Japan's Dolphin/Whale Hunt

Sarah Ogletree

9/9/2010

5:14 pm

The people of Taij, Japan, have been hunting whale and dolphin for hundreds of years. In the United States however, the idea of hunting “Flipper” hasn’t gone over well. Last year’s Oscar winning documentary The Cove (starring former dolphin-trainer Ric O’Barry) added to the hype of the controversy, but even before the film had the chance to circulate worldwide, protesters were flocking to the tiny coastal town destroying nets, boats, etc. and very quickly “visitors” acquired a negative connotation. Just this week, O’Barry arrived in Tokyo with a petition boasting over 1.7 million signatures demanding the hunt to be stopped. However, due to unhappy fisherman, and rising tensions between the two groups, O’Barry has spent most of his time in his hotel room. Jennifer Anniston, Robin Williams, and other well-known celebrity environmentalists have also voiced their opinions about the probable 2,000 small whales and dolphins that will be killed in this year’s hunting season. In Taij, dolphin and whale cuisine is simply food. Fisherman regard dolphins and whales as "just big fish." (Also, dolphin is cheaper than beef or whale, explaining its emphasis and popularity.) Fishermen do not understand the anger associated with their way of life, and have written off the protesters as extremists. However, there is speculation that the hunt is serving duel purposes –Food, and pest control (overfishing the dolphins and whales to provide a more abundant fish market).

The situation is Taij is a tricky one in that people from different places eat different things. That boils down to a difference in culture. So whether or not I would want (or feel that it was morally right) to eat a dolphin doesn’t come into play here. What stands out to me is more the idea that the fishermen could be overfishing. 2000 dolphins and small whales sounds like a huge number for only a few dozen fishermen (# found in article). But more information could have been provided about the hunt itself to clarify the practices. What I got from the article was that IF overfishing is taking place than there is serious problem. The "if" however makes it hard to know. This stuck out as something that should have been elaborated on. Also, I was interested in what species of whale and dolphin is being hunted. This would have been helpful to include. (If the species were rare, or unique to the area, the standpoint of the protesters would hold more clout. If they were not, the view of tradition held by the fisherman and community would be more understandable).

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2010/0904/1224278203456.html