Being a surfer for over five years, I am deeply connected with my second

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Being a surfer for over five years, I am deeply connected with my second"

Clarissa Gregory
5 years ago
Views:

1 Ly 1 Grant Ly 5/20/13 Being a surfer for over five years, I am deeply connected with my second home, the Pacific Ocean. At times when I get lucky, I share the experience of surfing with another intelligent creature, the dolphin. During an afternoon session, a pod of dolphins swam right past me. I was speechless, as I never expected a wild dolphin to ever come so close to a human before. Somehow, the dolphin and I were sharing a bond. We were both out riding the waves purely for joy. As the curious teenager I was, I soon discovered that these dolphins were in danger. It might be silly to say helping a friend from another species, but they are our friends, we are surfing with them, and to think that my dolphin friend is out there whose relatives up the road are rounded up and killed, that tears me up. (Dave Rastovich, Minds in the Water, 2012). I am aware of many issues causing threats to our oceans today, such as plastic pollution and overfishing. One topic that upset me the most is the slaughter of dolphins and their removal from a natural home to an artificial prison, where they are used as entertainment. From that moment, I knew I could not be silent about this. When I saw The Cove documentary, I was outraged. This documentary shows in great detail the slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Japan, and how it was linked to marine parks, such as Six Flags and SeaWorld. The slaughter happens annually after a few dolphins go through a selection process for marine parks across the globe. The

2 Ly 2 capture of dolphins and their placement in marine parks is equivalent to life in prison, when the convict is completely innocent. Once the few have been selected, the rest are slaughtered and their meat is sold. I asked myself Who would eat dolphin meat? I also told myself, if people in my community could see this tragedy for themselves, it would make a difference. I never expected anyone at school to know about this tragedy, but I soon found out that my teacher, Ms. Fernandez, has a bond with dolphins too. Together, along with my classmate, Jenny Kha, we started to give presentations to our fellow students about dolphin slaughter being linked to sea mammal captivity. Our message was simple, Don t go to places with captive dolphins. Presentations were my way of ending this atrocity. Building awareness at my school was the first step. By educating my friends and also young students from a nearby middle school, the impact can be seen immediately. Many of my friends visit marine parks with captive marine mammals on a monthly basis. I have to admit, I did so myself, when I was very young, unaware of the truth behind the dolphin shows. Most people attend these performances or swim-with-dolphin programs because they are curious about the creatures. You can just walk into this place, and the music is playing, the dolphin is jumping and smiling, it s hard to see the problem But the dolphin smile is nature s greatest deception, because it creates the illusion that they are always happy. (Ric O Barry, The Cove, 2009). Dolphins use sonar to

3 Ly 3 communicate and navigate, which makes them extremely sensitive to sound. Yet, they are put into a small concrete tank in a stadium of screaming people. I find it amusing when SeaWorld claims that their shows are for educational purposes. There is nothing educational about tossing a ball or jumping through a hoop. I used this scenario during presentations for middle school classes. I would pick two students and tell them that they will never see their family or friends again. I also told them that they were to perform tricks for their classmates and in return, receive the same type of candy over and over again. The scenario is the reality of captive dolphins today. Once I demonstrated that situation, I could immediately tell that the students understood the truth about the dolphin show. By getting the message out to my school, I could rejoice about fewer visitors going to local marine parks. We created two petitions that students signed after our presentation, one requesting our local Six Flags Park to end captivity and the other to end the dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan. The second one, which was signed by over 600 students and faculty members at my school, was brought over to the Consulate of Japan Office during the annual protest. I was thrilled when my teacher told me that the first petition resulted in the removal of Six Flags captive orca whale. However, there is still much work to be done. In my opinion, people are afraid to speak up about issues because they think their words or actions won t make a difference, but it does when one puts their

4 Ly 4 effort into it. My A.P. Environmental Science teacher taught me that everything in the world is connected, and how small choices in daily life is linked to the dolphin tragedy. This allowed me to present simple solutions that my colleagues can follow. Now, whenever dolphins approach me when I surf, I feel an even deeper bond, because I know that I m doing my part in protecting their species, half a world away. Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. (Martin Luther King Jr.) The fight is long from over, and it is often an uphill battle against a powerful industry. I will be traveling to Taiji, Japan this fall to bring back photos to my large audience, and will continue to do my part in being the voice for the dolphins, who don t have one in current society.

