Taiji's Dolphins

by Abby Hill

One of my fondest memories from my childhood was a trip to SeaWorld. I can vividly remember leaving my family behind in a trail of dust as I weaseled my way through masses of people for the opportunity to sit in the “splash zone” at the Shamu show. I was fascinated as I watched various marine animals jump from the water and perform tricks. I can also remember pressing my tiny body against the barrier of a huge, open tank. I held a tiny fish in my hand as I waited anxiously for a dolphin to come and take it from me. It was amazing, or so I thought. At the same time I was grinning at SeaWorld, thousands of miles away Ric O’Barry had a different view. 

In the 1960’s, O’Barry captured and trained many dolphins, including the five that starred in the popular TV show Flipper. He worked in the captive dolphin industry for ten years until Kathy,  one of the dolphins that played Flipper, died in his arms, and he realized that training dolphins to do tricks was wrong. So on April 22, 1970, the first Earth Day, O’Barry founded the Dolphin Project. Since the founding of the Dolphin Project, O’Barry has worked relentlessly to rescue and rehabilitate dolphins in numerous countries including Guatemala, Haiti, Brazil, and many more. However, most notably, he is an avid activist against the dolphin hunts in Taiji, Japan. On July 31, 2009, O’Barry released a documentary called The Cove which highlights the horrid dolphin hunts that occur from approximately September 1 to March 1 in the small fishing village of Taiji, Japan. 

The hunt is brutal. About 26 fishermen leave early in the morning, just before sunrise, and head to migratory paths that the dolphins have been using for thousands of years. Once a pod is located, the fishermen insert stainless steel poles into the water that emit a loud sound. The dolphins lose their sense of direction, and in an attempt to escape the wall of sound, are subsequently driven to swim into a small cove near the harbor. There, sometimes left overnight, the dolphins wait to be processed. If they are chosen to be slaughtered, a sharp metal spike is driven into their neck just before the blowhole and then wooden corks are used to prevent blood from spilling into the cove. This is their so called “humane” death. 


So why does this happen? Well, officially the hunt is intended to provide meat for human consumption. However many Japanese people consider dolphin meat to be “trashy” in comparison to the highly valued whale meat. However, in January 2004, the fisherman admitted that they thought the dolphins were eating too many fish and that hunting them was a form of pest control. DNA tests on products sold in Japanese markets have also revealed that dolphin meat is being falsely labeled as whale meat. Besides the obvious cruelty reasons, it has been proven that dolphin meat has a high concentration of toxic chemicals such as mercury, which is the second most toxic poison in the world. The effects of mercury are evident in events such as the Minamata, Japan mercury disaster which harmed tens of thousands of people throughout the 1950’s and 60’s and resulted in a whole generation of children with serious health issues. 


While the dolphin species being hunted in Taiji aren’t endangered worldwide, local extinction is possible which could cause harm to the whole ecosystem. There is some big news surrounding Japan nowadays though. There are rumors that Japan is planning to pull out of the International Whaling Commision which banned commercial whaling since 1986. 


How can you help? Take the pledge to never buy a ticket to a captive dolphin show, or share information of the  happening with everyone you know. The Cove and Blackfish are great documentaries that gives you a visual to share of what is occuring. There are also opportunities to donate or volunteer directly with the Dolphin Project!

What do you think will happen if Japan decides to pull out of the International Whaling Commission? What are some other ways you could help? Have you watched The Cove or Blackfish? If so, what were your thoughts?

Sources: 

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2018/12/japan-considers-leaving-international-whaling-commission/

