Sunday was the Oscars and a film I care about a great deal one for Best Documentary, The Cove. The issues covered in all the documentaries are important and about life. But this is an issue I've written about here. It's an issue, for some odd reason that has grabbed a hold of me and that has to do with the health of our oceans, our food system (Yes, Food, Inc. is a very important film as well!) and the lives of those marine mammals in the oceans.
More about The Cove...
I posted a diary about this issue on January fifth, 2010 (and strangely, the diary I posted that was dedicated solely to the film itself is gone,I might have accidentally deleted it but that seems impossible). I am going to repost it. I've written other diaries about issues to do with the oceans, from the looming extinction of the Maui's dolphin, the continued whaling of the Japanese and their overfishing to the question of captivity for dolphins in our Country's marine parks (which is something that's evolving for me and I hope to write more about).
I am studying Ecological restoration and hope to go on to become an Ecologist (I was laid off las April, hello career change). I hope to continue to write about the health of the oceans from what we do on land, the effects of climate change and so on. This diary was an attempt to sum it all up.
The Cove, a highly disturbing yet immensely important documentary about the inhumane and brutal slaughter of dolphins, that takes place in Taija, Japan, brought much needed attention to a tragedy happening annually from September to March, annually.
Sure the Movie put pressure on the Japanese to stop the slaughter but it hasn't ended. According to Ric O'Barry, Director of Save Japan Dolphins they've only refrained from killing bottle-nose Dolphins and have continued to kill other species of dolphins.
They can say they are not killing Flipper, but they are butchering many of his dolphin cousins as many as they can get.
This update from Ric directly is from December 15th, 2009.
Sadly, in the Cove itself, I have found it is business as usual, despite the worldwide publicity against the dolphin slaughter. On Sunday, several False killer whales (a large dolphin) were captured and a few were taken by boat around the corner of the bay to the notorious Taiji Whale Museums floating holding cages on the other side. These whales will be trained and then sold for extremely high prices (as much as $150,000US each or more) to other aquariums for their captive dolphin shows. The rest of the pod, their mothers and fathers, their sisters and brothers, will be slaughtered tomorrow at dawn. There are also Rissos dolphins and Pacific white-sided dolphins in the Cove today as well, and they will die too tomorrow. My son Lincoln and I will be on hand to record it. My son and I are working on a new TV project, so we will have a way to show the world the reality here in Taiji.
So, unfortunately there is still a widespread slaughter of dolphins going on at Taiji with no real reason to do so. Once the dolphins are sold to the aquariums and amusement parks the rest are slaughtered and sold for consumption, usually not labeled as dolphin meat but as a larger species of whale. And most likely, the meat itself is highly contaminated with mercury and unsuitable for human consumption anyway, so the continued killing makes no sense what-so-ever. The Cove documentary demonstrated how eating dolphin was not customary in Japan and just how unaware the populace is of the practice of slaughtering dolphins was taking place in Taiji.
But why should we care? Sure it's an issue for activists and animal rights fanatics, right? And there are many who believe now that Dolphins, because of their intelligence and self awareness, should even be given the same rights as humans.
But I believe this is merely a part of a much larger issue. And that is the continued abuse of our oceans as a never ending supply of resources which is not infinite.
The Japanese and other whaling countries have also cited the need to continue whaling as a means to control the whales from "overeating" fish when the reality is, of course, it is man that is overfishing.
It seems that humanity’s voracious appetite for fish – be it wild or farmed – is depleting the ocean so much of its smaller “prey fish” and krill that marine predators, such as dolphins, seals, whales, are facing starvation. A new report by ocean conservation group Oceana describes how "scrawny predators – dolphins, sea bass and even whales – have turned up on coastlines all over the world", including seabirds "emaciated from lack of food, vulnerable to disease and without enough energy to reproduce".
And we most likely will see the disappearance of the blue fin tuna in just a few years if we don't curb our enthusiasm for certain kinds of fish.
And as if Whales don't have enough to worry about, there's the intense amount of noise pollution that's interfering with their communication and and their ability to survivepollution is intensifying it's affect. Yes.
The world's oceans are becoming noisier thanks to pollution, with potentially harmful effects for whales, dolphins and other marine life, US scientists said in a study published Sunday.
Low-frequency sound in the ocean is produced by natural phenomena such as rain, waves and marine life, and by human activities such as sonar systems, shipping and construction.