5 Ly 5 The Facts About 23,000 dolphins are slaughtered every year in Taiji. Dolphins can live up to 70 years in the wild, while only about 20 in captivity. Wild Dolphins swim about 40 miles a day. IWC (International Whaling Commission) banned commercial whaling in 1986, but excluded small cetaceans such as dolphins. A trained dolphin out of Taiji can sell for about $200,000 Dolphin meat contains high levels of mercury. Almost half of captured dolphins die within 2 years of captivity. The Japanese uses Banger Boats to create a sound barrier that drives the dolphins in the cove. The Japanese Government uses extensive effort to cover up the process of slaughter and butchering, by using tarps and barbed wire fences. Workers in the cove often say they are killing the dolphins in a form of pest control and not for their meat. The fisherman claim that the slaughter is part of tradition, yet, a majority of Japanese citizens are unaware of this event. Marine parks often claim their circus tricks performed by dolphins are educational. Dolphins are acoustic creatures; they are sensitive to sound, which helps them communicate in water.

6 Ly 6 Some Simple Solutions Don t buy a ticket to a dolphin show or swim-with-dolphins program. Avoid theme parks who have captive mammals altogether. Sign various petitions online that urge corporations such as SeaWorld to end their captivity programs. Write letters to Japanese officials requesting them to end the slaughter. Keep updated on information by following blogs such as Save Japan Dolphins on social media websites Most importantly, INFORM YOUR FRIENDS! The more people who know about this tragedy, the less people will visit a dolphinarium. The less people that attend, the less money the corporation makes, which results in cancellation of the show permanently. With no demand, the slaughter in Japan will have to end eventually.

7 Ly 7 Works Cited 11 Facts About Dolphin Hunts Do Something. Web. 12 September < The Connection Between the Butchers of Taiji and the Dolphin Captivity Industry Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Web. 20 Novemeber < Death of Risso s Dolphins Cynthia Fernandez. Web. 9 January < Do Marine Mammals Belong in Captivity in the 21 st Century? The Humane Society of the United States. Web. 25 September < mammals_belong_in_captivity.html> Dolphins In Captivity Larry Schaefer. Web. 1 November < The Dolphin Snatchers Daily Mail U.K. Web. 4 January 2013 < snatchers-mail-investigation-exposes-vile-trade-animals-sold aquariums-suffer-unimaginable-cruelty.html>

8 Ly 8 Dolphins in Captivity-the Harsh Truth BlueVoice. Web. 21 September < Ex-Seaworld Trainers Speak Out Ric O Barry, Earth Island Institute. Web. 20 September < Facts About the Drive Hunt Cove Guardians, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Web. September < Help End The Cruel Captures Of Dolphins Mark J. Palmer. Web. 29 April < Marine Mammals In Captivity Oceanic Preservation Society. Web. 14 April < Massacre at the Cove Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Web. 26 October < Minds In The Water. Dir. Justin Krumb itunes Download. Gravity Ventures LLC, Questions about captivity Whale and Dolphin Conservation. Web. March <

9 Ly 9 Seaworld s Hypocrisy Ric O Barry, Earth Island Institute. Web. 24 September < The Cove. Dir. Louie Psihoyos DVD. Lionsgate, 1997.

10 Ly 10 Flickr: Set: My Dolphin Project Various photos that document my work over the years. Titles, description, dates, locations, and photo credit are included. (This is my second Flickr account) All photographs are original work, taken by my advisor, my colleagues, or myself / No Hyperlink: / Link to my second account: My Main Flickr: Here is my main photography website. I ve been doing surf photography for the past few years now and I upload my best work onto my site. I was also asked to be an admin for the Ocean Beach Surf page on Facebook a while back, a position given only to trusted professionals.

11 Ly 11 Thumbnail Photos High Definition Photos are on my Flickr Set.

12 Ly 12

The Cove Discussion Guide

The Cove Discussion Guide Director: Louie Psihoyos Year: 2009 Time: 92 min THE COVE is Louie Psihoyos s first feature-length documentary film. FILM SUMMARY THE COVE is the combined effort of director Louie Psihoyos and activist