Illustrator
My time at Taiji in Japan 🐬
In recent years the small fishing town of Taiji in Japan has been known as the core hub of the live dolphin captivity industry. Every year the government allows a quota of dolphins (from seven different species) that can be legally captured and killed for meat or, more profitably, sold to aquariums all over the world. The hunting season begins on September the first and lasts until March the next year. There are 12 banger boats that local fisherman use to drive the dolphins into the cove where they are selected by trainers for captivity or slaughtered. The government claims that is a Japanese tradition but unlike whale hunting, a tradition that has been around for centuries in Japan, dolphin hunting only began in 1969. The rise of dolphinariums and ocean parks etc, has been the main driving force in the fisherman continuing these hunts as one dolphin can be sold for up-to as much as 150,00 USD. Although a small amount of Japanese people do eat dolphin meat, which itself has huge health risks due to the high Mercury content, the hunts are primarily continuing because of the live dolphin entertainment industry.
Taiji gained international attention from the 2009 award winning documentary The Cove. The film, and pictures since have shown dolphins being brutally killed and the water of the cove turning red with blood. Now, the fisherman have changed their tactics by using a tool called a pith which is a sharp metal rod that they push into the dolphins bodies near their blow hole which causes paralysis and a wooden cork is pushed into the hole to stop the out pour of blood and the sea from turning red. This method of killing is deemed as ‘humane’ but footage shows it is anything but. The area of the cove is also blocked by tarps now as fisherman try to hide everything that happens. Thanks to the cove monitors that are there for the whole season, these cruel and inhumane acts can still be shown to the world.
In 1970 Ric O’Barry founded The Dolphin Project. He had been a former dolphin trainer for the popular American T.V show Flipper and had even helped capture dolphins. After realising how intelligent and self-aware these sentient mammals were, he decided to dedicate his life help saving them and putting an end to the horrible dolphin captive industry. Since 2003 The Dolphin Project started a cove monitoring programme where volunteers from around the world come to Taiji to document what happens. I always knew that if I went to Japan I would go to Taiji, and since I am now living in Kyoto, which is only a 5 hour rain ride away it seemed like the perfect time to go. Due to work commitments I could only go for a week, which happened to be the last week of the season. The following is just a day by day account of what it was like volunteering there.
Day One - Red Cove
After waking up at 5.45 am we drove to the harbor to count the number of banger boats heading out for the day, of which there were 12. We then headed to a look out where we could watch the boats out on the horizon searching for a pod of dolphins. Unfortunately after 2 hours the fishermen found a pod and started driving them closer to shore. Three of us went to the cove lookout area which is up a steep hill where the equipment is set up for the main volunteer, Tracie, to do a live stream of the drive. The drive of dolphins into the cove took a further 2 hours as the pod kept splitting up and some would get away but after being tired out due to being chased for so long the dolphins were easily corralled into the cove. They were a pod of ten older Risso dolphins. You could hear the dolphins all talking to each other and the thrashing of their tails before an eerie silence as they were dragged underneath the tarp and killed. Through a small gap in the tarp I was able to film a fisherman plunging a pithing tool with his blood soaked hands into the dolphins head.
This was the first time I had actually seen dolphins so close up before so it was a strange mixture of emotions. I felt so much awe and amazement for them but also a deep sadness because I knew what was about to happen.
Day Two – Red Cove
Again at 5.45 am we left for the harbor to count the banger boats going out to sea. When we arrived there was a transport truck preparing to transport a live dolphin to an aquarium from the sea pen. Half of the group went to the look out point to watch the boats going out to sea and myself and two other cove monitors stayed by the harbor to watch the dolphin in the sling being hoisted up on a crane and into a crate. This was the closest I had ever been to a dolphin, it was an adorable looking bottlenose. Seeing the size of this dolphin and how distressed it looked being out of the water in such an un-natural environment was horrible to witness. As it was just one dolphin Tracie concluded that it was probably going to be transported to an aquarium in Japan. After filming the transport we joined the other group at the lookout point. The sea conditions were kind of rough so we we’re praying that the fisherman wouldn’t find any dolphins but unfortunately after around an hour the banger boats started driving a pod of striped dolphins into the cove. Compared to the day before this seemed to happen so fast. We had to rush and set up at the cove lookout and watch as a pod of over 20 dolphins we’re herded into the cove. This species had been known to panic when in the cove before and I was told to watch out for dolphins throwing themselves onto rocks which sadly did happen. Some dolphins escaped from under the tarpaulin so some divers had to drag the dolphins back under and all of them were killed for their meat.
After that was over we headed back to the harbour to see the fisherman take away the meat and then I had to have an interview with the police who were just asking why I was at Taiji and why I joined The Dolphin Project etc. In the afternoon two other cove monitors and I went to the Whale museum in Taiji, which is basically just a dolphin prison. We went to check the conditions of the dolphins as lots end up with injuries and don’t live every long due to stress and depression. It was by far the worst thing I’d ever seen. One area in particular had a small tank with a tiny tunnel going underneath so people can people walk underneath the dolphins. It is filled with about 10 dolphins from all different species. In the wild dolphins never leave their own pods, so to be in such a small space with a completely different species of dolphin was evidently very stressful and confusing for them.
Day Three – Red Cove
Today was the third day in a row there was a red cove. After only being at the lookout for 20 minutes the banger boats were lined up on the horizon driving a pod of dolphins to the shore. Tracie and I headed to the the cove and waited for the fisherman to come closer. Everyday without fail if there is a pod being driven to shore Tracie will do a live stream on Instagram and Facebook detailing the situation. After about an hour the fisherman had driven one dolphin into the cove. Today they were Risso’s dolphins again. Then it took a further hour to corral the 4 other Risso’s into the cove. The four dolphins put up such a good fight to get away but the fisherman started putting nets around them to stop them escaping. One dolphin was taken for captivity and the other four of their family members were killed. What was really sad was the fact the one dolphin who wasn’t killed was kept under the tarp next to their dead family members for an hour before being taking away.
Day Four – Blue Cove
So today I was meant to leave Taiji but after realising how hard it would be to leave I managed to get another day off of work so I could stay until the last day of the season. After 10 boats went out it took them five hours to find what seemed like a large pod of dolphins. The spent nearly another two hours trying to drive them into the cove but thankfully these dolphins didn’t give up and managed to escape! The banger boats returned to the harbor unsuccessful and there were a huge feeling of joy and relief from all the volunteers.
Day Five – Blue Cove
We we’re told by a local that the banger boats weren’t going out today but when we arrived at the harbor to check the fisherman had began to make their way out to sea. For hours they searched for a pod but luckily they were unsuccessful and by 10.30 am they had given up and docked their boats. A long time volunteer said the way they had docked their boats indicated that the hunts were over until next season. It was such good news to have the last day of the season be a blue cove! Since it was the last day we laid some flowers down at the rocks next to the cove and took a moment to remember all the dolphins that had been captured and killed.
After only being there for five days it felt so strange to head back to Kyoto as it felt like I had been living in this weird dolphin bubble. I can only imagine how strange it would be for the other volunteers who had been there longer than me must have felt, especially Tracie who had been there for months. I’m feel so grateful for The Dolphin Project for being there for the entire season and the volunteers who spend weeks at Taiji documenting this cruelty and working tirelessly to educate people about the horror of dolphin captivity. After seeing the cruelty first hand I have left Taiji feeling like I have to do more to help animals in captivity. I am inspired by meeting such amazing people there and I can only hope that animals kept in captivity will soon be a thing of the past.
Please follow dolphin_project on Instagram for more information. 🐬
