 Bailey joined Greenpeace in 1975 and volunteered to pilot a Zodiac inflatable boat in front of a Russian harpoon ship, resulting in iconic images of the whalers firing 90 mm harpoon cannons at activists that were to establish Greenpeace in the public consciousness.These actions earned him the nickname ""Zodiac Mike"" or ""Generalissimo"".Bailey has played a major part in the raising of public opinion and government support against the whaling industry  and as an official observer at the International Whaling Commission.