Japan’s dolphins in need of lifesaver
In today’s world, the ocean isn’t as pleasant as our childhood friends Ariel and Flounder led us to believe.
Our marine life is in a state of crisis. The best example of this is the yearly slaughter of more than 20,000 dolphins and porpoises in Taiji, Japan. Students might think we have bigger issues to care about, but we must be proactive to save the dolphin populations, our coastal economies, our health and our consciences.
This sensitive issue is best portrayed in the Oscar-winning documentary The Cove, an honest portrayal of Richard O’Barry’s search for redemption after catalyzing the dolphin craze and the resultant slaughter by working on the hit show Flipper.
Through training these marine mammals, he discovered the deeply rooted connections humans share with dolphins. He also realized how it is inhumane to keep them in captivity. O’Barry took responsibility for his actions, dedicating the last 35 years to tearing down the industry.
The reality is this: Every year, tens of thousands of dolphins are killed in the process of looking for those few live-show dolphins that can sell for as much as $150,000 each. If the depletion continues at this rate, the world’s fish population will collapse in a mere 40 years.
It’s unfathomable that people are so willing to do anything to make a quick buck. Do fishermen care about the sake of our oceans? If not, they should at least think about how their coastal industries will suffer and the deformities that mercury poisoning will inflict on their children and grandchildren.
Progress has been made. Organizers like O’Barry are knocking on doors, making phone calls, getting signatures, gathering volunteers and spreading the word against dolphin cruelty, even among Japanese citizens — yet the slaughter continues.
The glass might be half full now, but it is not enough until the atrocity ends.
It can be easy to forget about these bigger issues with all that we have going on in our personal lives, especially since our secluded USC bubble isn’t right on the ocean. Everyone gets distracted at times, but it is critical that we don’t just stand by and watch as helpless dolphins are brutally slaughtered.
If we allow the atrocity to continue, the results will only be more drastic.
Not all of us can be Richard O’Barry, but we have the potential to contribute, be it signing a petition or writing to our representatives. We can all do our part in 2011.
Molly Smith is a freshman majoring in communication.
@Stacie
The fishermen of Taiji have been hunting dolphins and whales for at least 400 years. Dolphin and whale meat has been a part of their diet for 400 years, as well. That’s a fact.
Now, in some parts of Japan, dolphins are viewed as pests and are killed. However, the meat from the dolphins that are killed is used and not wasted.
@ Henry: The hunting of dolphins has only been big since the 1970s. A few centuries years ago the first dolphins were killed because some fishermen were hungry. Today the fishermen kill the dolphins so as to eradicate the “pests”.
A very nice article. However, factually incorrect. Approx. 20,000 dolphins and porpoises are killed in JAPAN every year, not Taiji. Only about 1,800 are killed in Taiji. The majority, about 80%, are killed in Iwate, Japan.
“The reality is this: Every year, tens of thousands of dolphins are killed in the process of looking for those few live-show dolphins that can sell for as much as $150,000 each.”
This is also incorrect. The hunting of dolphins in Taiji has been taking place for at least 400 years. Long before dolphins began to be captured for aquariums and live-shows.