Whale, Dolphin, and Porpoise Hunting

Dangerous waters: marine mammals in peril as hunting continues

Dolphins and whales are at the top of the marine food chain and play a pivotal role in ecosystems, but a history of unchecked whaling and illegal hunting have threatened their future. Collectively known as cetaceans, the "great" whales and their smaller cousins—dolphins and porpoises—are still harpooned worldwide or driven into shallows and killed in traditional hunts.

Even since a 1986 commercial whaling ban, thousands of whales have been killed either in defiance of the International Whaling Commission’s moratorium or for "scientific" purposes, mostly by Japan, Norway and Iceland, with Minke whales by far the most frequently targeted. The town of Taiji, Japan, is also the center of controversy for its annual dolphin, "drive hunt," in which pods of dolphins are herded toward a small, shallow cove and killed.

Dolphins and whales are at the top of the marine food chain and play a pivotal role in ecosystems, but a history of unchecked whaling and illegal hunting have threatened their future. Collectively known as cetaceans, the “great” whales and their smaller cousins—dolphins and porpoises—are still harpooned worldwide or driven into shallows and killed in traditional hunts.

Even since a 1986 commercial whaling ban, thousands of whales have been killed either in defiance of the International Whaling Commission’s moratorium or for “scientific” purposes, mostly by Japan, Norway and Iceland, with Minke whales by far the most frequently targeted. The town of Taiji, Japan, is also the center of controversy for its annual dolphin, “drive hunt,” in which pods of dolphins are herded toward a small, shallow cove and killed.