Dolphin slaughter ends

Press, 14 March 1980, Page 6

Dolphin slaughter ends

NZPA-Reuter Tokyo Fishermen on Iki Island, western Japan, have completed killing several hundreds of dolphins captured over the last two weeks while in Tokyo a Californian environmentalist has appealed to the Japanese Government to seek a solution both to the fishermen and dolphins. A spokesman for the fishery co-operative of the Iki Island, in the Korean Strait, told NZPA-Reuter that fishermen completed “disposing of” dolphins they chased into a bay on two occasions in late last month and early this month.

. The Iki fishermen, who say dolphins threaten their livelihood by devouring fish, captured about 950 dolphins to process them by a mincing machine for use as pig food or fertiliser.

However, a Hawaiian environmentalist, Dexter Cate, aged 36, released about 250 of them on February 29 by cutting ropes of nets, for which local prosecutors arrested him and are now questioning to decide whether or not to formally charge him.

Meanwhile, Jim Nollman, of Bolinas, California, representing a coalition of various environmentalist groups, has met officials of the Fishery Agency in Tokyo to appeal for the stoppage of the killing, an agency councillor, Ryuichi Tanabe, has said.

In a three-hour meeting with Mr Tanabe and three marine scientists of the agency, Mr Nollman who himself belongs to the fiveman “inter-species commun- I ications” group based in Cali- ■ fornia said methods of driving away dolphins using sonic waves should be developed to save the lives of dolphins, Mr Tanabe said. I Mr Nollman arrived in Tokyo last Monday after spending more than one month on the Iki Island tes-i ting his sonic wave method on dolphins captive in a different bay. I Mr Tanabe described Mr! Nollman.’s way ,of testing, as “amateurish and not sci'eri-: tifically : systematic” :. and! advised him to . , consult