# Taiji Dolphins, Earthquake



## kimmer (Mar 12, 2011)

Are you wondering what happened to the Cove Guardians and the captive dolphins in Taiji? Here is a post that details their experiences. Unfortunately, the 24 captive dolphins kept at the cove died as a result of the tsunami.

http://bit.ly/fI1g0v


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## Kalina (Mar 13, 2011)

...and they were butchered for meat this morning.!! Amazing that this country is going thru such panic, terror and possible Nuclear Meltdown and the evil fishermen continue business as usual.


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## terryo (Mar 13, 2011)

I am all for animal rights, and also belong to the PETA (please no comments), but maybe these people are starving right now and need anything they can to feed their children and themselves. As you say they are going through panic, terror and possible Nuclear Meltdown. I don't think now is the time to judge.


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## Laura (Mar 13, 2011)

if they died? then why just throw it away when it can be used to help others. ? Mixed emotions for sure...
Im sure there are dogs that persished as well.. and so much else.. cant even begin to comprehend.. 
let alone the people.. and what they are going thru, and just to survive.. clean water? where is it?


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## Jacqui (Mar 13, 2011)

Kalina said:


> ...and they were butchered for meat this morning.!! Amazing that this country is going thru such panic, terror and possible Nuclear Meltdown and the evil fishermen continue business as usual.



A) I applaud them for not wasting the meat. That would have made it a complete shame.

B) Excuse me, but aren't people still having to eat there? Don't people still have to work and make money to live? Life does go on.


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## kimmer (Mar 13, 2011)

The banger boats were allowed out to ride the waves unharmed when the six waves crashed into the cove from the tsunami. The dolphins, locked in pens, were smashed into the rocks.


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## dmmj (Mar 13, 2011)

It would be the height of foolishness to waste the meat IMHO.


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## terryo (Mar 13, 2011)

kimmer said:


> The banger boats were allowed out to ride the waves unharmed when the six waves crashed into the cove from the tsunami. The dolphins, locked in pens, were smashed into the rocks.




I understand where you are coming from, but we weren't there and don't know what really happened. Maybe they couldn't get to them in time. Maybe there was just NO way to help them at that point...we just don't know. The people who lived are starving, with no homes, no food, no water...nothing. Unless we were there we just can't judge them. Since they were already dead, why waste the food. The whole thing was such a tragedy. I know you feel bad, and I can understand your pain....we all do. The dolphins are gone now and we just have to pray for these poor people.


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## Jacqui (Mar 13, 2011)

terryo said:


> kimmer said:
> 
> 
> > The banger boats were allowed out to ride the waves unharmed when the six waves crashed into the cove from the tsunami. The dolphins, locked in pens, were smashed into the rocks.
> ...



Often at times like this, folks do not think clearly. They never think the water will go as high, be as strong, last as long, ect.., not to mention they plainly panic.

One of the images that remains in the front of my mind is from Hurricane Katrina. A picture was taken of the remains of a horse or pony. From the way things appeared this animal was well loved (It may even have been called Spot). When it's owners fled, no doubt they couldn't take the animal (as is usually the case). They locked it's gate to keep it from being stolen. Unfortunately the storm was worse then thought and folks couldn't get back in. When animal rescue folks got in, they found the body. (I believe this was Anne Lancaster who took the picture). This same story repeated itself all over that area, *people in weather disaster situations do not always think as well as they should. * Plus then it is so easy for us armchair quarterbacks far from the disaster and after the fact, to think we would have acted so much better.


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## Kalina (Mar 13, 2011)

I agree, I pray for the poor people over there in the quake of this disaster, I just cannot comprehend what they're going thru right now. Pure panic, terror and the unknown of what will happen next. My post I wrote near the top of this page WAS NOT directed at the Japanese people, it WAS directed at the 26 Taiji Fishermen, who I will NEVER sympathize with. 
With regards to Hurricane Katrina, my boss and some staff went there on an animal rescue effort and said some of the dogs had formed packs and were eating the dead, my boss said it was a horrible situation and surreal.


