Toxic Catch

More than one million whales, dolphins and porpoises have been slaughtered off Japan in the past 70 years – and new analysis by the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) indicates these unsustainable hunts are on track to wipe out key species in Japan’s coastal waters.

Launching its new report Toxic Catch: Japan’s unsustainable and irresponsible whale, dolphin and porpoise hunts at a press conference in Tokyo today (October 31), EIA urged the Government of Japan to phase out the hunts over a 10-year period through targeted actions to restore depleted cetacean populations and working with hunters to find alternative livelihoods.