The Unknown Orca

Many years ago, I visited an aquarium and remember seeing an orca in a small circular tank that appeared to overlap with another small circular tank. I recall feeling a bit sick as I watched this large animal try to build up enough speed in this confined space to jump out of the water on command.    

My childhood memories often revealed that things that appeared to be massive were in reality quite small when viewed through the eyes of an adult. As I recall, these connecting pools seemed extremely tiny, but it was the size of the orca in relation to the size of the tank that was most disturbing. This orca was in a fishbowl.

What I did not know then was how wrong it is to confine an orca to a tank. Flipper was always laughing, smiling, and having so much fun. Having a pet dolphin was really cool. What I did not know was that Kathy, the dolphin who played the role of Flipper, committed suicide. What I did not know was the horrific suffering that Kathy and all whales and dolphins in captivity endure on a daily basis.  

I do not know the Orca’s name and I don’t know the location or name of the facility. I live in Canada and there are limited options in this country so it must have been somewhere in the United States; perhaps a border town. 

This poor animal would have lived and died without contact with her orca family and without living a life of freedom in the ocean which is the birthright of all cetaceans. Who was this once magnetic creature? Was she constantly breathing polluted air, suffering from ulcers, and inflicted with skin infections caused by the chemicals in her tank? What type of captivity-related disease caused her death? How many years was her life cut short?  What I do know is that she committed no crime and she did not deserve to lose her freedom or her life.    

My father is no longer alive and my mother can’t recall ever taking us to an aquarium so this remains a mystery and I wonder if this is a memory or just my imagination. Maybe this was something I saw on television. Perhaps it was a dream or a forerunner; an experience I will have in future. If this is a recollection, maybe it was rekindled to inspire my work as an ocean activist.

If I cannot determine her identity, perhaps I might concede she never existed and that would make for a happy ending because if she did not exist, she did not suffer, but attributing this memory to a dream would be a much too convenient resolution.

I think she was real and I would like to know who she was, but I don’t know if I ever will. Her family never knew what happened to her and it is very possible I won’t either.

Perhaps she will always be the unknown orca.

For the Oceans,

Janice

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Slaughters in Taiji, Japan and Newfoundland, Canada are Similar

Today Canada’s Minister of Fisheries, Gail Shea, announced plans to sell seal products to China. The sealing industry in Canada has been crippled by the EU ban on the import of seal products, but today’s announcement could renew the wide scale slaughter of seals off the coast of Newfoundland and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Taiji, Japan, and the Province of Newfoundland have some frightening similarities. Both kill a marine species, despite enormous international pressure to end the slaughters. 

The North Atlantic cod fishery was mismanaged and overfishing destroyed the cod stocks, but government officials often blame the seals for the collapse of the cod fishery.  The dolphin killers in Taiji believe they are performing a public service by killing dolphins because dolphins are a pest. There is no scientific evidence that any appreciable decline of fish stocks can be attributed to seals or dolphins, but who needs science when people believe anything they are told by their government.

Japan maintains there are plenty of dolphins and Canada claims to have too many seals.  Japan issues permits to kill dolphins based on out-dated population surveys and Canada fails to report or acknowledge that thousands of baby seals drown because there is not enough ice to serve as a birthing ground and nursery.  As climate change worsens, the lack of ice is certain to threaten the seals' survival.

Canada and Japan justify their barbaric acts with the excuse that it is their tradition. Many crimes against humanity and the environment have been committed in the name of tradition, but people in civilized societies move forward and don’t cling to destructive and unethical practices.

Politicians in both countries don’t seem to care that a single industry, if we can call it that, damages the reputation of their country.  In both nations, a very small number of people benefit financially, but citizens are reluctant to express their opposition.  Most Japanese do not eat whale meat and very few have ever eaten dolphin, but it would be considered unpatriotic for Japanese citizens to speak out against the dolphin slaughter.  I don’t personally know anyone who has eaten seal meat, but Canadians, especially those living on the east coast, are reluctant to voice their objection to the seal hunt.  

When I was in Taiji, we exercised caution because there was concern for our safety, but to my knowledge, the killers of Taiji have not injured any activists or damaged property. The police and coast guard have worked hard to keep the peace in Taiji and to ensure the safety of the activists.  In Canada, there have been occasions when the coast guard and police have behaved as if they were the sealers’ private security force and they stood by while property was destroyed and people were injured. Taiji comes out ahead when we compare the relative performance of the police and coast guard.

While Canadian farmers struggle to survive, fisherman, especially the sealers, are heavily subsidized. I do not know if the dolphin slaughter in Taiji is government funded, but the tax payers of Japan fund the whale poachers in the Southern Ocean as they target protected Minke whales, endangered fin whales, and highly endangered humpback whales in an internationally recognized whale sanctuary, in violation of the moratorium on commercial whaling, and in contempt of the Antarctic Treaty.

When I speak with Canadians about the dolphin slaughter in Taiji, they are horrified, but sadly, Canada has a shameful record and it would appear Fisheries Minister Gail Shea plans to match the disgraceful history with an equally appalling future.

