Those creatures have plenty of underwater space and I don't think any of them are in danger because of things like this.  Underwater drilling and general pollution of the environment by huge corporations are of much bigger concern.

This is truly impressive.  Think of the mining you could do if you had enough solar power on a boat home large enough.  All the rigs could be kept down below and there would be enough clear sky to power everything.  The possibilities are incredible.  Would not be for me however.  Not a libertarian and I would not be happy living with water all around, no matter how much freedom that provided.

What stuck out to me from the article is how little it cost them to do that.  It's more than I could afford but if I were to imagine the cost of a 'Seastead' I would think it would cost much more than they paid to build it.

Edited to add:
Doh.  Should have read through the thread before making my comment.  That sucks for them but I don't think they will get put to death for this.