Taiji Dolphins Show Up in Okinawa
We recently received alerts from the Japanese island of Okinawa, where several bottlenose dolphins suddenly turned up in a small pen offshore the town of Chatan.
The pen is supposed to be temporary and was authorized by the town government, but exact plans for the dolphins are currently unknown to the local people.
It could be that the pen will simply be modified to accommodate tourists for a “dolphin encounter,” or there may be plans to build a larger facility of some kind, even a large dolphinarium or aquarium. Nobody (but the developer) seems to know.
The developer, Mr. Ueda Go, did meet briefly with protesters, but has ignored follow-up emails sent to him by the International Marine Mammal Project (IMMP) of Earth Island Institute asking for more details on his future plans. This includes IMMP’s request for specific numbers of dolphins in the sea pen (supposedly three so far) and their current health.
Two of the three dolphins, as expected, come from the inhumane dolphin drive hunts in Taiji. The Taiji Whale Museum, owned by the Taiji town council, and other companies in Taiji broker some of the dolphins, that are caught live, to marine parks around the world, but mainly in Japan and China, where such dolphin parks are very popular. After selecting dolphins for captivity, the remaining pod members are often slaughtered to the last animal for meat.
The third dolphin is vaguely a “rescue” dolphin from the town of Yomitan on the main Japanese island, but often fishermen claim dolphins caught in fishing nets were “rescued” and placed in captivity for their own good, rather than releasing them immediately. Reportedly, the developer Udeda Go has arranged for dolphin trainers from Taiji to come to Okinawa to train his three dolphins.
One individual knowledgeable about the dolphin hunts stated that live, trained Taiji dolphins sell for $30,000 to $40,000 each. This trade is very lucrative and explains why the Taiji hunts continue despite a global outcry of opposition and a lack of interest in buying dolphin meat, which is heavily laden with mercury, PCBs, and other toxins.
COVID conditions have reduced tourism to Okinawa, as to other places in the world, so it is not clear that the project can get off the ground and be profitable, whatever is planned. We will keep you informed as we learn more.
What You Can Do:
Okinawa’s Governor Denny Tamaki is working to establish Okinawa as an eco-tourism destination. Please send him a polite message urging him to block the Chatan captive dolphin facility and any other such facilities in Okinawa. Urge him to emphasize the wild dolphin and whale populations in Okinawa as eco-tourism examples, rather than pathetic captive animals in small enclosures. Captivity harms dolphins in many different ways, and should be phased out worldwide.
Governor Denny Tamaki, Okinawa Prefecture
Address: 1-2-2 Izumizaki, Naha-si, Okinawa. 900-8570
Phone: +81-98-688-2333
E-Mail: okinawa@pref.okinawa.lg.jp or kouhou@pref.okinawa.lg.jp