For the Oceans,

Janice

Misty the Dolphin

Sometimes one person or one image is timeless and will forever represent a historical moment or cause.

The image of the war in Viet Nam that is indelibly etched in my memory is that of a naked child running down a road after she was burned by napalm.  What I now know is that her name was Kim Phúc.   The Pulitzer Prize winning photo was taken in 1963 near Trang Bang, South Vietnam when she was 9 years old, but those are details.  It is the image that will be remembered forever.

Sometimes an event will be as clear today as it was decades ago. During a rehearsal in Toronto, one of the actors arrived with the sad news that Terry Fox had died. I remember the moment as if it were yesterday.  We all thought that with his strength and determination, Terry could beat cancer. Terry Fox will always be a symbol of courage and he is a powerful force in the fight against cancer.

Michael J. Fox put a face to Parkinson’s disease and Christopher Reeve’s tragic accident created awareness of spinal cord injuries and raised millions for the cause.

Thousands of dolphins have been brutally murdered in Taiji and others are sold into captivity, but Taiji’s dolphins are nameless and faceless. Now there is Misty.

We have learned that Misty is male, not female as was initially presumed.  The trainers at the Dolphin Base in Taiji might have a name for him and perhaps his dolphin family had a name for him, but the world will only know him as Misty.

He was separated from the other dolphins because he was sick. Misty floats listlessly in a shallow pool overrun by algae and he clings to the only thing that has not been taken away from him.    This dolphin with the yellow float in his mouth has become an iconic image and the symbol of everything that is evil in Taiji; the dolphin slaughter and sale of live dolphins to aquariums.  

Sometimes there are good news stories.   Kim Phúc, is now an author and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. She is a Canadian citizen and is married with two children. Michael J. Fox lives a very full life and he is a self-proclaimed eternal optimist.

Perhaps it will not be the horrific images of death and brutality that will put an end to the Taiji dolphin slaughter.  I hope the only final image the world needs to shut down the Killers of Taiji and the Dolphin Base is that of this sick, lonely dolphin with the yellow object in his mouth.

For the Oceans,

Janice

Misty the Dolphin  - photo by Andy Romanowski

Please insist on better living conditions for Misty.  Email the Dolphin Base, info@dolphinbase.co.jp, or from the Unites States or Canada call 011-81-0735-59-3514.   As always, you can register your objection to the Taiji dolphin slaughter with the Japanese Embassy. Clear, polite messages carry the most weight.

Judgment Day

I was chastised by someone who told me I should not use the word “killer” in my blogs.  What exactly should I call those who perform heinous acts? Fishermen catch fish and dolphins are not fish so I really struggle with calling them fishermen.  The clients of the Cove Guardians are the dolphins and if they could speak, I am sure they would be fine with my use of the word “killer”.

I was also told that I probably don’t understand the “cultural intricacies”.   I have absolutely no respect for anyone who kills whales or dolphins and uses “culture” as an excuse.  Killing a dolphin is murder and I have no intention of calling it anything else.

Killing dolphins in Taiji started in the 1970s. The dolphin genocide is driven by greed and big business; not culture.  The killing would probably cease entirely if it were not for the captive dolphin trade and the captive dolphin trade is not “culture”.

Most people in Japan have never eaten whale and extremely few people eat dolphin.  One of my colleagues regularly talks with school children and they were shocked to learn that people in the next town kill dolphins and were horrified that they actually eat them.  Saying that people in Japan grew up eating dolphin would be the same as saying that everyone in Toronto and Montreal was raised on Polar Bear meat. 

People take pride in their culture.  They are willing to share it with others so that we can all understand their traditions, but the killers of Taiji have gone to great lengths to hide their monstrous acts.  

If anyone has any ideas regarding how to end the dolphin slaughter, by all means, come on over and give it a try.  Until you have spent time here, please don’t judge or criticize the strategies of those who are living with this horror on a daily basis.  We are hard enough on ourselves because we have not yet been able to stop the dolphin slaughter and we should not be judged from afar by those who do not understand the situation.

For the Oceans,          

Janice



Hiding the victims under a tarp



I'm Angry

Today I watched as four cowardly dolphin trainers were brought to the Cove in a skiff. Their heads were covered and their faces were turned away from our cameras. Two dolphins were selected for a life of captivity and the slaughter of the remaining dolphins began in the presence of the dolphin trainers. 

I was angry at the dolphin trainers and the dolphin hunters, but I must redirect my outrage.  Anyone who attends a show with dolphins and whales is keeping the killers of Taiji in business.  The price of dolphin meat is so low that the dolphin hunters would be out of business if it were not for the live dolphin trade.

Please tell everyone you know not to patronize any business that has captive whales or dolphins.  It is a matter of supply and demand.  If we eliminate the demand for captive dolphins, the slaughter in Taiji will stop.

Yes, be angry at the dolphin killers of Taiji, but please be equally outraged with the aquariums and amusement parks AND their patrons. They have blood on their hands.

For the Oceans,

Janice



Fishermen install a new sign that says dolphins and whales are their property