashkr always loved cooking and undertook a chef apprenticeship during year 11 and 12 VCAL. During this time, he organised a food stall at a local school and raised money for Sea Shepherd. He became so passionate about Sea Shepherd's work, that he joined their Onshore Crew and assisted every weekend during year 12.
After completing high school, Ashkr applied to become a Deck Hand and very quickly learnt about Sea Shepherd's operation. Ashkr was invited to go on his first campaign "Operation Ice Fish" aimed at disrupting illegal fishing operations in the Antarctic. Ashkr was part of a team who removed 72km of gill nets over three weeks and was later involved in the rescue of over 40 crew members from an illegal fishing vessel Thunder.
Ashkr has been involved in more than five Sea Shepherd campaigns, starting as an Onshore Crew member, moving to a Deck Hand, Cook, Quartermaster, Third Officer and Second Officer. He later went on to complete commercial qualifications, which allows him to gain employment in the maritime industry.
In this episode, Ashkr shares his passion for marine conservation, his experiences on Sea Shepherd expeditions, his personal development journey and developing support networks for young men.
Ashkr's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ashkraudet/
Ashkr's Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ashkr.audet
Sea Shepherd https://www.seashepherdglobal.org/
Sam Simon Retrieves Illegal Gill Net Abandoned by Poachers https://youtu.be/_ZWp1exeKdo
Thunder: A Poaching Vessel Goes Down https://youtu.be/M3dRSE4j8zQ
Ocean Warriors - Chasing The Thunder Trailer https://www.vulcanproductions.com/our-work/ocean-warriors
Ocean Warrior - Chasing The Thunder Download https://www.waterbear.com/
Operation Nemesis https://youtu.be/3MQdqoQcMpc
