When Japanese whaling became the focus of anti-whaling campaigns, in the early 1970's, American economic interests--the desire to increase Japanese consumption of American beef--were never mentioned by the campaigners, though their interests coincided with American economic policy. Anti-whaling propagandists also asserted that whale meat was not consumed in Japan, though it was clear to anyone living there that, for both school children and adults, whale meat was a cheap source of protein. (There was a Tokyo restaurant, Kujiraya, that specialized in whale meat.) I wonder whether "The Cove" promotes the same scenario, scapegoating the Japanese for the world-wide problem of over-fishing and deflecting attention from the problems generated by our own food habits and practices.

It's great that people are concerned about the porpoises. What if we became concerned also about the human beings killed each day in abortion?

fishy, i heard about the mercury? maybe they should stop the hunt then. i guess i should have said they can't sell the meat. it ends up in school lunches http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070904a3.html

jp that's true

Jerry, there is a difference in that we raise pigs, cows, etc to eat and replenish this population, so in that way it is different than fishing, which is a huge worldwide problem. There are other ethical things to consider with factory farming, but that's a subject for another day.

The Japanese have built a state-of-the-art fishing dock in St. John's, Antigua, for two reasons: 1-whaling rights and 2-because they have overfished their waters and need to move on. They are quickly doing the same in the Caribbean.

HJS,

My point is there are a lot more horrific fishing practices going on that effect the entire eco system in the sea. Most of the fish we eat are not nearly as intelligent as dolphins. But many fish we over fish, dolphins and whales and sharks eat and need to live. Commercial fishing whether it be crab fishing, tuna fishing or even garbage bottom feeders that make up a fast food fish sandwich or a frozen fish stick is way out of control. Look up how commercial trawling is done and how nothing survives when a net is dragged on the sea floor for miles and miles. Way more catastrophic then what goes on in any stock yard any day of the week.

HJS, squids are not proven to be especially intelligent creatures...will you give up calamari now? You also must have missed the part when the guests were talking about increase in mercury poisoning for eating dolphins.

they do eat the dolphin meat. The problem is OVERFISHING...whether in Alaska, the Caribbeans...or in Japan.

THE THINGS WE CAN DO AS COMMON PEOPLE is:
_Dont overeat
_Dont waste food
_Dont over buy
_Dont waste dont waste dont waste.

It is absolutely the least that we can do. When things are cheap people disregard them as not valuable and therefore treat them as disposable...in the US, this is true of food and water. STOP IT and we can, in small proportion (like our plates should be) help save our dolphins, our food source, our world.

jp
the difference between a crab and a dolphin is intelligence. for the same reason i won't eat a chimp, horse or dog. but if u can go for it. as i said i've heard they can't even sell the meat for food no one wants to eat it.

I stopped eating shushi and any other japanese food.... and advocate with colleagues and friends not to dine in japanese restaurants... that's my solitairy protest. Maybe not very efficient... but that's my contribution. I do believe that only economics measures will force governments to take action.

THIS IS ABSOLUTELY ABOUT OVERFISHING!!

What do you think about the growing Sushi Culture? Does this contribute to the overfishing in japan and elsewhere??

isn't it true they don't even eat the meat

We glorify our fisherman who catch Alaskan king crab. We make them heroes and even give them a TV show. Really they are just doing their job. Fishing on the high seas is dangerous no matter where or how its done or what they are catching. We approve fishing of fish we like to eat, no matter how much the ocean is being depleted or how the fishing is done. Aren’t these dolphin fishermen just doing their job? Are they not risking their life? How are these guys any different then crab fishermen we glorify? Shouldn’t you be doing a story on the fishing industry as a whole? What about the large lanes of no life that are created by dragging very large nets on the sea floor for miles and miles picking up everything and anything so Amercans can have all the fish they can eat?

Boycott all sea food unless you catch it your self with a rod and reel.

What can we as ordinary people do to combat this? Would donations help?

Does this include dolphins that perform at aquariums like Sea World?

On a trip recently we were encouraged by friends to make sure our son got to swim with the dolphins. I had just heard about "The Cove" and just couldn't do it. Luckily my son wasn't too interested at the time so it wasn't a problem, but at some point I'll have to tell him how those dolphins got there. Same for circus elephants, etc.

well, we kill pigs, cows and other mammals in far more bigger #'s every day. I guess that's O.K.

Where can I donate to help fight against this horrible mass murder?

I cant believe this! Why do we allow the Japanese to get away with this? They have no respect for life of any kind. Horrible....

Ric's comment about the dolphin's smile reminds me of Frederick Douglass's abolitionist lectures about how whites believed slaves to be happy because they sang in the fields. Douglass said he never knew a slave who sang from happiness; that the more engaged the singing, the more pain a slave was feeling. Thanks to Ric for that insight about our response to the dolphin's smile.

Hey Leonard you must know - lately didn't you talk to the author of th recent NYT cover story about whales, who also wrote about chimps - they are waaaaaay smarter than the arrogant biped

two was not enough.

boycott japan. no cars no electronics no tourism no cameras etc