U.S. film puts spotlight on dolphin hunt in Japan

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U.S. film puts spotlight on dolphin hunt in JapanBY KAZUMASA SUGIMURATHE ASAHI SHIMBUN2009/11/5PrintShare Article It has caused a stir overseas with its graphic coverage of dolphins being butchered in waters off a small town in western Japan, but the U.S. documentary "The Cove" has yet to gain a commercial release in Japan.The documentary made it into the Tokyo International Film Festival at the last minute, despite protests from a fishermen's cooperative in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, the setting for the movie.When a preview screening for the press concluded at the festival, some members of the foreign media applauded boisterously.A commercial distributor for the controversial film, directed by Louie Psihoyos, a National Geographic photographer, has yet to be found in Japan.But the film has the potential to astonish Japanese viewers for the simple reason that many people are unaware of the long-established fishing practice.Taiji, with a population of 3,800, was renowned as a center of whaling for more than four centuries. It has also been the location of an annual commercial dolphin hunt for the last few decades.While local newspapers used to cover the dolphin hunt as a seasonal event, fishermen in recent years have made an effort to keep it out of sight from the general public."(Opponents of the fishing of dolphins) will shoot our hunt and their footage will be on the Internet in a second," one fisherman lamented.They said their fishing nets had in the past been cut by foreign environmental activists opposing the hunt.Several years ago, the fishermen's cooperative began using guards to ensure that dolphins could be caught and slaughtered away from prying eyes."We, too, find it painful to slaughter dolphins," one fisherman said. "But we have been doing this since olden times, when little food was available. (We cannot help it) even if some people tell us, all of a sudden, not to kill dolphins because they are adorable."According to the Taiji fishermen's cooperative, most of its 200 official members are engaged in dolphin fishing.They catch between 1,000 and 2,000 dolphins a year.Fetching between 30,000 yen and 40,000 yen each, the mammals provide a precious source of income for locals.While little has been established about the origins of dolphin hunting in Japan, archaeologists say the practice appears to date back thousands of years.Pieces of dolphin bones have been excavated at the Mawaki ruins in Noto, Ishikawa Prefecture, which date back to the Jomon Pottery Culture (8000 B.C.-300 B.C.), along with artifacts that archaeologists believe were used during a ceremony associated with dolphin fishing.Even though hunting for dolphins is legal in Japan, fishermen catch them based on permits under a catch quota set by the Fisheries Agency.In 2007, the most recent year for which data was available, about 13,000 were caught.In Japan, two methods have been used to catch dolphins.One is to herd them into a cove by boat and haul them in with nets.The other is to spear them from a boat, which is typically done further from the shore and is less conspicuous.Large numbers of dolphin are also caught in Iwate Prefecture and other parts of the Tohoku region as well as in Okinawa Prefecture, but fishing in those areas takes place offshore.Taiji appears to be the main focus of international anger because it is one of only a few coastal towns where dolphins are slaughtered after being corralled into a cove, a method that is easier to be seen.Officials at the Taiji fishermen's cooperative would not comment on the film, which screened in the United States last summer."Whatever we say, it will end up raising the profile of the movie," said one official.While Taiji is less likely to give up the decades-old dolphin hunt in the near future, other coastal towns are abandoning the practice because of dwindling economic benefits and growing international criticism.Fishermen at Futo fishing port in Ito, Shizuoka Prefecture, last reported catching dolphins in 2004.They had used the same fishing method as the one employed in Taiji.Dolphin meat is sold at many supermarkets in the prefecture, where dolphin fishing once thrived along coastal areas of the Izu Peninsula and elsewhere.Masayuki Amano, 73, who runs a fish shop in Shizuoka's Shimizu Ward, says dolphin meat is tasty."You can grill it after drying it or cook diced meat with miso along with vegetables," he said. "Dolphin meat is delicious in winter because it has lots of fat."Most of the meat circulated in the prefecture, however, is from dolphins caught in the Tohoku region or Hokkaido.Futo resident Izumi Ishii, 61, quit dolphin fishing after about 30 years in the business.Instead, he turned to operating dolphin-watching tours in 2002. During the tours, he takes visitors aboard his boat to watch schools of dolphins and whales at sea.A native of Futo, he grew up taking part in dolphin fishing, although he felt sorry for the creatures.Ishii eventually came to question the morality of the dolphin hunt, he said, after reports surfaced in 1996 of fishermen taking dolphin species that were not allowed to be caught, as well as engaging in other questionable practices.Moreover, it turned out over the years that dolphin fishing did not pay.Dolphin hunts were organized by a local fishermen's cooperative. Daily wages for fisherman taking part were paltry.With the number of dolphins migrating to the area declining over the years, fishermen in Futo, unlike Taiji, found themselves in a difficult situation.They began leasing their boats out to anglers rather than going out fishing themselves.With the number of willing participants falling, the dolphin hunt in Futo eventually died off.Ishii also cited growing public criticism as a factor.Public disapproval of dolphin hunting increased after it was highlighted by foreign media, while conservation groups have become more assertive in combating it."You don't want to do something others will point a finger at," Ishii said.Business is starting to pick up for his new dolphin-watching venture.The tour costs 4,200 yen per person. About 2,000 people sign up annually.It brings economic benefits to the local area by creating demand for lodgings.Former fishing colleagues occasionally help Ishii run the tours."Here in Futo, dolphin hunting is no longer a matter of life and death," Ishii said. "It is now more beneficial not to catch dolphins than to catch them."(IHT/Asahi: November 5,2009)