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## kimmer (Mar 13, 2011)

I agree 100% with what Kalina wrote. Once the dolphins were in the cove they were doomed to die one way or the other.


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## ALDABRAMAN (Mar 13, 2011)

Interesting, different perspectives?


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## terryo (Mar 13, 2011)

kimmer said:


> I agree 100% with what Kalina wrote. Once the dolphins were in the cove they were doomed to die one way or the other.



Sad, but I happen to agree with this statement too. Maybe they shouldn't have been there in the first place.


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## Candy (Mar 13, 2011)

Exactly Terry. I think Kimber's main reason for this post is that they shouldn't have been there to begin with. This post is not about the people of Japan (or it wasn't intended to be if I'm reading it right). Of course people go into survival mode when needed. I'm with Kalina where as the fishermen are concerned, I really wouldn't give to much thought in their direction. If they wouldn't have trapped them to begin with they would have probably survived.


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## Kalina (Mar 14, 2011)

As we reported yesterday, volunteers from Save Japan Dolphins and Sea Shepherd were in Iwate Prefecture, which was one of the areas hit the hardest by the earthquake and tsunami. They were monitoring the Dall's Porpoise hunts when the earthquake hit. Thankfully, today we can report that they are all safe, and on their way home! 

My son Lincoln, the Save Japan Dolphins team and I have been on the phone and e-mail with them all day trying to get them out. They have gone through a horrible ordeal, witnessing death and massive destruction.

After the earthquake hit, both teams headed for the mountain overlooking the city of Otsuchi. The tsunami hit almost immediately after Brian's last video post, http://media.causes.com/ribbon/1032459. They watched in horror as the tides rescinded and then came back with such fierce velocity that the city was quickly submerged. When it ended, they descended into absolute turmoil. The city was ravaged - cars toppled, houses and buildings totally destroyed. Bodies were strewn about - one in a tree, others in cars, several in the wreckage. We can't begin to imagine how horrible it must have been.

At one point, they spent hours trying to save a woman they were never able to reach. Floating on a piece of debris in the harbor, she was too far out and they didn't have rope or any other equipment. The two teams then "borrowed" an abandoned fire truck, called for authorities and used the loud speaker to call out to boats in the distance. At one point, 2 boats came close, but then abandoned the effort. She floated off, out of sight. We pray one of the boats found her.

It was impossible to drive, so the teams opted to walk to Tono, roughly 30 miles away. All along the way they ran into locals, who in the midst of their own nightmares, went out of their way to help, offering food, shelter and complete compassion. Imagine - at this dire moment when they are facing such loss and an uncertain future - they reach out to complete strangers and offer their help. We are so grateful to them. Several times our volunteers were given rides towards Tono.

When the teams emerged in Tono, news was breaking about a "possible" nuclear meltdown. With one, then two and now three reactors reportedly failing, and family and friends in a panic, we all agreed they had to get out of there. If all goes well, we hope they will all be home tomorrow.

The people living in the area don't have that option. Our hearts break for what they will have to endure over the coming days, weeks, and likely months. I know I'll be back to do what I can. If you can, please donate or find a way to help with relief efforts. 

Sadly, the news out of Taiji is no better. Although it is located well away from the epicenter of the earthquake, they did experience swells from the tsunami. Sadly, we heard that all 24 dolphins being kept in sea pens in the harbor died as they were thrashed against the rocky coastline. During such a difficult time, it's hard to say what I'm feeling about the fisherman who left them there. So I won't. 

This is a time to come together. To help one another and heal. 

Please do what you can. We'll no doubt have more to report in the coming weeks.

Thank you all again for your concern and support. It is appreciated more than you know.
http://savejapandolphins.org/blog/p...calyptic-experience-taiji-dolphins-perish[hr]
Just for info, this is the reason the cove guardians were in japan, this is where the earthquake was.

The Cove movie focused on the town of Taiji and the brutal dolphin drive hunt, which kills 1500 to 2000 dolphins annually. (Probably half that number were killed this past season.) But the government of Japan issues 23,000 permits annually to kill dolphins.