Comments

Anonymous said…
In modern society, whales have been facing an increased threat of impending extinction as a result of anthropogenic activities such as climate change, entanglement in fishing nets, plastic pollution, underwater noise, and ship strikes. In response to the rapidly declining population of whales, the International Whaling Commission (IWC ) was established in 1948 in order to promote the conservation and sustainable use of whale, and it is it is composed of 89 members. Japan halted its commercial whaling enterprise after the IWC instituted a complete moratorium in 1982, but the nation has been continuing to conduct whale catching in the name of “scientific research” when in reality the meat from the whales that have been caught has been sold to Japanese stores and restaurants. Once Japan leaves the IWC, the nation would also be prohibited from continuing to catch whales in the. Antarctic Ocean need the guise of “scientific research”, which could mark the first time whaling ceased in the Southern Ocean since the Second World War. On the other hand, Japan would be allowed to commence commercial whaling in its owns waters, which does pose dangerous consequences to the population of whales. Furthermore, if Japan leaves the organization, the fate of the IWC would be severely harmed as it sets a precedent for other international treaties and conventions and other members like Norway and Iceland could also be inspired to leave, which would undermine the IWC’s efforts to protect the whales. (Source: https://www.marineconservation.org.au/media-release-japan-pulls-out-of-iwc-and-turns-their-back-on-global-whale-conservation/ & https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-Relations/Japan-to-pull-out-of-International-Whaling-Commission).
January 25, 2019 at 5:46 AM
Anonymous said…
Whaling is such a horrendous industry. If Japan pulls out of the International Whaling Commision the problem will be exacerbated even further. It is disappointing to see that despite being part of the International Whaling Commision, Japan continues to conduct whale catching. However, if Japan pulls out of the commission whaling while become even more common. The commission was created for a good reason and if Japan leaves it will be difficult to keep the whale population constant, as it is already declining. Moreover, if Japan leaves then other countries could follow in their path, further defeating the purpose of the International Whaling Commision. It is essential to keep Japan in the IWC if we wish to keep the whale population stable.
January 26, 2019 at 6:09 AM
Anonymous said…
Japan pulling out of the Internalional Whaling Commission could prove to be fatal for the whale population of Japan, which as you stated would not only cause problems with the local ecosystem but probably have a high chance of impacting the world’s marine ecosystem as we all know all changes can often have far reaching impacts. Furthermore, marine ecosystems are already having a hard time as our oceans are litered with pollution such as straws and other plastics that are not biodegradable. Thus we should really not be further stresssing the ecosystem by whaling.
January 26, 2019 at 1:28 PM
Anonymous said…
If Japan pulled out of the international whaling commission it would only make these problems worse. The whale population in Japan would decrease sharply and would effect other ecosystems in the ocean. If Japan pulls out what if other countries start to pull out as well? This would decrease the population of whales all throughout the world until extinction. Japan needs to stay in the IWC or whales all over the world will be at risk.
January 27, 2019 at 8:29 AM
Anonymous said…
The consequences of Japan leaving the International Whaling Commission would be insurmountable. This would only devastate the low levels of whales and dolphins in the Pacific Ocean and would have long-lasting impacts on the marine ecosystem. To protect the marine life, Japan needs to stay on the commission and monitor the fishing of whales. Furthermore, it is Japan's responsibility to warn about the dangers of mercury in whales in order to discourage others from consumption. Although I have not seen either film, I am now interesed in seeing them.
January 27, 2019 at 1:49 PM
Anonymous said…
If Japan were to drop out of the International Whaling Commission, the results could be disastrous. Because Japan is such a powerful nation and influencer to other countries, its decision would not only reflect on itself but on other locations, as well. Therefore, it would produce a dominos effect that would cause a drastic decrease in the whale and dolphin populations. Because many of such species are already endangered or are expected to become endangered, the whaling industry poses a significant threat to their survival and wellbeing. It’s incredibly sad to see such horrors with the hunting of dolphins, which causes negative impacts for humans, too.
January 27, 2019 at 5:57 PM
Unknown said…
The killing of dolphins is similar to a crisis involving porpoises. This crisis involves over half a million porpoises that have been killed since the 60's and an additional thousands in 2016. These porpoises, similar to the dolphin marketing scheme, are often sold on the black market as whale meat. This however is only recently(2018) being regulated and looked into be the Japanese food agency.
Source: EcoWatch in 2018
January 27, 2019 at 6:53 PM
Unknown said…
This comment was written by Alex Gortz
January 27, 2019 at 6:54 PM
Anonymous said…
Japan has been criticized for years for their annual hunt of dolphins, since the release of O’Barry’s documentary. Unfortunately, Japan seems to be moving backwards in terms of dolphin and whale conservation with their threats to drop out of the IWC. If Japan backs out, there are little regulations set in place to prevent fishermen from eliminating their marine competitors. The hunting of dolphins provides no real benefit for humans, and therefore should be heavily regulated. Considering that the dolphin hunt threatens to harm Taiji’s marine ecosystem, Japan should be enforcing stricter laws against hunting whales and dolphins. Japan will hopefully see the consequences of backing out of the IWC and create stronger restrictions against dolphin/whale hunting.
