More than 400,000 dolphins, porpoises and small whales have been killed in Japanese waters over the last 20 years. The Government of Japan still allows more than 22,000 small cetaceans to be killed each year in unsupervised hunts around the coast of Japan. Some of the populations hunted are rare or endangered, others are threatened or in decline from overhunting.
The Dall's porpoise hunt in Japan has been the largest directed kill of any cetacean species in the world for several decades. Since catch records began, more than half a million porpoises have been reported killed. EIA's campaign focuses on reducing the Dall's porpoise hunt and demand for other toothed cetacean species around Japan's coast.
Japan's commercial coastal hunts
Catches of small cetaceans around Japan are conducted in one of three categories: drive hunts; hand harpoon hunts; and small type coastal whaling. The hunts have followed the classic pattern of overhunting that led to the near extinction of some of the great whales. Historically, striped dolphins were heavily exploited in the coastal waters of southern Japan. In 1959, over 20,000 striped dolphins were caught in a single region, Shizuoka. Over the next 20 years the population plummeted and the hunt for striped dolphin in Shizuoka almost completely collapsed. Catches in Wakayama also suffered drastic declines, from 11,000 in 1980 to less than 1,000 in 1990. In response, products from the Dall's porpoise hunt in the north were transported south to fill the demand for striped dolphin meat. This coincided with the involvement of Japan's large whaling companies, whose access to cetacean products had been severely restricted by the IWC moratorium on commercial whaling. The result was a massive increase in the catch of Dall's porpoises. In 1988 the catch exceeded 40,000 porpoises, prompting the first IWC resolution on a small cetacean species.
The Government of Japan currently permits the killing of more than 22,000 dolphins, porpoises and small whales off its coast each year, with the products sold in commercial markets across Japan. Numerous EIA investigations have confirmed that the hunting, landing, transportation and distribution of small cetaceans and small cetacean products are almost completely unsupervised. With over 400 boats authorised to hunt small cetaceans, the system of self-regulation is wide open to abuse.
It was not until 1993 that national catch limits were set for all exploited species. However the basis for the quotas is uncertain, since there is no real knowledge of stock structure, abundance or status of the exploited populations. A review of the available scientific data makes a mockery of the Japanese Government's claim to support a policy of sustainable utilisation of marine resources. With respect to the striped dolphin, scientists have concluded that some of the coastal population units involved in the Japanese coastal fisheries may have been hunted to extremely low levels or even local extinction - and yet a quota of 700 dolphins is still assigned to fishermen in Wakayama, Shizuoka and Chiba. In addition, the quotas are not legal controls and have no punitive provisions, so fishermen may violate them without breaking any laws and without fear of punishment.
In June 2000, EIA released video footage of a bottlenose drive hunt that took place in Futo Harbour, Shizuoka prefecture. Fishermen captured 175 bottlenose dolphins, killing 69 of the dolphins and taking six live for aquariums. Leading welfare experts in Britain stated that it was the worst case of animal cruelty that they have ever seen. The footage was aired on Australian television during the 52nd meeting of the IWC in Adelaide. In response to a telephone poll of more than 5,000 Australians, the deputy Commissioner for Japan promised to implement a code of conduct to reduce killing times in their dolphin hunts. The Government of Japan has failed to honour this promise.
Japan has come under repeated pressure from the IWC to reduce or stop the small cetacean hunts. In 2001, the IWC urged Japan to halt the directed takes of Dall's porpoises until a full assessment by the Scientific Committee has been carried out. The advice and recommendations of the IWC Scientific Committee and Commission have been largely ignored, although in recent years the catch quotas have been slightly reduced.
For more information on the Dall's porpoise hunt, visit EIA's website www.dallsporpoise.org
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