Driven By Demand - Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

11The hunts todayShizuoka PrefectureDrive hunts began in Shizuoka Prefecture in the17th Century, mainly off the coast of the IzuPeninsula. 20 After World War II, five towns in thisPrefecture still conducted drive hunts, almostexclusively for striped dolphins. In the 1950s,declines in striped dolphins were first witnessedand, as a result, a licensing system wasimplemented that restricted the number ofhunting teams and limited the hunting season toSeptember to March. 21 By the late 1960s, onlytwo locations in Shizuoka Prefecture (Kawana andFuto) were permitted to drive and land dolphins.Kawana conducted its final drive in 1983, leavingFuto as the only town in the Prefectureconducting drive hunts in its coastal waters. 22 Inspite of increased regulation of the drive hunts, itwas not until 1993 that the first catch limits wereimposed. 23Shizuoka Prefecture operates under a quota of600 dolphins a year, consisting of 455 spotteddolphins, 75 bottlenose dolphins and 70 stripeddolphins. 24 In spite of this, Futo suspended drivehunting after 1999, perhaps as a result of thedecline of the industry. However, evidently inresponse to persistent demands from theaquarium industry 25 , Futo conducted its first drivehunt in five years on November 11, 2004, drivingover 100 bottlenose dolphins into Futo harbour. 26Fourteen dolphins were selected by six differentaquaria and five were slaughtered and used for“research” purposes and human consumption. Atleast four other dolphins died of suffocation orshock, and the surviving dolphins were reportedlyreleased, one having been fitted with a radiotransmitter. 27 As many of these dolphins werereleased with serious injuries, their continuedsurvival was severely compromised and reportssuggest that bodies were recovered from theharbour during the night of the release. 28 It isanticipated that future hunts will occur in Futowith the aim of supplying dolphins for theaquarium industry. A November 2004 article inthe Izu Shimbun newspaper quoted the managerof the Futo Branch of the Ito City FishingCooperative as saying: “I'm glad we were able tohave the hunt. I think it was a good experience forthe fishermen… This year isn't the end, so I'd like tothink about the future.” 29 The revitalization of theFuto hunt to meet the demands of the aquariumindustry is an unfortunate turnaround for a townthat was becoming better known for its dolphinwatching opportunities than its hunting.Wakayama PrefectureDrive hunts in Wakayama Prefecture did not fullybegin until 1969, with the driving of short-finnedpilot whales at Taiji. The hunt expanded in 1973 toinclude striped dolphins. Following declines instriped dolphins in the 1980s, Taiji fishermenturned their attention to other species such asbottlenose, spotted and Risso´s dolphins. 30 In1993, a limited season (October to April) wasimposed on Taiji's drive hunts, with an annualcatch quota of 2,380 animals. This includes 450striped dolphins, 890 bottlenose dolphins, 400spotted dolphins, 300 Risso's dolphins, 300 shortfinnedpilot whales and 40 false killer whales. 31 InTaiji's 2003-2004 drive hunt season, 1,165 dolphinswere killed and 78 captured alive for the aquariumtrade. 32 In 2000, 2,009 dolphins were killed and 68were captured alive; in 2001, 1,191 dolphins werekilled and 28 were captured alive; and, in 2002,1,935 dolphins were killed and 73 were capturedalive. 33 In spite of concerns raised about thepossible impact on the populations targeted 34 , theoverall numbers taken remain high, with increasingnumbers of animals taken alive.Nagasaki PrefectureUntil relatively recently, drive hunts were alsocarried out in the village of Katsumoto, Iki Island,Nagasaki Prefecture, starting in 1910. Between1976 and 1982, 4,141 bottlenose dolphins, 466Pacific white-sided dolphins, 953 false killerwhales and 525 Risso's dolphins were killed. 35 Therelease of video footage of the Iki Island hunts inthe 1980s resulted in an international outcry overthe killings. Whether this had an impact onbringing about an end to the hunts is difficult toassess, although environmentalist and broadcasterHardy Jones, who has been documenting thehunts for several decades, believes publicbroadcast of them brought about an end to the IkiIsland hunts. 36 Katsumoto residents report achange in attitude away from the dolphins aspests as the primary factor in ending the hunts. 37Large catches at Katsumoto ceased around 1986,although the town maintained an annual quota of50 until 1995 38 and investigations by a Japanesenon-governmental organization, the Elsa NatureConservancy, revealed that 20 dolphins werecaptured alive in 1996. 39 No drive has beenrecorded or reported since then. However,recent interviews with fisheries cooperativeofficials in Katsumoto indicate interest in resumingthe drive hunts in order to capture live dolphinsfor the aquarium industry. 40