Has an Oscar Saved Japan’s Dolphins?

Despite efforts by the Japanese government and the U.S. military to ban and cancel screenings of the documentary “The Cove” in Japan, director Louie Psihoyos says it will not be censored. The Oscar-winning documentary exposes the grisly truth about what happens in Taiji, a small coastal Japanese town where thousands of dolphins are slaughtered and dozens are captured and sold for as much as $200,000 to U.S. marine mammal parks. According to the film, 23,000 dolphins and porpoises are killed in Japan every year.

Psihoyos, a renowned National Geographic photographer and first-time filmmaker, says “The Cove” is about more than what happens in Taiji. It’s about our connection to nature and the future of humanity. Psihoyos joins Your Call to discuss the film’s success, censorship, high levels of mercury in fish and humans, efforts to overturn the 1986 ban on commercial whaling, and the ocean’s future.

Press play to listen to Your Call with Rose Aguilar: “Has an Oscar Saved Japan’s Dolphins?”:

Press play to listen to Your Call with Rose Aguilar: “Has an Oscar Saved Japan’s Dolphins?”:

Guest:

• Louie Psihoyos, director of “The Cove,” and executive director of the Oceanic Preservation Society, a non-profit that inspires citizens to become active in protecting the oceans

Also See: “The Cove,” A Movie Review by Kenneth Turan (Video)

Your Call is daily call-in show on KALW 91.7 FM in San Francisco and KUSP 88.9 FM in Santa Cruz.