January 28, 2019 at 8:34 AM
Anonymous said…
Conservationists and politicians in the west tried to mobilize against the hunt. However, I think it's wrong and unfair that cetaceans aren’t protected by the International Whaling Commission, so there isn't ever any legal action that can be taken to stop the Taiji hunts. I think that the best bet to stopping these hunts is to keep them in the limelight.
January 28, 2019 at 8:29 PM
Anonymous said…
If Japan were to pull out of the International Whaling Commision, the cruelty of killing the whales for commercial profit would only increase. This would allow others to earn more money is such a cruel way. You could stop this horrendous industry by speaking up about it, and not just whales, but also others animals that are hunted for commercial benefit. The more people that would speak up about this issue, the more that the government would hear and maybe use our voices to go to Japan to stop this madness.
January 29, 2019 at 12:07 PM
Anonymous said…
Abby, this is a really great blog. I appreciate you discussing an issue that is not talked about much, and one that many people are not aware of. Whaling is a very horrible industry. Japan withdrawing from the International Whaling Commision would have disastrous impacts. The cruelty of killing whales for profit would drastically increase, which would only cause a more devastating chain of consequences. This would impact the marine ecosystem and threaten other ecosystems as well. And eventually, us humans will be effected as well. Regarding the films, I have not seen either, but now I am interested in watching them.
January 29, 2019 at 6:24 PM
Anonymous said…
The most troubling thing to me about this topic, is the fact that there is any debate over what is wrong or right. I feel that your blog is a fantastic start to a much larger discussion. Any country that wishes to excessively mistreat or murder any animal should feel ashamed. One could argue that animals were put on this planet in order to serve humans, and I agree with that assessment, however, that doesn’t mean animals deserve to suffer or be killed. People have to take a stand against countries such as Japan and denounce them. Additionally, governments need to voice there opinions as well because they hold the majority of the power around the globe. One thing I feel like we can do to bring this issue to light is by using social media to rigorously inform those around us of the issue at hand.
January 29, 2019 at 7:47 PM
Anonymous said…
The extinction of a species is a serious issue. This threatens the very biodiversity the Earth is meant to have. Japan pulling out of the International Whaling Commision is a little worrying for the dolphin population native to that land. More worrying however, is this act may inspire other nations. The money brought in might entice other nations to also pull out and to.resume immoral poaching. This problem extends beyond Japan. The natural extinction rate has nearly gone up a thousand times when there were no invasive procedures in hunting. Such dangerous rates have already had huge impacts of many species on Earth that no longer exist due to this issue. As people sharing the space with animals, we owe it to them to be able to coexist and preserving them to keep the Earth healthy for a long time.
January 30, 2019 at 12:51 PM
Anonymous said…
Commercial whaling is a terrible activity that must be prevented at all costs. Whenever a species is threatened with extinction, the very biodiversity of the earth is endangered, and this must not happen. If Japan decides to pull out of the International Whaling Commission, the already depleted marine life, most notably dolphins, would likely be facing extinction. Since whaling may sometimes bring profit, this unfortunately might encourage other nations to follow suit and leave the Commission. I feel that if more people were educated on this issue, governments could be swayed through civilian protests to finally end commercial whaling once and for all.
January 30, 2019 at 8:54 PM
Anonymous said…
From reading this blog, I think it is necessary to take action when it comes to commercial whaling because this activity threatens for a disruption in the ecosystem. Since the whales and dolphins are on the verge of extinction, if Japan were to pull out of the International Whaling Commisson then the chances of these species going extinct would probably increase. Biodiversity and preservation is key to a successful environment. Without these, an ecosystem could not be stabilized. The problem here was that humans have over hunted (over fished?) even though it was not deemed as necessary. I think it is important to bring about awareness in what we are doing to the biodiversity in the marine environment as we kill dolphins and whales and think of the consequences we would face if these species were to go extinct.
January 30, 2019 at 10:07 PM
Anonymous said…
Tokyo argues that the IWC has failed to live up to its initial dual mandate to find a balance between preserving whale stocks and allowing the “orderly development” of the whaling industry. Japan will begin to conduct commercial whaling within its exclusive economic zone. Even though they said they would respect catch limits to avoid a negative impact on cetacean resources, this decision should still be condemned. If whales go locally extinct, the ecosystem would collapse. Whales help regulate the flow of food by helping maintain a stable food chain and ensuring that certain animal species do not overpopulate the ocean. I have not watched The Cove or Blackfish, but I have seen Dolphintale multiple times. It shows the consequences of careless human action that harms innocent ocean animals. As a whole human population, we should take more care and reduce the harm we cause to the organisms around us.
January 31, 2019 at 8:42 AM
Mallory Odom said…
