Return to Otsuchi: May 11

Porpoise boatsRecovery is underway in Otsuchi.  It has been two months since the earthquake and tsunami destroyed most of the town.  I was in Otsuchi yesterday and saw that many streets had been cleared and there was much work going on to collect and stage the various pieces of debris.

I understand that many have been confirmed dead and that there are still many more missing.  Life is difficult for those in the shelters and some wonder if they will remain here.  Signs of death and destruction are everywhere and on a large scale.  Gone is the gooey mud we encountered the day after, but with the warmer weather now, the odor is just as thick as the mud had been.

Let us not forget why we were in Otsuchi in March.  We were here to expose the wanton slaughter of Dall’s porpoises.  The slaughter happened pretty much year round.  The boats would periodically move to various ports in northern Japan to conduct their evil business.  Otsuchi was one such port that harbored these evil men and their boats.

Report from Taiji: May 6

Pilot whales being driven into the killing coveA second night of terror passed for the pilot whales locked in the waters of the cove.  This time, they had the blood of their family members to keep them company in the water.  Then morning came and with it the killers.

Among the killers this morning were jailers.  Marine mammal trainers from Dolphin Base and the Taiji Whale museum harassed the remaining pilot whales and eventually chose two creatures to begin a life of misery in forced servitude.  The trainers smiled as they carried away their two prizes.  Then the killing began.

About 10 were killed this morning in addition to the 22-25 who were killed yesterday.  The bodies of the slain were dragged through the group of the living on their way to the butcher house.  At one point, a lone whale slowly emerged from the killing cove and made its way over to where the others were waiting.  It moved as though injured or exhausted, or both.

Report from Taiji: May 5

Killing whalesThis morning began like way too many do in the evil little town of Taiji.  Before light, some two dozen so-called fishermen arrived at the Fisherman’s Union (FU).  These individuals chatted with their buddies around the barrel fire and ate a breakfast. Well before sunrise, when there was just a hint of light, they took to their skiffs to bring death and misery.

The pilot whales in the Cove did not quietly go to their deaths. They fought as best they could, churning up the water and dashing on the rocks. Ultimately though, 22 to 25 of them were pushed into the killing Cove. Three of these were very large, too large in fact to be gutted on the barge. Their paralyzed bodies were dragged all the way from the Cove to the Taiji harbor and were pulled up the steps under the tarps.  Those pilot whales not killed today had to swim in the blood of their family members and listen to their death cries. They will die in the early light tomorrow.

Report from Taiji: May 4

Sneaky Bastards

Dead baby

The Taiji Town officials would have us believe that they are being magnanimous by foregoing their spring whale hunt in order to send their two coastal whaling vessels to help out their brethren in the north.  What a load of crap.

While it may be true that their boats are up north, we are hearing reports that some sort of whale was killed in Taiji Town yesterday and today the molesters drove a pod of (possible) pilot whales into the cove.  After a big show in late February of removing the banger poles and taking down the veil of tarps, the poles and tarps are back.  When I showed up at the cove this afternoon the molesters went into a frenzied panic and began setting up lights and adding extra nets around the corralled cetaceans.

I estimate there are at least 50 and likely many more in the nets.  All the preparations are in place for an early morning slaughter and a baby has already died.  Perhaps it died from exhaustion or got tangled in the net enclosure.

Dall’s Porpoise Slaughter in Northern Japan

HarpoonsSea Shepherd had Cove Guardians in Taiji, Japan, every day this past hunting and killing season.  Historically, approximately 1,800 dolphins were killed in Taiji each year.  This season, 850 were killed.  In the northern prefectures of Japan, another slaughter continues essentially year round.  Hunters, killers, and other porpoise molesters move to various ports in order to conduct the largest cetacean slaughter in the world.  Many thousands of porpoises are killed each year.  The official numbers do not count those that are wounded, but not brought into port nor do they count the numbers of nursing babies that are left to starve to death after their mothers have been killed.  Through the dedication of Clare Perry and others, the world has been learning about this senseless and cruel massacre.  It is long past the time when this must stop.

There are about a dozen harpoon (hand thrown) boats now operating from Otsuchi, Iwate, Japan.  There are also 5 Sea Shepherd “Cove” Guardians and a journalist here as well.  Sea Shepherd operative Thomas Gainard scouted out the area a couple of weeks ago.  We have kept the authorities busy and the molesters are angry.  Too bad!  They need to find another line of work.

Report from Taiji: March 6

Back in Taiji

By all appearances, the dolphin molesters in Taiji have indeed ceased their hunting and killing for the season. Of course, they continue to hold dolphins captive in the harbor pens. We recorded the underwater sounds of Taiji harbor during a captive dolphin feeding operation. You can listen here.

Sounds from the hydrophone

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There was an interesting development in Taiji this week. Every household in the town received in the mail a Japanese language copy of the movie, the Cove. We are told that this made the molesters very angry and also spooked a number of residents. Many threw their copies away, but others have watched. A reporter from Tokyo interviewed us about the movie delivery. We explained to him that the Ocean Preservation Society (OPS) sent the copies and that he should ask OPS about it.

Report from Taiji: February 26

The Taiji dolphin hunters take a break from
the cleaningWith the world still celebrating the victory in the Southern Ocean, the Cove Guardians awoke today to a small victory of their own. When we made our rounds through the Taiji harbor early this morning, we were confused that all the banger boats were still in, the sun was shining, there was no wind, and it was, by definition in these parts, perfect weather for hunting dolphins.

As we passed the Fisherman’s Union (FU), we were greeted with the sight of all the dolphin hunters scrubbing and cleaning every inch of the butcher house. They were pressure washing the floor, hosing down tarps, and piling trash next to the burn barrel in the parking lot. But what really grabbed our attention was the fact that the tarp hut, which blocks our view of the transfer of bodies from the boats through the bay doors of the butcher house, was gone. As we stood there, several skiffs came from the Cove that were piled with more tarps. These too were washed and folded, and then the oil boom that contains the blood flow from the butcher house was pulled up, and also washed and folded. Our Japanese Cove Guardian approached a local and inquired about the activity at the FU and he told us that the dolphin-hunting season was officially over. Could it be true?

We headed to the Cove to have a look inside the killing cove and sure enough, every single tarp was gone. Today was an unbelievable day. After some excited group photos at the Cove, we headed up to Tsunami Park, and sat in silence on the cliff overlooking the killing cove. To see it free of blood and tarps was a sight to behold, and we each spent time with our thoughts, enjoying the comfortable silence of a group that has been through hell together and has now been liberated.