This piece was written as the final project for my Human Ecology Course as part of the environmental science major. For this assignment, I was challeneged to identify, and make an arguement for an environmental issue that involved human influences. I decided to research the history of dolphin hunting in Japan to see where the motive behind this brutal practice truly lies.

Since the beginning of civilization, different cultures have clashed over ideas of right and wrong. One such clash, which has been going on for decades, is the dispute over small cetacean hunting in Japan. The cetacean family includes 70 species consisting of dolphins and porpoises, all the way up to larger whales. Small cetacean, specifically dolphin, hunting in Japan has been put under a microscope for the entire world to see after the release of a documentary titled The Cove, which premiere in 2009. The documentary showed the brutality of dolphin hunting, and essentially poured gasoline into the already heated debate about the morality and safety of this practice. Through all of this, the Japanese people living in villages which practice this “tradition” maintain that dolphin hunting is far more important to them than a paycheck. This paper aims to convey both sides of the debate, and ultimately determine whether or not dolphin hunting in some areas in Japan is a legitimate cultural tradition, or just an easy way to make money. In order to understand the current state of this issue, it is important to know the origins of Japan’s “whaling culture.”

Japan has had a long-standing history of small scale coastal whaling dating possibly as far back as the Jomon period (10,000-300 BC). By the 20^th century, Japan was at the center of the global large-scale whaling industry (Animal Welfare Institute). In the period following World War II whale meat was a main food source in Japan, and is credited for being a major factor in rebuilding the nation (BBC). All of this, however, was the hunting of large whales such as sperm, pilot, minkey, and bowhead whales. In the time since this period, the consumption of whale meat in Japan has displayed a sharp decline. This decline in consumption is due to a number of reasons, the first being the ban on commercial whaling of large cetaceans put in place by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in 1986, known as the moratorium (Tierney, 2010).

Though there had already been a steep decline in the consumption of whale meat amongst Japanese citizens before the moratorium, the Japanese government immediately filed an objection to this ban. When the objection was denied, Japan responded by tripling its kills of dolphins and porpoises the following year. In an effort to increase dolphin hunting efforts the Japanese government told citizens that dolphins are a pest taking away from the fishing industry, and must be destroyed. As a country that depends so heavily on the fishing industry, the Japanese people realize the importance of protecting their fisheries. Additionally, Japan began using lethal “research programs” on larger whales to continue whaling industry on a smaller scale (The Cove, 2009). This is where the practice of dolphin hunting began to gain attention. By the year 2009, it was estimated that over 23,000 dolphins/porpoises were being killed each year in Japan, which is a lot considering the hunting season is only 7 months long (The Cove, 2009). Since the moratorium was put in place, Japan’s relationship with the IWC has been damaged, to say the least. By the year 2001, the Japanese government had stopped submitting data to the subcommittee of the IWC, which deals with smaller cetaceans such as dolphins. These relations only dwindled further until Japan’s eventual exit from the IWC in 2019. Though dolphins are only currently pursued in a small number of coastal villages in Japan, this is very troubling news for the future. One such place in Japan which has become infamous as the mecca for dolphin hunting is the city of Taiji.

Taiji is a small city on the southwestern coast of Japan, and is currently known as the largest exporter of dolphins (both dead and alive) on earth. With a population of just under 4,500, one might ask how a city this small could attract so much international attention. Taiji has a long history of cetacean hunting that can be tracked all the way back to the 1600’s (McCurry, 2017). The 2009 documentary film, The Cove primarily takes place within the city of Taiji and has done a lot to expose the practices which take place here. Before learning about the dolphin hunts, it is important to understand the dynamic of this strange city. Every aspect of the city of Taiji seems to revolve around the whaling museum. The Taiji Whaling Museum is not only a museum but an aquarium as well. The museum is likely the only place on earth where one can view a dolphin show while consuming dolphin meat. The whaling museum is responsible for bringing in buyers and brokering deals for the sale of live dolphins as well as dolphin meat (The Cove, 2009). The city itself has statues and figurines around every corner to show the importance of cetacean hunting in this community. There is even a memorial service for the deceased dolphins and whales put on in the city center every year hosted by the whaling museum. This poses the question: if the dolphins are so precious to the culture and community, why slaughter them in such an inhumane way?

It is also important to point out the social dynamic in the city of Taiji. For years there was a veil of silence surrounding the citizens of Taiji, when reporters and conservationists would come to the city hoping to get a story or make a difference they were met with angry fishermen ready to fight anyone away who was trying to expose their practices. There have even been reports of activists being severely beaten while trying to film the hunt (The Cove, 2009). The film, The Cove does a great job showing just how private this town and its practices are. The area where the dolphins are slaughtered is completely shut off to the public with barbed wire blockades and guards blocking every entrance point. In order for the film crew to give the world a glimpse into these hunts they needed to use military grade surveillance techniques. The private nature of the town poses another question: if this is such a proud tradition worth defending, why hide it? For years there was a complete media blackout surrounding Taiji with the fishermen, as well as local government refusing to answer any questions from the outside world. This silence has made it almost impossible to understand the true reasoning behind this practice, with most of the information about cetacean hunting being written by conservationists. It is possible that the silence is also responsible for the vast disconnect between both sides of this debate.

