Each year off the coast of Japan, the waters churn and the tide turns red as fisherman in speedboats drive hundreds of dolphins to shore to be sold as meat or to fill aquarium tanks. But not this year. Thanks to the efforts of dolphin advocates around the world and to one former hunter's compassion for dolphins, not a single dolphin was killed during this year's annual drive fishery in Futo, Japan.

"This year, we're thrilled that although the fisherman have permission to kill or capture up to 600 dolphins in Futo, Japan, so far not one has been harmed," reports WSPA Campaign Manager Susan Sherwin. "Worldwide E-mail protests from people who care about dolphins certainly made a huge difference."

WSPA supported Bluevoice.org, a marine mammal advocacy group that is leading an international effort to end drive fisheries. "Our main form of protest has been an E-mail campaign that deluged the prime minister, fisheries bureau and local fishing cooperatives with over 10,000 letters," said Bluevoice.org co-founder Hardy Jones. "The fishermen still have the legal right to go forward with the hunt, but they know it would bring down a storm of protest, so they haven't."

In September 2002, Izumi Ishii, a former dolphin hunter who now works to protect them, organized the first commercial dolphin and whale-watching trip in Futo, offering a successful and viable alternative to the traditional dolphin hunts. Funding from WSPA allowed Bluevoice.org staff to document this new dolphin-watching enterprise and WSPA hopes Ishii's success will inspire others to follow suit to protect dolphins.

Bluevoice.org also performed toxicity testing on dolphin meat and discovered that contaminant levels were alarmingly high. WSPA supported efforts to publicize these results and dolphin meat has been pulled from the shelves in many Japanese stores.

WSPA applauds this new trend towards dolphin-watching and conservation in Japan and offers special thanks to our members for all of their letters and emails on behalf of the dolphins. We will continue to support efforts to protect dolphins and promote alternatives to traditional dolphin hunts in Japan.