Latest Report from Carlos on Dolphin Die-off

This is a synopsis of the most recent email report I’ve received from Carlos. BlueVoice has funded his return to Chiclayo to begin a new recon of the area he and I covered two weeks ago.

On Saturday, the President of the Congress told all media that the Ministers of Production, Environment and Energy should present an explanation to the Congress plenary session regarding the dead dolphins in the north.

On Sunday, the Minister of Production (including fisheries) called me from his assistant’s cellphone. He wanted me in a personal meeting Monday morning
9am to talk on "environmental affairs".

Carlos and Elena gave him a summary of what they knew. He was very concerned. Carlos: “I just told him
we had evidence of the acoustic impact and we are researching possible diseases associated with the strandings, since we never recorded anything like this over the past decade. He asked bout the importance
of marine mammals, and why the dolphins are so important. We explained. He was impressed, and worried. He concurred with us that dolphins are to people psychologically the closest animal.

So, in summary, we requested three things and he agreed:
1. To support and to participate in education campaigns for dolphins and ocean health.
2. To enhance the participation of Peru against whaling.
3. To declare marine mammals,specially dolphins, of National Importance.

So, at the end of the meeting, he agreed that he would like to have a copy of our final report on the dolphin strandings

Detailed Report From Peru Dolphin Mortality Event

Here are some results from Dr. Carlos Yaipen Llanos's tests on dolphins washed up on Peruvian beaches. These tests were undertaken by ORCA - Peru and funded by BlueVoice. Additional results will be published here shortly.

As previously reported, two species have been affected: Long beaked
common dolphin (Delphinus capensis) and Burmeister’s porpoise (Phocoena
spinipinnis). We counted 615 common dolphins. All age classes were
affected: Adult males, females, lactating females, juveniles, calves and
newborns. We counted 19 porpoises, only females and calves.

There are carcasses in different degrees of decomposition and every 10
to 30 meters, none of them older than 5 weeks. This matches with the fact
that these strandings happened right after our previous survey. We found
animals recently dead (no more than 12 hours) and several carcasses of
juveniles and calves showed “rigor mortis” as being dead on land, then
stranded alive (stiff arc position, beak open, belly down, transversal to
tide line, no more than 3 days dead).

Necropsies were performed on site. Macroscopic findings include:
hemorrhagic lesions in the middle including the acoustic chamber,
fractures in the periotic bones, bubbles in blood filling liver and
kidneys (animals were diving, so the main organs were congested), lesions
in the lungs compatible with pulmonary emphysema, sponge-like liver. So
far we have 12 periotic samples from different animals, all with different
degree of fractures and 80% of them with fracture in the right periotic
bones, compatible with acoustic impact and decompression syndrome.

Estrogen Imitating pollutants Lead to Larger Breasts, Obesity, Diabetes

Huffington Post has just published my blog on the impact estrogen imitating chemicals ingested through fish (and dolphin meat) can have on obesity, diabetes and larger breasts in women – AND MEN! Toxic data a great tool to end dolphin hunt for meat. Please forward to friends and RT. Also Like and Comment on the blog.
http://huff.to/wPyhkh

New Toxic Results from Taiji Dolphin Meat

Funded by BlueVoice.org, Elsa Nature Conservancy of Japan has taken samples from the meat of dolphins killed at Taiji, Japan. Extremely high results were found for PCBs in pilot whale meat. High levels of mercury and methyl mercury were found in other dolphin meat.

The reports in Japanese and English are downloadable PDFs at:

http://www.bluevoice.org/pdf/taiji_testresults_english.pdf
http://www.bluevoice.org/pdf/taiji_testresults_japanese.pdf

Japanese Store Sells Humpback Meat via web

Shimetani store in Taiji has placed an ad for humpback meat
on its website! What is source of meat? Greenland? More likely humpbacks caught "accidentally" in nets? There is no legitimate way they could have humpback meat for sale.

Does Cutting Nets Free Captive Dolphins?

By Hardy Jones
Executive Director, BlueVoice.org

On September 27 a European group calling themselves The Black Fish announced they had cut the nets of sea pens holding captive dolphins at Taiji, Japan. There is no indication that any of the divers who cut the nets have been apprehended by the police. Nor were any dolphins actually freed by this bold act.

Captain Paul Watson, head of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, reported to me that he has two people on the ground in Taiji and they report that none of the dolphins left the sea pens because the cuts were too small and too high. NB: Sea Shepherd had nothing to do with the net cuttings.

The overriding problem with cutting nets is that dolphins do not readily leave confinement. They are not accustomed to barriers. They do not jump over nets – something they could do easily. They don’t swim under nets. This has been seen both in captive situations and in the tuna fishery where tens of thousands of dolphins have been encircled by nets.

Taiji, a village five hours by train from Osaka, was made infamous by the academy award winning film The Cove. Fishermen at Taiji kill up to 2,000 dolphins each year and take many into captivity for sale in Japan and around Asia. Some have been sent as far as Turkey and Egypt. It’s big business. Each dolphin trained and ready to ship can be worth $150,000.

I have been working to stop the slaughter and capture of dolphins in Japan since 1979. The footage I took in 1980 of a ghastly slaughter of dolphins at Iki, Japan was broadcast around the world and led to a government shut down of that slaughter. Also in 1980, along with cinematographer Howard Hall, I went to Taiji to confront the fishermen over the capture of some 200 dolphins. We convinced the fishermen that if they killed the dolphins the film footage we would take would make them villains around the world and bring shame on Japan.

The fishermen agreed to release the dolphins. They pulled back the net that ran across the mouth of the bay where the dolphins were held. The dolphins did nothing. They would not leave. Either they were too stunned and disoriented to leave or they would not abandon podmates who were injured. Finally the fishermen positioned a motor boat at the base of the bay and began running zig-zag patterns that forced the dolphins to the mouth of the bay. Once they were clear of confinement the entire pod sprang into arching porpoise leaps and headed for the horizon. It was one of the greatest sights of my life. But they had to be scared out of the bay.

Cutting nets to free dolphins is an attractive idea. For me standing on cliffs filming the murder of dolphins in the killing bay at Taiji is agonizing. I know that reporting and filming these tragedies is important. But I have always known that if I cut the nets it would be very difficult to get the trapped dolphins to leave. In addition I would be expelled from Japan and BlueVoice would no longer be able to go to Japan to film events at Taiji and elsewhere and conduct toxicology tests on dolphin meat and the people who eat it.

Net-net, no pun intended, the action of the Black Fish led to no dolphins freed and almost certainly higher security in the area that will make outside observation more difficult. But the act also reinserted into the world news stream the dreadful events taking place at Taiji.

Federal Safety Officials Blast Sea World

Federal investigators on Monday blasted SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment for allowing its animal trainers to work with killer whales without adequate protection. This follows a six-month investigation into the violent drowning of a trainer at SeaWorld Orlando.

Greenland Violates IWC. Begins Hunting Humpback Whales

by Hardy Jones

In a sad day for whales, the International Whaling Commission allocated a quota to Greenland to hunt humpback whales - a total of 27 over three years. The date specified for beginning of the hunt was October, 2010. But Greenland's Ministry of Fisheries has announced it will allow the hunt to begin immediately - mid August. This is a violation of the IWC quota.

The quota for all whales is solely granted to aboriginal peoples for aboriginal use. Greenland has violated terms of the quota by allowing whale meat to enter commercial channels. When in Nuuk, Greenland I photographed whale meat in high end restaurants and greasy spoons as well as in a supermarket.

What is particularly sad is that humpbacks are just returning to Greenlandic waters after an absence of sixty years - now to be greeted by a harpoon.