Taiji has also gained a lot of negative attention for the way in which they carry out their dolphin hunts. The unique coastal landscape of Taiji provides hunters with the ability to use a method called drive hunting to capture large numbers of dolphins in one single hunt. In the 2018-19 season alone, there were 2,040 documented dolphins and other small cetaceans killed in Taiji. To perform a drive hunt, it is imperative to understand the migratory patterns of the target species. Taiji is in the ideal location for drive hunting dolphins because, between the months of September and March, there is a constant flow of migrating cetaceans just beyond the rocky shores. The drive hunt begins when a fleet of fisherman go out in large boats wielding long metal rods. Once in an ideal location, the fishermen arrange the boats in a line and lower the large metal rods into the water. Because dolphins communicate solely through sonar, the fishermen are able to create a sound wall by banging on the metal pipes all at once. This banging noise causes the dolphins a great deal of stress and works as a driving force to push the pod of dolphins into one of the coves along the coast where they can be trapped using large nets. Even if the dolphins were to escape at this point the stress caused to them in the drive process would likely kill them (The Cove, 2009). The captured dolphins are then left in the holding cove for the night, while the whaling museum prepares buyers for the following morning. At daybreak the next morning, the dolphins are then driven to within 20 meters of the shore where they can be inspected and chosen by dolphin trainers from all across the globe. In a group of 60 dolphins captured, it is likely that only around 4 dolphins will be selected to be used in aquarium shows. This portion of the process is the only time where bystanders can view the fishermen handling the dolphins. After the selection process is finished, the remaining dolphins are dragged in nets to a more secluded cove, which has been labeled as “the killing cove.” As stated above, this area is completely shut off to the public. Once in the cove, the dolphins are trapped in shallow water and stabbed with spears until death. The images of bright red water and dying dolphins during this process displayed in The Cove are the primary reason the rest world is so outraged about this practice.

The international dolphin market actually brings in a large annual sum of money; however, a very small percentage of that actually comes from dolphin meat. Most of the revenue comes from the sale of live dolphins to aquariums all across the globe. Taiji is known as the largest single distributor of dolphin in the world and exports to all of Asia, Europe, and North America. Though the American government openly denounces this practice, almost every dolphin living in captivity within the United States is the product of a drive hunt in Taiji (McCurry, 2017). A live dolphin can sell for as much as $150,000, while a dead dolphin will sell for no more than $600 (The Cove, 2009). For this reason, the captivity industry makes up the vast majority of revenue brought in by dolphin hunting in Japan. In fact, with the sharp decline in consumption of cetacean meat in japan in the last few decades, the captivity industry is the only thing keeping operations going in cities like Taiji (McCurry, 2017).

Cetacean meat has lost popularity around the globe in the last century for a number of reasons. The first reason is simple, not many people like the taste. Dolphin meat has been described as very oily with a strong fishy taste and odor. Even in Japan, where seafood is a staple in almost every diet, there are very few areas left where dolphin meat is consumed. Because most of the dolphins caught and sold for meat often go undocumented, it is nearly impossible to determine how many dolphins are entering the market and where (Endo, 2010). Additionally, a large portion of the dolphin meat sold in markets is falsely labeled as larger, better tasting cetaceans which are still hunted in waters off the coast of Costa Rica (The Cove, 2009). With all these false labels and undocumented catches, it is impossible to understand the environmental impacts of this dying practice. With such a small demand for this type of meat, it is perplexing why so many dolphins are being slaughtered and sent to market.

Another reason that consumption of cetacean meat has shown a sharp decline is the discovery of high mercury levels in the meat. Japan has a somewhat long history of mercury poisoning, starting in the city of Minamata. Minamata became infamous when industrial wastewater containing methylmercury contaminated the food supply causing an outbreak of severe mercury poisoning between 1932-1968. This level of mercury poisoning is now known as Minamata disease (Yokoyama, 2018). Symptoms of Minamata disease consist of ataxia, numbness in the hands and feet, muscle weakness, loss of vision, hearing, and speech. Once the source was determined to be mercury poisoning, the Japanese people as a whole became very wary of eating foods containing high levels of mercury.

Japan’s safety standard for mercury levels in food is 0.4 PPM, yet samples of dolphin meat have shown levels as high as 9.6 PPM (Yokoyama, 2018). Mercury enters the ocean from a number of sources and is first ingested by plankton, the smallest of organisms. As the plankton are eaten by bigger organisms and the cycle continues, the mercury is able to make its way up the food chain. Each time the mercury climbs another trophic level, its concentration is magnified. By the time the mercury reaches dolphins and other cetaceans, the mercury is very concentrated. These levels of mercury are enough to deter most of the Japanese people away from whale meat, yet these few proud cities maintain that it is safe to eat. When hair samples from citizens in Taiji were tested for mercury levels then compared to the national average, results showed that subjects who regularly consumed dolphin meat had almost 10 times the amount of mercury in their system than the average Japanese citizen (Yokoyama, 2018). Hideki Moronuki, who was Deputy of Fisheries in Japan until 2008, had openly spoken in favor of consuming dolphin meat until he tested positive for severe mercury poisoning (The Cove, 2009). With all of these reasons not to consume dolphin meat, it comes as no surprise that the vast majority of the world is against this practice.