It should be common knowledge that whaling is unethical, which is why it always surprises me when I read stories about it occuring at such a fast pace. I will never understand how people could make commercial sport out of murdering animals. Clearly Japan pulling out of the International Whaling Commission would be detrimental, and these issues would only get worse. Any case of local/worldwide extinction should be considered with great care as anytime an organism is removed from an ecosystem, it can have many consequences.
January 31, 2019 at 4:26 PM
Anonymous said…
If Japan pulls out of the whaling commission, the results would be disastrous. Japan is a global economic power; if they decide to stop supporting the commission, other countries may follow suit and more whales may be at danger. It is necessary to reduce whaling, as they are endangered species and may turn into almost extinct if not enough action is taken. I have not watched either of the shows you mentioned. To reduce the negative effects of whaling, it is important that we educate the population on the threats whales face so less people will buy whale meat; this can be done through programs and shows. Overall, your article was extremely enlightening and shed light on whaling, a serious issue society faces today.
January 31, 2019 at 6:22 PM
Anonymous said…
It is unbelievable that a modern country like Japan has problems like this. This is similar to the meat packing scandal which occurred in the United States in the 20th century. In both cases meats were wrongly packeged as other meats to save money. This is odd that it is occurring in 2018 in Japan unlike 1900s in the United States.
February 1, 2019 at 12:35 PM
Anonymous said…
Whaling is unethical, and is greatly reducing the the whale population, an already endangered species. Japan pulling out of International Whaling Comission would have disasterous effects for the species. Many other countries may follow their lead, and soon the problem will become much worse than what it was. Our generation needs to be educated on the effects of whaling, so we can reduce it. Informing people should lead to less people buying whale meat, whale products etc.
February 1, 2019 at 12:35 PM
Anonymous said…
It’s shocking to see that people are so unethical and believe what whaling should continue to be done. It’s clear that many people are selfish and don’t see the huge effects that whaling has on the ecosystem. People need to be made more aware of they’re actions Every day the ecosystem is becoming less and less stabilized. Soon whale populations may go extinct and anthropogenic activities would be the root cause. If Japan pulls out of the International Whale Commision, it could lead to even more detrimental effects and there could be no reversing the effects.
February 1, 2019 at 12:39 PM
Anonymous said…
The exiting of the whaling commission by Japan would lead to tragic events. Due to the fact that Japan is a leading example to many countries in the Asian continent and if they decide to leave other countries may do the same putting whales at a higher risk for extinction. Whale population decrease would cause an offset in the biodiversity causing drastic negative affects to the global aquatic population.
February 1, 2019 at 12:48 PM
Anonymous said…
The effects of Japan removing themselves from the Whaling Commisions would be fatal. Whaling reduces an already endangered species that add to the biodeversity of marine ecoststems.
Whaling would increase with the withdrawal of Japan from the Whaling Commisions which could eventually lead to the extinction of whales globally and hurt marine ecoysystems as a whole. It is imperative we understand that we share this Earth with other living beings and it is not in our right to take a life of another animal for our greed but only for our need. It is freightning to see what some corporations will do for personal gain and profit. -Adam Ghanem
February 3, 2019 at 9:58 PM
Anonymous said…
I never realized training a dolphin could hurt them so much. Furthermore, I never imagined it could result in death. While I was upset to learn this, I was only angry to hear about dolphin hunting. Those who hunt dolphins are clearly very materialistic and selfish. Not only are they killing dolphins they are hurting humans too. They are the only ones that profit. It is so wrong to put so many lives in danger and kill poor innocent creatures in the name of money.
February 5, 2019 at 6:43 AM
Caroline Tuggle said…
I remember going to sea world with my family when I was younger because my dad at the time worked on advertisement campaigns for them. Shortly after that visit my dad told us that we wouldn’t be going back due to him no longer working on it partly because of how their animals were treated. Hearing about how they treat not only dolphins but all of their animals and sea creatures is absolutely heart breaking and makes me very angry. As time has gone on all of the protests and new rules that have been put in place to prevent this have definitely helped and I believe we must continue to go against these horrible companies until no one is able to intentionally hurt these harmless animals for their own personal gain.
February 5, 2019 at 8:16 AM
Anonymous said…
If Japan pulls out of the committee, it would make dire conditions even worse. The hunting of whales and dolphins being used as a form of ensuring more fish and therefore more profits for fishermen is a dangerous way of thinking and could upset the entire ecosystem by leading to the extinction of the species the fish eat, leaving no food for the fish ultimately leading to their extinction and so on. It is important to realize how vast the effect of anyone species is in the food web and the devastating effect if could have. Ignoring this for profit is not a wise way of thinking and will ultimately lead to destruction.
February 5, 2019 at 9:54 AM
Anonymous said…
In today's political climate, unfortunately, I would be amazed if any repercussions occur if Japan pulls out of the agreement. It's not like the White House has any problem pulling out of ecosystem-preserving treaties... I think that it's a shame that their culture has to rely so heavily on this type of fishing and that they have to pay consequences such as mercury poisoning. Bioaccumulation is a real menace.
February 10, 2019 at 11:55 AM
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