The sound is absorbed mainly through the viscosity of the water and the presence of certain dissolved chemicals, said the report published in the science journal Nature.
But the concentration of chemicals that absorb sound in the oceans has declined as a result of ocean acidification, in turn caused by rising concentrations of carbon dioxide.
...
Using model simulations, the scientists found that increases in acidity could reduce seawater sound absorption by as much as 60 percent by 2100 in high latitude oceans.
So, sound pollution is an issue now for sonar reliant mammals, it's going to get much worse, so much so it could cause deafness in dolphins and other cetaceans. There you go, we've found more ways to kill dolphins and whales.
Can I keep going?
Sure!
The International Whaling Commission, the only international body to regulate whaling (and which refuses to protect small cetaceans like dolphins) can't stop Japan and other whaling nations such as Iceland and Norway.
There's no regulation or official national body that can stop the practice of shark finning, which could lead to the loss of an apex predator and further collapse of our Ocean as a ecosystem.
It's not just the dolphin slaughter in Taiji that's the problem, although for me it's a huge indicator, or the overfishing, or the whaling, it's all of them together that shows that we have a problem of hubris. That our problem is the inability to put these things together to see that collectively we will destroy the ocean much sooner than later. And that if each Nation refuses to take responsibility for their part, such as Japan, and to stop such practices that contribute to the demise of such a huge part of our planet, then there isn't really much hope for us, is there?
One of a few videos available that shows the slaughter of dolphins at "The Cove" in Taiji" Japan. Warning, it is graphic.
If you have a Facebook account I am going to urge you to sign the petition to End the Brutal Killing of More Than 20,000 Dolphins Every Year in Japan addressed to President Obama, Vice President Biden and Japanese Ambassador to the United States Ichiro Fujisaki.
And then I will urge you to take on just one of these issues related to the health of our oceans. Just one and follow it and attempt to write a letter or do something positive. Even if that means that you educate yourself and ensure that you are choosing sustainable seafood when you eat at home or when you eat out.
Just do something.
Hopefully, with the Oscar, more people will learn of the horrible things happening in Taiji. And it seems Ric O'Barry is following in the footsteps of The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society with his own form of "Whale Wars".
Oscar winner 'The Cove' to become the basis of a new TV series
A new television series about the controversial dolphin trade in Japan, tentatively titled "Dolphin Warriors," has been greenlit by Animal Planet.
The series picks up where the movie leaves off and, like the film, stars animal activist Ric O'Barry. Two episodes of the series -- which is being executive produced by O'Barry's son, Lincoln -- have already been completed, although a premiere date has yet to be announced, Ric O'Barry said.
Animal Planet says the series may premiere in the fall, after "The Cove" debuts on the channel this summer.
"The Cove" tells the story of an annual rite in Taiji, Japan, where fisherman sell dolphins into captivity or kill them for meat. As depicted in the film, the practice is cruel and the dolphin meat contains risky levels of mercury.
And they're not stopping there! It's not just about dolphins. It's about so much more.
Oscar Winners Try to Keep Whale Off Sushi Plates
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — It is sport among black belt sushi eaters here to see just how daring one’s palate can be. But even among the squid-chomping, roe-eating and uni-nibbling fans, whale is almost unheard of on the plate. It also happens to be illegal.
Yet with video cameras and tiny microphones, the team behind Sunday’s Oscar-winning documentary film “The Cove” orchestrated a Hollywood-meets-Greenpeace-style covert operation to ferret out what the authorities say is illegal whale meat at one of this town’s most highly regarded sushi destinations.
So what did they find in their undercover sting? What did they manage to take home in the samples they got?
Video of their meal shows the two activists, both vegan, being served what the waitress can be heard calling “whale” — thick pink slices — that they take squeamish bites of before tossing into a Ziploc bag in a purse.
The samples were sent to Scott Baker, associate director of the Marine Mammal Institute at Oregon State University. Professor Baker said DNA testing there revealed that the samples sent to him were from a Sei whale, which are found worldwide and are endangered but are sometimes hunted in the North Pacific under a controversial Japanese scientific program. “I’ve been doing this for years,” Professor Baker said. “I was pretty shocked.”
Yes, whale obtained from the scientific whaling undertaken by the Japanese. It's not just about saving dolphins, it's not just about whaling. It's about overfishing, over indulging and about the impending collapse of our oceans.