Following the release of The Cove in 2009, the entire world became aware of what has been going on in cities like Taiji. The man behind the film is named Ric O’Barry, and his fight to save the dolphins began in a very unlikely way. O’Barry was first introduced to the industry as a dolphin trainer in the United States on the television show Flipper, which captured the hearts of millions. However, during his time working as a trainer O’Barry saw the horrors of this industry first hand, and decided to dedicate his life to saving the very same animals he once attempted to domesticate. Since making that decision, he has spent a great deal of time in Taiji doing everything he can to bring attention to this issue. In addition to activists like Ric O’Barry, there are countless conservation organizations actively working to end the drive hunts as well as the captivation industry. Finally, almost every nation recognized by the United Nations has openly denounced the hunting of cetaceans of all sizes (The Cove, 2009). Though most people in Japan stopped eating cetaceans for health reasons, the rest of the world is fighting this battle from a standpoint of morality. Studies have confirmed that dolphins are among the most intelligent creatures on earth and are even self-aware (Bekoff, 2009). People all over the globe feel a connection to dolphins and are willing to fight to protect them. The only issue with the overwhelming amount of opposition to this “tradition” is that the voice of those practicing and defending this act have essentially gone unheard.

Though the Japanese government has consistently defended the drive hunts, the voices of the fishermen themselves were silent until somewhat recently. The film, The Cove painted the fishermen of Taiji to be enraged men whose sole purpose was to kill dolphins and keep out foreigners. In the films aftermath, the fisherman had no choice but to defend themselves. Kazutaka Sangen, mayor of Taiji stated that, “Whaling enables this town to function… Just look around you, if we didn’t make money from the sea, there would be nothing left. People keep telling us to stop whaling and find another way of earning a living, but what on earth would we do instead?” The fishermen maintain that telling them to stop carrying out the drive hunts is like telling them to lose a piece of their culture. On fisherman recalls when he was a child and says that, “a third of the town would turn out to greet a whale being brought back to shore, because they were desperate to eat its meat. We are grateful to the whales, we want Westerners to understand that” (McCurry, 2017). In addition to the Japanese governments and the citizens still hunting cetaceans, a number of nations have actually expressed support to Japan’s whaling agenda at IWC meetings. These nations include, Cambodia, Ecuador, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Kiribati, Laos, and the Republic of The Marshall Islands. It is suspected, however, that this support is only the result of mutually beneficial trade deals brokered by the Japanese government. The Japanese government has shown no signs that they plan to end the hunts, and with their withdrawal from the IWC in 2019, it is unclear what the future of cetacean hunting in its waters will entail.

When analyzing both sides of this issue, it is important to acknowledge the differences between cultures. As Lauren Tierney states in the article, Detailed discussion of Dolphin Drive Hunts, “it is difficult for the United States, a nation that has become accustomed to prizing dolphins for everything but their meat, to understand the way that Japan sees dolphins. The United States slaughters billions of animals each year, among that, 35 million cattle used to make cheeseburgers, meatballs, and ground meat. In contrast, in Brahmin Hindu culture, cattle are considered sacred and are not slaughtered for their meat. Despite this, Americans still rightly consume beef because its culinary traditions shouldn't be determined by the opinions of other nations' citizens.” This quote does a great job of putting this entire debate into perspective. It is not reasonable to expect the Japanese people to follow the ideals of the western world when there are such vast cultural and historical differences. The fishermen interviewed in Taiji raise a great point, unlike in the United States, there are no wide-open plains to graze cattle on near the coast of Japan. The citizens of Taiji, must look to the sea for food and income. Yet, this poses the question of whether or not the fishermen are able to target other species besides small cetaceans.

The tradition of Whaling clearly has historical significance in Japan and that is not something that will ever change. The glorification of whale meat began during a time of necessity; however, that time has passed. In fact, when Japanese citizens in Tokyo and Hiroshima were asked to comment on the current state of dolphin hunting in Japan almost none of the interviewees even knew the drive hunts were happening, and none of them said that they consume cetacean meat (The Cove, 2009). There are many ways that Japan could honor the history of whaling without the annual slaughter of thousands of dolphins. The lack of necessity and secrecy surrounding the whaling industry in Japan make it clear that this is no longer just a way to honor culture and provide food for Japanese citizens, it is a way to make money. This is also proved by the fact that the vast majority of the profits of this industry come from the sale of live dolphins, which has nothing to do with Japan’s history of whaling. That being said, the Japanese government has given no indication that it plans to cease its dolphin hunting operations any time soon. This is a practice that has gone on in Japan for hundreds of years and, wrong as it may be, until hunting begins to threaten cetacean populations, it is not

the Western world’s place to decide legislation in the country of Japan.

References:

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