Paddling to save pilot whales in Japan and beyond with Surfers for Cetaceans.
In October, 2007, a pod of 35 surfers silently slipped into the ocean off the coast of Taiji, where the water washing around their ankles was tainted red, confirming they had reached their destination. Taiji is a small fishing village in Japan, notorious among ocean activists as the “killing cove.” More than 2,000 pilot whales and other dolphins are slaughtered here each year; this number represents only a portion of the over 23,000 cetaceans (whales and dolphins) killed in Japan annually.
These surfers were participating in the first nonviolent protest in Taiji, organized by the nonprofit Surfers for Cetaceans (S4C). Their statement was broadcast around the world by a group of intrepid cameramen committed to the mission of ahimsa (nonviolence). S4C founder Dave Rastovich (a self-proclaimed dolphin defender) and his wife, mermaid model and yogi Hannah Fraser, had rallied the crew after seeing news reports of animals dripping with blood, slowly bleeding to death, being dragged into boats and often gutted while still alive.
Rastovich and Fraser were joined by Australian actress and yogi Isabel Lucas; Heroes star Hayden Panettiere; The Whale Warriors author Peter Heller, professional surfer Karina Petroni; representatives from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Save the Waves, Minds in the Water, The Whaleman Foundation and a slew of other celebrities and musicians, all paddling toward fishermen intent on hunting pilot whales. Sitting on their boards in the water, they joined hands silently and formed a traditional surfers’ memorial prayer circle.
Their peaceful protest succeeded in staving off the bloodshed, at least for one day. But by the following morning, fisherman had erected tarps and netted off the bay in an attempt to hide evidence of the overnight slaughter of 30 pilot whales. It was still dark when the surfers arrived to resume their prayer circle. The fishermen screamed at the surfers to go home, threatened them with propeller blades and attacked them with a long wooden pole. Recalling these events months later, Fraser said, “We were all crying when they started to kill the whales.” Lucas added, “It was really emotional for all of us. There was a lot of heavy energy when we got to the bay. The [surviving] pilot whales were swimming five meters away from us.”
“They were swimming in their family’s blood and knew they were in danger,” Fraser continued. “As soon as we got into the water, they swam toward us and got as close as they could. You have to wonder how intelligent these creatures are for them to perceive that we are trying to help them.”
Taiji’s whaling-for-food tradition is deadly in more ways than one. Aside from the fact that the slaughter beneath the tarps is inhumane, the meat of the dolphins and whales killed in Japanese waters harbors highly toxic levels of methyl mercury. Studies conducted by the Japanese government showed that dolphin and whale meat can contain up to 10 – 16 times the government’s limit for mercury and methyl mercury. This toxicity is the reason for the Sea Shepherd Society’s “Toxic Lunch” campaign.
“The mercury content has been known about for some years,” Fraser explained. “Various protestors and concerned individuals have been trying to get the word out, do more studies and show the fishermen the results. However, the fishermen laugh it off and don’t want to know the information as it threatens their business. We made this a key issue of the protest in the hope that consumers in Japan would realize they are being poisoned. “We actually achieved something really amazing. People around the world heard about the dolphin killing and then started to research online and the mercury issue became paramount.”
Yet unlike expensive whale meat, dolphin meat is not a delicacy in Japan. And according to the group Save Japan Dolphins (savejapan dolphins.org), the Japanese government issues permits to kill dolphins by the thousands every year not because of food culture, or traditional consumption of dolphin meat, but for alleged pest control – preserving the ocean’s fish for the fishermen by eliminating the competition.
Prior to their journey to Japanese waters, Fraser intensified her strict yoga and meditation practice as she grew increasingly aware of the potential opposition they would be facing. And she needs the discipline even more now, since S4C has been speaking worldwide on behalf of the threatened cetaceans (including appearances at Los Angeles Earth Day events), and collaborating with other organizations to launch a global protest of cetacean-killing, riding a surging wave of ahimsa (nonviolence) and peace.
Surfers for Cetaceans, formed in 2004, urges surfers to conserve and protect whales, dolphins and other marine wildlife as well as the greater environment. S4C also sends representatives to educate members of the public around the world. Visit SurfersforCetaceans.com, SaveTheWhales.com, SaveJapanDolphins.org and HannahMermaid.com for further information.
GotMercury.com lists the mercury levels in foods.
For more information or to get involved with the effort to save Japan’s dolphins, visit:savejapandolphins.org.
When not sitting at her computer writing, jamming in the SoCal music scene, or practicing Yoga, Lori Denman is frequently seen on a surfboard, inhaling the salt air, and riding the waves.