“The Cove,” a documentary film about the slaughter of dolphins for meat in Taiji, Japan, won best feature documentary at the 2010 Academy Awards. I wrote about the powerful film a few months ago [see: "The Cove, a Must See Documentary"], and was hoping that it would win. 
The film did not get very much press coverage in Japan, and was only shown at two small engagements. The company that has bought the rights to the film is working on a version that hides the identity of the residents of Taiji (as the film was shot clandestinely and without permission.
It is too early to tell if the best documentary award will lead to widescale screenings of the film around Japan. Though with the Oscar buzz, hopefully more people in Japan will see the film and demand a stop to the slaughter. It is at least now getting some media attention.
Boyd Harnell, a journalist who has been reporting on this issue since 2005 said, “I am very happy the film won the award because it’s important that people know this type of (activity) is a health issue. The real issue is that fishermen (are) poisoning their own people.”
Again, the most troubling issue is that dolphin meat contains very high concentrations of methyl mercury, a known neurotoxin. Town officials from Taiji insist that the the dolphin hunt and eating dolphin meat is a cultural tradition.
This issue will continue to be in the media, as Animal Planet has greenlit a TV show tentatively titled “Dolphin Warriors” to pick up where the film left off. Apparently dolphins are no longer slaughtered in the cove, but in offshore nets away from prying eyes. The show will follow Rick O’Barry, who was the main star of “The Cove” as he continues his fight to help dolphins worldwide.
As I reported a few weeks ago, the bluefin tuna may be listed as an endangered species at the next meeting of CITES in a few weeks.
The US government is now officially supporting Monaco’s proposal to ban the trade of bluefin tuna in an effort to save the species from extinction, as announced by the assistant Secretary of the Interior Tom Strickland:
“[In] light of the serious compliance problems that have plagued the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean fishery and the fact that the 2010 quota level adopted by ICCAT is not as low as we believe is needed, the United States continues to have serious concerns about the long-term viability of either the fish or the fishery,” said Strickland.
 Bluefin Tuna at Auction at the Tsukiji Fish Market, Tokyo. Source: Flickr user stevecadman. Support for the ban has also come from the U.N., which has said that the bluefin meets the endangered species criteria. The European Commission has recommended that the EU support the ban, though no firm decision has been made. Powerful EU countries such as France and Spain have said that they would support the proposal but are asking for a 12 month delay in the ban to allow for more scientific information from ICCAT.
While the ban would only apply to international commercial trade of bluefin (domestic catch and sale would still be allowed), it would still make many of the commercial tuna boats unprofitable and force them to give up, according to Carl Safina, who directs the Blue Ocean Institute.
Bluefin tuna are prized fish that command stellar prices worldwide, mainly in Japan. Japan consumes 80% of the world’s bluefin tuna, and the government is vehemently opposed to the proposed ban in bluefin trade. The Japanese top fisheries negotiator said that were the bluefin to be listed as endangered, Japan would ignore the ban and leave its market open to continued imports.
Japan would be wise to support the ban, as if drastic measures to halt the rampant overfishing of the bluefin in the Atlantic are not taken, the fish would likely disappear from sushi menus in a few years anyway. Only then, it would permanent.
See also: Richard Ellis: Q & A
A Massive Earthquake Rocks Chile – Why the Discrepancy in Damage and Death?
The 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Chile yesterday was 501 times as powerful as the earthquake that leveled Port-au-Prince, yet the death toll in Chile has been almost insignificant in comparison – >250,000 vs. 704 (at last count). The differences in geography, development, and preparedness are described by The Washington Post. Also check out USGS shake maps for Chile and Haiti.
Leading Arguments on Why We Need to Deal With Global Warming
Two articles in The New York Times today make the case for agressive action on combating climate change. Al Gore writes a persuasive op-ed on how climate change is an existential threat, while Robert Frank argues that the consequences of inaction in tackling climate change is far greater than the costs of dealing with it.
Floating Garbage Patch in the Atlantic Ocean Found
Plastic debris is continuing to accumulate in the world’s oceans and is concentrated in certain areas due to ocean currents. One area, known as the “Pacific garbage patch” is the size of Texas and located between the US west coast and Hawaii. Researchers have now found a similar area in the Atlantic, with a maximum plastic density of 200,000 pieces per square kilometer. Floating plastic “stuff” is ingested by and ensnares fish, seabirds, and other forms of marine life.
Is Cap-and-Trade Dead?
The Washington Post reports that three key senators (Kerry, Lieberman, and Graham) have been working feveroushly to draft an alternative to cap-and-trade. Instead of a setting up a national cap on emissions, their plan would target three sectors – electric utilities, transportation, and industry differently. Expect more news on this in the coming weeks as this plan is formally unveiled.
 Photo: Scott MacKenzie In my recent road trippin’ post, I left off en route to Santa Barbara. I spent a little more than six years of my life living in Santa Barbara and every time I have returned since leaving there in early summer 2007, I wrestle with the gravity of my decision to go. Nestled between the mountains and the sea, Santa Barbara is often called the “California Riviera.”
Fortunately enough, not all my ties to this place have been severed, and I am lucky enough to call on great friends who are still there whenever I am passing through. This time around they had wonderful things in store for us once we arrived.