Many of the dolphins killed in Japan are offshore Dallâ€™s porpoises, one of the fastest of the dolphin tribe. But not fast enough for dolphin harpoon boats. Much of the hunting of Dallâ€™s porpoise takes place in Iwate Province in northern Japan, as Dallâ€™s porpoise are a cold-water species from northern seas. 

Save Japan Dolphinsâ€™ Brian Barnes headed up to Iwate recently, and filed this report of the dolphin killing there:



Taiji ended it's seasonal "dolphin drive" hunts at the notorious killing Cove in late February, a month earlier than normal. I monitored the activities of the fishermen in Taiji for a few weeks after the announcement of the hunts end â€“ indeed the hunts have ended for the year.

However, cetaceans are still be slaughtered along Japan's northern coast in Iwate Prefecture. The Iwate hunt is the largest single cetacean hunt in the world, and, unlike the Taiji hunt, there is no season â€“ it is a year-round slaughter. The Iwate hunt is also very difficult to monitor. Instead of a Taiji-style hunt where dolphins are forced into a Cove near the beach with some access, the Iwate hunt takes place in the Pacific well off Japan's northern coast. (Local Japanese wonâ€™t rent boats to Westerners to photograph the hunts offshore.)

Around 15,000 Dall's porpoises are killed in this hunt each year, although the numbers killed have been decreasing as the populations have been decimated. The hunt has been repeatedly described by the International Whaling Commissionâ€™s Scientific Committee as "clearly unsustainable". Since record keeping began for the hunts in the 1960s, more than a half million Dall's porpoises have been slaughtered. And tests show the Dallâ€™s porpoises also have very high levels of poisons like mercury and PCBâ€™s.

I traveled to the fishing town of Otsuchi, which is where the hunts are largely based during March. I arrived on March 9th and was immediately greeted by two people who identified themselves as police officers and requested my passport.

The following morning I was awakened by a 6.0 earthquake. Over at the harbor the fishermen were ready after learning that Western activists were in town, and they resorted to "Taiji style" games such as hiding their butchery behind tarps and empty crates that were stacked up along the outer perimeter of the slaughter house to block photography. The slaughter of these cetaceans is clearly something they do not wish the world to witness.

The weather was bad on the morning of the 10th, so the boats didn't leave the harbor. However, they often leave the frozen carcasses of the previous day's hunt in the boats overnight to unload the following morning. The unloading and butchering took place behind tarps. However I did manage to get a few photos of one of the butchers disposing of unwanted parts while wearing safety gear. These fishermen are of course aware of the toxicity in the meat they are selling on the public market throughout Japan. Mercury and other toxins concentrate in the organs, so these parts are usually disposed of separately as toxic waste.

I spoke with a city official in the town and explained several key issues such as contamination of HeMg (methyl-mercury) and other toxins, sustainability issues and cetacean self-awareness. I think it's just as important to tell the world about this hunt. I was able to obtain several photographs of the boats and learn how the hunts are conducted.

At the moment, the fishermen and police of Otsuchi appear concerned that the overwhelming activist presence in Taiji from this past season will happen here as well. The time to tell the world about this mass slaughter on the northern coast of Japan is long overdue.

http://savejapandolphins.org/blog/post/in-iwate-japan-the-killing-continues


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## Jacqui (Mar 14, 2011)

Kalina, question.... or perhaps clarify something for me, were these dolphin rescue folks near to where the dolphins were caged?


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## Kalina (Mar 14, 2011)

From reading reports from Cove Guardians and the activists who are there... No, they were up north working on the Dalls Porpoise hunt, they wanted to document that hunt because they kill thousands of them and this is where most killings take place which has effected the Dolphin populations dramatically. 
However, the Taiji fishermen and the Dolphin Resort workers were there onsight and could have helped the dolphins that perished on the rocks. Why they decided to go out on the boats and not secure the pens is a mystery considering the Dolphins trapped inside them were the ones they would've made the BIG $$ off, (they were being sold into captivity).

I'm also very worried about the Dolphins, Killer Whales and all other Marine Mammals that were being housed in Kamogawa SeaWorld, it's located on the coast of Japan, when i look at the maps, it's a possibility that this aquarium was hit, but no word as yet.


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