Oscar buzz from documentary helps crack
down on illegal whale meat activities

By Tanya Colledge, Staff Reporter

aking home an Oscar for

best documentary at the 82"

Annual Academy Awards, The
Cove has been stirring up new buzz
and controversy around the world,
informing people of the injustice
and cruelty of the highly politicized
dolphin hunting in Japan.

Following an elite team
of activists, The Cove features
filmmakers and freedivers as they
embark on a mission to expose a
remote hidden cove and shine a light
on the dolphin hunt in a traditional
whaling town in Taji, Japan. Using
state-of-the-art technologies such as
hidden microphones and cameras
in fake rocks, the team uncovers
one of the best-kept secrets of the
most horrifying microcosm of crime
happening around the world.
Directed by Louie Psihoyos and

produced by Paula DuPré Pesmen and
Fisher Stevens, the film is written by
Mark Monroe and has been screened

harpoons, turning the waters of The
Cove into a murky bloodbath.

The dead dolphins are then pulled
from the waters, cleaned, their meat
sold to local markets, restaurants,
and even to school lunch programs.
The Oscar-winning documentary
also explores the effects of consumed
whale and dolphin meat— uncovering
extremely high levels of mercury —
possibly the root problem to many
unsolved cases of mercury poisoning
that have occurred in the country for
years.

So far, there has only been one
Japanese viewing of The Cove, ina
tightly regulated film festival. But last
week’s big Oscar win has put the issue
of dolphin slaughtering at the forefront
of many activists, politicians and even
celebrities’ minds, with the film’s
provocative blend of investigative
journalism.

A week prior to the Academy
Awards, The Cove crew sent in
their team to investigate an alleged
whale-smuggling operation at a sushi

  

Last year, a reported 20,000 were quoted taken from the Japanese
government, 13,000 of these from along the Japanese coastline.
Striped, Bottlenose and Spotted dolphins are among the most
commonly hunted, as pods are secluded into what is known as
the “killing cove.” A dozen are selected to spend their lives in
aquariums, while the rest are killed by hand-hurled harpoons,
turning the waters of the Cove into a murky bloodbath.

\

in 14 countries. However, it has
not been screened in the country it
portrays, and has been a growing
concern to local hunters in Japan,
where this illegal dolphin slaughter
is carried out without international
control.

Last year, the Japanese
government quoted killing a total
of 20,000 dolphins, 13,000 of
which are from along the Japanese
coastline. Striped, bottlenose and
spotted dolphins are among the
most commonly hunted, as pods are
secluded into what is known as the
“killing cove.” A dozen are selected to
spend their lives in aquariums, while
the rest are killed by hand-hurled

restaurant in Santa Monica, California,
catering to “adventurous” eaters.
Undercover diners took samples
of the whale meat, sent it out for
testing, and called in local authorities
to crack down on the business. The
bust created even more buzz for the
documentary, and filmmakers hope
it can be used as a catapult to dig
up more illegal whale and dolphin
activities around the world.

Psihoyos is already hard at
work on his next feature-length
documentary about the widespread
extinctions that will come about due to
the changing chemistry of the oceans
brought on by climate change.

 

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