Taiji: The End of Dolphin Slaughter Season

By Mark J. Palmer

In keeping with past years, the current Taiji dolphin drive hunt season lasted for six months. It began September 1^st, 2023, and came to an end on February 29^th, 2024. (Some dolphin hunting will go on beyond this date, as the Japanese government allows the dolphin hunters to harpoon pilot whales they may come across while fishing.)

What can we say about the hunts now that the latest season is over?

The toll on wild dolphins is immense. Every year, hundreds of dolphins, of nine different species, are chased into the notorious Cove and kept behind a series of nets. Often, aquariums will send staff to pick out “show quality” individual animals for a lifetime of misery in small tanks. The highly prized bottlenose dolphins are often reserved for the lucrative aquarium trade. Occasionally, some of the remaining traumatized dolphins will be herded out of the Cove back into the sea. The rest of the dolphins are slaughtered for meat while concealed by tarps to hide the bloody brutality from the public eye. Out of sight; out of mind, as far as the Japanese government is concerned.

According to estimates compiled by activist and photographer Kunito Seko, only 833 dolphins were removed by the hunts in the notorious Cove this season. Most of those dolphins were slaughtered for meat, but 14 bottlenose dolphins were caught for captivity. Kunito counts 28 young Risso’s dolphins that were herded into the Cove, but later dumped outside, as likely dead due to the loss of their pod and elders in the hunts. These number continue to decline of dolphins hunted in Taiji.

Meat from a dolphin will bring around $600 for the dolphin hunters, but live trained dolphins can go for $100,000 or more on the world market. Thus, the captures of live dolphins for aquariums subsidizes the bloody slaughter in Taiji – if the captive industry collapses, especially in Japan and China, the Taiji hunts would likely end. It is not worth it for hunters to pursue dolphins solely for the meat market.

COVID made a huge difference, as exports to China were blocked, including exports of live dolphins. Taiji has a lot of captive dolphins on hand in small sea pens, waiting for buyers. It is not clear if the global captivity market for live dolphins will recover.

Combined with the work of the International Marine Mammal Project (IMMP) of Earth Island Institute and our colleagues in other organizations, we have been able to slowly reduce catches for meat due to our publicizing the dangers of mercury contaminated meat – the hunters are having a hard time selling dolphin meat.

The International Marine Mammal Project (IMMP) of Earth Island Institute and colleagues from other organizations have been testing dolphin meat for toxins, sold for public consumption in Japanese markets, for a number of years. We have been able to slowly reduce dolphin killings for meat. This is largely due to our publicizing the dangers of mercury contaminated meat, which the dolphin hunters are having an increasingly hard time selling.

A new paper just published confirms high levels of heavy metals in dolphins and small whales that have stranded in Florida over the past 15 years (2007 to 2021). Bluntly, dolphin meat is poisoned and should not be eaten by anyone.

Most people in Japan do not eat whale or dolphin meat, causing major problems for Japan’s dying whaling industry and the dolphin drive hunts. Concerns about consuming toxic meat are reducing the demand.

Also contributing to low number of captures is that some of the dolphin species targeted by Taiji show signs of depletion. IMMP was the first organization to publicize a new paper filed last summer with the International Whaling Commission’s Scientific Committee, concluding that several species sought by Taiji hunters appear to be in decline due to over-hunting.

SPECIAL UPDATE: Many of you will recall that while The Cove documentary was being made, two Taiji town council members, featured at the end of the film, intervened to stop the serving of dolphin meat to Taiji school children for their school lunches. A child is expected to eat everything on their plate at school, but dolphin meat is heavily contaminated with mercury. Using mercury testing results from IMMP, the town councilmembers agreed to end the practice. We are happy to report that the latest inquiry indicates that dolphin meat is still off the school lunch menu to this day, a boon for young Taiji residents.

If there is a resurgence in the popularity of aquariums in Japan and China, the cruel captures and bloodshed may continue. However, with dolphin populations declining off Japan’s coast, consumers avoiding contaminated dolphin and whale meat, growing opposition by Japanese activists, and ongoing pressure from IMMP and other concerned groups, there is hope for a brighter future for dolphins and whales who make Japanese waters their home.

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Special thanks to Kunito Seko for his daily work in reporting and photographing the dolphin hunts in Taiji.

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Many people over the years have felt that the cruel dolphin hunts in Taiji will never stop. Your help is needed to show that the hunts can and will end. Dolphins belong in the ocean, not in small concrete tanks or on the menu. The Cove documentary, which featured IMMP’s efforts to bring the dolphin hunts to public attention globally, was a tremendous success, garnering an Oscar for Best Documentary. Since The Cove, IMMP has been mobilizing international support, working with local Japanese activists, conducting research on the status of the hunts, testing dolphin meat, and publicizing the plight of Taiji’s dolphins to the world. Please donate to help the dolphins of Taiji and dolphins and whales everywhere. Our entire team at the International Marine Mammal Project thanks you for your caring support!