The re-start of Japan’s Commercial Whaling and DELPHYS RISING
On July 1, 2019–only days away–Japan will once again start blatant commercial whaling. After thirty years of hiding behind the thin veil of “scientific whaling,” Japan has decided to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and hunt minke and beaked whales–at a time when demand for whale meat is at an all-time low.
When this news broke earlier this year, I was still working on my near-finished novel,
Stop the killing! Save the dolphins!
Delphys Rising. One of the elements already included in the plot of the book was how dolphins–when given the means to communicate with humans–would address the dolphin drive hunts currently taking place in Japan and the Faroe Islands. The hunt in Taiji, Japan–portrayed in the documentary The Cove–was a particular focus in the thriller’s plot.
But, while I sat editing, I knew I had to weave something about Japan’s return to commercial whaling into the narrative–so I did. Most people think commercial whaling ended decades ago–in 1986 when member nations agreed to a world-wide ban through the IWC. Of course, nations that wanted to continue commercial whaling simply withdrew from the organization (or never joined)–or in the case of Japan called a limited hunt “scientific whaling.” The practice still continued across the decades–albeit “under the radar” because most media outlets had bought into the publicity surrounding the ban. Cries of “Save the Whales!” faded into the background.
My hope with Delphys Rising (in addition to people just enjoying a good story) is to raise a little awareness about Japan’s return to commercial whaling–as well as the continued slaughter through drive hunts, hunting of large whales by companies in Norway and Iceland and the capture of live dolphins for display or animal shows.
I hope you enjoy reading my latest speculative fiction thriller and I hope it prompts you to seek out more information about the whaling and dolphin drive hunts that continue to haunt our humanity from the shadows.
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Delphys Rising is available as an ebook for Kindle and Kindle apps, to Kindle Unlimited subscribers and as a paperback at Amazon.com.
Kip Koelsch Author 