Slow death ... dolphins herded into Taiji's bay are killed over several days by Japanese fisherman. Photo: Nigel Barker
November 10, 2007
Winning the hearts and minds of the Japanese is the new mission of groups opposed to dolphin and whale hunting, writes Andrew Darby.
THEY call it the killing cove, a small stretch of water off a pebbled beach in southern Japan near the whaling village of Taiji.
It is here that the fishermen of Taiji go to slaughter their annual dolphin catch - a controversial and little-known part of Japan's lucrative local fishing industry.
Last year Nigel Barker left Sydney to live in Taiji, where his Japanese wife's family have a holiday house.
He knew of the dolphin hunt, but didn't go as an activist. Instead, he became compelled to document what he saw - until he was driven out of town by threats to his safety.
"I'm very happy to be back," he said, as he settled into Sydney again this week. "Except that I can't get it out of my head. It's become my, sort of, contemporary nightmare now."
Barker filmed every step of the hunt that it was possible to document from shore. "They go up to 30 kilometres offshore to find the dolphins. Then they use metal tubes which they hold in the water and beat. The noise neutralises the dolphin's sonar, and it deafens them. When they are being driven in, they become very listless."...
