Picture of the infamous cove in Taiji, Japan. Source: voicefortheblue.com

In Japan, dolphins are hunted using a method called dolphin drive hunting. A pod of dolphins is herded into the bay by fishermen who create noise in the water to scare and confuse the dolphins. Once they are in the bay, it is closed off with nets to prevent their escape, and they are left there over night to calm down. The next day, the dolphins are either killed or sold off to dolphinariums.

Despite international outcry and protests, the annual dolphin drive hunts, which take place from September to April, are still being carried out. The government continues issuing permits for these hunts, under the guise that it is a part of their tradition and culture, to provide dolphin meat to the Japanese. In reality, most Japanese do not eat dolphin meat, the hunts are used as a form of “pest control”, as the dolphins are being blamed for the depletion in fish stocks in the sea, and so have to be killed. Furthermore, dolphinariums take advantage of the hunts to obtain dolphins for themselves. A live bottlenose dolphin can fetch up to $150,000, making it a very lucrative business. Dolphins from Taiji, Japan, have been exported to dolphinariums in countries such as China, Korea, Ukraine, Egypt, Iran, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, and the Philippines.

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/eadaoinflynn

Volunteers and staff of the Dolphin Project head to Taiji every year to monitor the dolphin hunts as well as put pressure on the government to stop them. The Cove has garnered much needed support and attention for the plight of the dolphins in Japan, but much can still be done. So head over to Dolphin Project’s website and follow these simple steps. Pledge to never buy a ticket to a dolphin show, get your friends to watch the movie The Cove, send a letter to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, or the World Association for Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), and let those fishermen know that the world is watching!