Santa Barbara is host to an International Film Festival, and luckily for us we were passing through in the middle of it. Of even greater serendipity, however, was that our first night also happened to be the global premier of a new film by my favorite surf filmmaker, Chris Malloy. The film, 180° SOUTH: Conquerors of the Useless, retraces the 1968 journey of Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins, the respective founders of Patagonia and the North Face Clothing Company, to a remote climb in southern Patagonia. The adventure changes the lives of the two men forever, and plants the seedlings for what would later become one of the greatest conservation efforts in South America. Chris Malloy uses Chouinard and Tompkin’s experience as a springboard for a present day journey to the same destination, and to convey the power of discovery, adventure, and ultimately conservation and the impact we have on the special places of the world.
Continue reading 180° SOUTH: Retracing the Seeds of Discovery and Conservation in Patagonia
The U.N. panel that oversees the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) has declared that the export of Atlantic bluefin tuna should be banned in order to save the species from possible extinction.
“In our opinion, the criteria for including the species in appendix 1 are met and international commercial trade in bluefin tuna should be prohibited,” David Morgan, head of CITES scientific unit, told a news briefing.
 Bluefin Tuna This follows a proposal by Monaco (pdf) to list the bluefin under appendix I of CITES, meaning that the species is threatened with extinction and that international trade would be banned.
Bluefin tuna, prized in sushi restaurants worldwide, fetch high prices in international markets, with individual fish having sold for over $150,000 in Japan. Japan, which imports more that 80% of the the bluefin tuna caught in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, is opposed to listing the bluefin as endangered and is expected to put up a fierce fight at the next CITES meeting in Doha in March.
Bluefin have been decimated in recent years by overfishing in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. In 2009, over 50,000 tons of bluefin were harvested, well above the sustainable recommended levels.
Continue reading Bluefin Tuna, an Endangered Species
Rising CO2 emissions in the atmosphere due to the burning of fossil fuels is causing ocean acidification. Ocean dwelling organisms, many of which we eat and depend on, will be negatively affected because forming carbonate (i.e. shells) will become much more difficult. A new study from the north Pacific provides evidence that the oceans are becoming more acidic on a large scale.
 Graph showing the increase in both atmospheric and dissoved ocean CO2, and decrease of ocean pH (increase in acidity). Source: Doney et al. The results of a 15-year long study in the north Pacific Ocean provides evidence that the planet’s oceans are becoming more acidic due to increasing CO2 emissions in the atmosphere. The study, just published in Geophysical Research Letters, compared the pH of seawater samples taken along a transect between Oahu, Hawaii and Kodiak, Alaska on two expeditions in 1991 and 2006. The results show that average pH has decreased by 0.023 in the top 800 m of the ocean. While that may not sound like a lot, this decrease in pH corresponds to a roughly 6% increase in ocean acidity.
An increase in the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere increases the partial pressure of CO2, causing an imbalance between the dissolved CO2 in the oceans and the atmosphere. The oceans consequently absorb CO2, which creates carbonic acid in the water. In other words, by burning lots of stuff (coal, gas, wood) here on land, we are changing the chemistry of the earth’s oceans.
What does this mean? Continue reading Ocean Acidification – Ocean in Peril
The town of Taiji, Japan holds a big secret. In a small cove on the outskirts of town, fishermen reportedly slaughter 23,000 dolphins each year and harvest the meat. This is the subject of an incredible (and potentially Oscar-nominated) documentary film: The Cove (2009).
The film tells the story of a team of activists who stage an elaborate clandestine operation to film the dolphin slaughter using hidden cameras. Their goal is that by exposing this activity to the world, this practice will stop.
The ongoing conflict between Japanese whalers (which capture ~850 whales a year – purportedly for “research”) and environmental groups is is well-publicized. The Sea Shepherd’s anti-whaling vessel Ady Gil was destroyed during a collision with a Japanese whaling ship a few weeks ago.
A moratorium on commercial whaling was instituted in 1986 by the International Whaling Commission (IWC), though small cetaceans (such as dolphins and porpoises) were exempt from the ban. This has allowed Japan (and other nations), to continue to hunt these animals for meat.
The clandestine operation to film the dolphin slaughter in Taiji is the central focus of the film, but it also touches a number of interrelated subjects, such as the health risks from ingesting mercury-laden whale and dolphin meat, Japan’s tactics at IWC meetings, and the use of captive dolphins at dolphinariums (such as Sea World) around the world.
Put this film on your Netflix queue today.
For most of his professional life, Richard Ellis has been an outspoken advocate for the world’s marine creatures. A prolific artist, author, naturalist, and activist, he carries a firm belief that the problems associated with his marine subjects are due to our lack of knowledge and awareness.
“I am a person who uses every tool in the toolbox to try and make a point”
A tireless crusader for the world’s ocean life, he has written and illustrated 17 books on various marine subjects, including The Book of Sharks, The Search for the Giant Squid, and The Empty Ocean. He served on the US Whaling Commission from 1980 to 1990, holds an unpaid position in the paleontology department at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and is recognized as one of America’s foremost painters of marine natural history subjects.
On a frigid February afternoon, Mr. Ellis, sat down in his Manhattan apartment to discuss his latest effort: Tuna: A Love Story, published by Knoph [note: this book has been reprinted since this original interview, now with the title Tuna: Love, Death, and Mercury, published by Vintage].
An edited version of a two-hour conversation follows: Continue reading Richard Ellis: Q & A
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