(Asahi Shimbun)
(NOTE: Sea Shepherd is a 501(C)3 organization so it cannot "make a profit" as accused by the Japanese fishermen. It survives on donations, while they make large sums of money selling select captured dolphins to oceanariums around the world. The unsold dolphins are brutally butchered for their meat, which is polluted with mercury and PCB's, among other toxins.)
Activists keep close watch on dolphin hunt
BY TSUNETAKA MISHIMA STAFF WRITER
2011/01/25PrintShare Article
Sea Shepherd members keep an eye on fishing vessels in a cove in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, in December. (Tsunetaka Mishima)
TAIJI, Wakayama Prefecture--Tensions are running high in this town made famous by a 2009 U.S. documentary on its annual dolphin hunt as anti-whaling activists stage a peaceful, yet voluble protest.
For months, members of the U.S.-based Sea Shepherd Conservation Society have been taking turns monitoring and recording vessels that head out to sea and drive dolphins into a cove.
Images of this season's dolphin drive and ships carrying back what appear to be corpses of the mammals have been uploaded onto Sea Shepherd's website.
The group has gained notoriety for its rough tactics in protesting Japan's whaling fleet activities in the Antarctic Ocean.
While monitoring activities have not led to clashes, the town appears to be on high alert with police, fishing cooperative officials and Japan Coast Guard officers keeping close tabs on the activists.
The fishing season started in September and lasts until April.
Local fishermen expressed irritation that Sea Shepherd may be profiting from Taiji's traditional coastal whaling activities by broadcasting video footage and posting critical comments while soliciting donations through its website.
Early one morning in December, as 11 vessels headed out of Taiji port, a group of a dozen or so foreign nationals jumped into several cars and headed out to Hatakejiri-wan cove, the site where dolphins are driven and culled, and to Tomyozaki point, where they could get an unhindered view of the open sea.
This reporter followed the team to Tomyozaki, where Sea Shepherd members monitored the fishing boats' movements through binoculars.
Around 9:30 a.m., roughly three hours after the boats left port, the fishing vessels, which had moved into a fan formation, began to move toward an area east of Tomyozaki.
One Sea Shepherd member said the dolphin drive appeared to have started and notified other members at Hatakejiri-wan with transceiver radios that the fleet would likely arrive there in about an hour.
At Hatakejiri-wan, the members were already recording video of the unfolding hunt.
About an hour later, a fishing vessel emerged from the cove, its deck covered with a blue tarpaulin. One person monitoring the ship at the cove said underneath the tarp were the corpses of culled dolphins.
That night, footage of the hunt was streamed on the Sea Shepherd website. On the screen appeared "despicable job" and other critical comments.
At the bottom of the page was a click box with the words "Donate Now."
In the past, Sea Shepherd members have run afoul of Japanese law. The leader is on an international wanted list, and two members were arrested and fined for slashing dolphin holding nets in Taiji.
This is the first time the group has lodged such an extended monitoring campaign in the town, according to local officials.
"The town Taiji is famous for 'The Cove,'" said Scott West, 52, a Sea Shepherd member who has joined in the monitoring activities since September.
Scott, who said he is a former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officer, noted that reporting from Taiji is effective in stirring international interest in the issue.
With the dolphin drive continuing through April, members of Taiji Isana fishing cooperative have chosen to act defensively by not walking around alone and ignoring any verbal provocations from Sea Shepherd members.
A team of about 10 fishing cooperative officials, police, municipal officials and coast guard officers gather at Hatakejiri-wan whenever a dolphin drive begins. No serious incidents have occurred to date.
On Nov. 2, Sea Shepherd members sat down for the first time with Taiji officials to exchange views on the annual dolphin hunt.
The meeting was made possible through the intervention of a group led by a resident in Shingu, Wakayama Prefecture, and was attended by Taiji Mayor Kazutaka Sangen.
But the two sides failed to narrow differences as Sea Shepherd members demanded the hunt be terminated, while the mayor maintained that the whaling was conducted in accordance with law and based on scientific research.
Fishermen say they are irritated by Sea Shepherd's negative campaign against them.
"Sea Shepherd members are not only attacking the town of Taiji with radical comments but soliciting donations," said Hirofumi Seko, 60, leader of the fishing cooperative. "It seems that they are using the dolphin run to make a profit."
Seko said the dolphin drive, which is conducted with approval from the prefectural governor, should not be subject to such scrutiny.
He added that he hoped the government, including the national government, would take action.
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