Dolphin Hunting in Japan

Recently I watched the famous documentary, The Cove, which is about the mistreatment of dolphins, particularly the hunting of dolphins by fisherman in Taiji, Japan.

Taiji is a town in Wakayama Prefecture. I have never been to Wakayama, which is not surprising given it is quite secluded. Wakayama is famous for wilderness, mountains, beautiful coastlines and, due to The Cove, dolphin hunting. I was contemplating visiting Wakayama a few months ago to try dolphin meat, amongst other things. However, I was forewarned that it is not sold to Westerners as Japanese fish sellers now suspect that any Westerner wishing to purchase dolphin meat is a journalist.

The Cove is captivating and deals with some interesting issues, such as cruelty to animals, sustainability, differences of culture, public health and much more. For now, here are the main points of the documentary.

1. Having dolphins perform at amusement parks such as Sea World is cruel, bad for their health and should be stopped. However, it is unlikely to be stopped as a single performing dolphin can make millions of dollars for an amusement park each year.

2. The killing of dolphins by fisherman in Wakayama is cruel.

3. It is unnecessary to kill dolphins because there is little demand for dolphin meat in Japan. Dolphin meat is in fact sold under the guise of whale meat to unsuspecting Japanese consumers because there is no other way to sell it.

4. We should not kill dolphins because they are highly intelligent. 

5. Dolphin meat contains dangerously high levels of mercury due to the location of dolphins at the top of the food chain.

6. Japan only persists with whaling and dolphin hunting because it is the only trace of the Japanese Empire which still remains.

The government of Wakayama has responded to the points made in The Cove with a statement that is available on its website. Here is a link: http://www.pref.wakayama.lg.jp/prefg/071500/dolphin_fishery.html

 

I definitely think some of the above six points have merit. I agree with (1): training dolphins to jump through hoops and balance beach balls on their noses is no different to teaching a chimpanzee to ride a motorbike at a circus. Many people would disapprove of the latter. As pointed out in The Cove, a dolphin always appear to be “smiling” due to the natural shape of its mouth. Hence, we wrongly think that it enjoys performing at an amusement park.

I don’t particularly agree with (2). Killing dolphins is no crueller than killing most marine animals which we consume. The Cove certainly shows some gory footage, but I doubt it is any more confronting than what occurs in your average abattoir. 

I am unsure about (3). Eating dolphin is certainly rare in Japan. In Tokyo, I have never met anyone who has eaten it. A Japanese friend and myself tried to find a restaurant that sells dolphin meat in Tokyo. We found one that use to. The owner said that you cannot buy dolphin meat in Tokyo any more, not even in the enormous Tsukiji Fish Market. He attributed this to the impact of the The Cove. When I was in Okinawa, I was told by a couple of locals that dolphin can be eaten in some Okinawa towns, but it is still uncommon. The statement issued by the government of Wakayama says that eating dolphin has been popular there for centuries as a source of protein. There is little arable land in Wakayama due to the mountainous terrain. Hence, the sea is relied on heavily as a food source. 

I think the conspiracy about dolphin being sold disguised as whale meat is not convincingly proven in The Cove. I doubt that dolphins would be hunted in Wakayama unless there was demand for their meat. Funnily, the Japanese word for dolphin is iruka (海豚), which literally means “sea pig.” The fact it is called “pig” makes me think it has been consumed for some time. Still, I don't really know how much dolphin meat is consumed in Japan, but I would expect it to be very little. 

I am undecided about (4). I always wonder whether it is right to say that the life of an intelligent animal is more valuable than that of an unintelligent animal. I think we often conflate charisma with intelligence. Dolphins are charismatic. A pig, which is also intelligent, is not charismatic. For that reason, the poor old pig ends up on our dinner plate.

(5) certainly concerns me. However, the greater concern is high mercury levels in tuna. Tuna is eaten in monumental proportions in Japan despite the fact that it can be high in mercury. There are many people in Japan who eat tuna several times a week … for their entire life! 

(6) is an interesting point. I think there's some truth in it. Despite great opposition, Japan continues whaling even though almost no-one in Japan would care if whaling ended. Japanese whaling vessels go on excursions to distant parts of the globe where they clash with ships from other countries. Japan recruits poor island nations (most of which were former colonies) to support whaling at the International Whaling Commissions (IWC). Japan seems to adopt an "us versus the World" mentality at the IWC. It all sounds a little imperial to me.

To date, I haven’t eaten dolphin. I doubt I’ll get an opportunity to either. I have eaten whale on a few occasions. (If you would like to read about that, please see the post Getting One Back for Jonah: The Day I Ate Whale.) If you do get a chance to see The Cove, please do. It is quite interesting and will let you decide for yourself whether dolphin hunting is a great shame of Japan.

Thank you for reading and take care.

Our Man in Japan.