Dolphin Protests Wane in Taiji as a Handful of Protestors Struggle On

Dolphin activist Cynthia Fernandez shivers in the frosty dawn as she scans the sea from a rocky cliff. 

"Another hunt," she sighs, pointing to a line of boats that have appeared on the horizon and then heads for her car. Working solo, she relocates to a mountain vantage point, hauling up cameras, phones, and a metal ladder to record the day's events.

Fernandez knows the routine well. She's been recording the dolphin hunts in Taiji, a tiny village on the southern tip of Japan's main Honshu Island, since 2012. 

Hopes That Gory Footage Would Spur Change

Back then, and for several years after, hundreds of activists came to Taiji to record and protest. Most were inspired by "The Cove," a 2009 documentary that won an Academy Award for its scathing portrayal of the local drive hunts, in which a dozen boats chase pods of dolphins to shore for food or live capture.

The hope was that if enough brutal footage of the hunts was recorded and released, it would trigger a global outcry strong enough to end Taiji's dolphin drives. But despite over a decade of protests and an endless stream of gruesome pics and video blasted over social media, the hunts continue.

Taiji fishermen still cast off most days during the hunting season, which runs from September through April each year, in search of dolphins and small whales. A handful of veteran activists continue to record and stream and hope for the best.

'A Good Year for the Hunters'

Both the fishermen and the activists were busy in the season that ended in April 2025, one of the most successful hunts in recent years.

"It has been a good year for the hunters," says Kunito Seko, a rare activist that lives in Taiji year-round. He also works almost entirely alone to record and stream each day of the season on multiple platforms.

For their part, the fishermen know they're still being recorded but largely shrug off the attention. "Of course, I see them when we head out in the morning," one said. "But we just ignore them now."

Social Media Shifts To Lighter Fare

Shifts in technology have also worked against the activists. Social media users have shifted from in-depth blogs and detailed Facebook posts toward the quick-hitting, lighter fare of Instagram and TikTok videos.

"They just look at the pictures briefly and scroll through," Fernandez said. "They don't read what I write."

"Overall, livestreams are very down," said Anne Duboes, an independent activist who visited Taiji for the fourth time from Belgium to record the hunts.

Taiji Alone Draws Criticism

While other Japanese regions have higher dolphin quotas, the regular departures and drive-fishing method employed by Taiji fishermen make it uniquely suited for activist monitoring and filming.

The fishermen targeted by the activists are members of the local Isana Union, named after an old Japanese word for whale and a nod to Taiji's whaling past. At sunrise nearly every morning from September through February, their boats spread out in a 15-mile semicircle around the town in search of pods to hunt. 

Sporadic hunts of some species continue through April. Under Japanese regulations, the Taiji fishermen can hunt nine species of dolphin. None are endangered globally, although local numbers have fallen from decades ago when the modern hunts began.

Regularity of Local Hunts Favor Activists 

When a suitable pod is found, they assemble their boats into a line at sea. The fishermen place metal poles into the ocean and bang on them to create a wall of sound underwater, driving the animals ahead. 

If the drive is successful, the animals are herded into a local cove, where they are slaughtered for meat or caught live for sale to aquariums. The morning schedule, routes the fishermen take, and the locations are relatively fixed, also make it straightforward for activists to observe and record from shore.

Legality of Hunts Discourages Direct Activism 

The hunts are legal and regulated through strict quotas, although slaughters are carried out by hand and can be bloody and chaotic. While the modern drive hunts began about 50 years ago, Taiji has a recorded history of hunting both whales and smaller dolphins that dates back to at least the 17th Century.

Special contingents from the police and coast guard protect the fishermen from interference. With the exception of a few isolated incidents, activists have not taken direct action to interrupt the hunts.

The small village has remained stubbornly independent despite pressure from Tokyo to merge with surrounding cities. It has survived centuries of natural disasters and whaling mishaps and now appears to have weathered long years of protests aimed at its dolphin drives.

Quiet Returns as Echoes of Protests Fade

In the past, dozens of activists from international groups like Sea Shepherd paraded through town, holding demonstrations, accosting the hunters and even clashing with Japanese nationalists. Now the streets are quiet enough that residents can hear the boats leave each morning from their beds.

Australian Jacob Hodges, a 21-year-old backpacker on a five-week trip through Japan, reflects the faded influence of Taiji activism and the persistence of the protesters. He had never heard of the hunts, and it was only through meeting the veteran activist Fernandez that he decided to visit the town and see for himself.

He had heard of Sea Shepherd, however.

"I've seen their shirts in shops, but I thought it was just a clothing brand," he said.

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Author: Jay Alabaster