Wyland's "Dolphin Duet" by Dolphin Defender on Tuesday, November 9, 2010 at 10:19am

Wyland's "Dolphin Duet"
by Dolphin Defender on Tuesday, November 9, 2010 at 10:19am
Tonight we went to the Wyland gallery in La Jolla and had a great conversation with Wyland- this guy is truly amazing in all he does and is one of the greatest ocean lovers and marine conservationists of our time. It's my second time meeting him in person but the last time I met him 6 years ago I wasn't aware of what was going on in Taiji. He told me that dolphins will always be his favorite marine mammal, I couldn't disagree with him maybe it's why I started this page after all but also I'm for whales, turtles and seals and yes sharks are awesome too!

When the time was right I brought up the subject of Taiji and he was more than well aware of what was going on, he had an experience there a while back he won't soon forget and shared a short version of the below with us, I had to bite my lip so my eyes wouldn't fill with tears. I know it must have been so hard for him to not cut those nets, it's a big reason I haven't gone to Taiji- I'm not sure what I'd do or if I'd be able to just sit there and observe. This stuff really gets under my skin! He's a great artist and very knowledgeable. I hope too that his murals will also have an impact on the people of Japan, maybe in the future he will do one in The Farroe Islands as well and raise some love and awareness there too? I wanted to share this blog of his I found when I came home to research his past trip to Taiji some more and wanted to share with you.

10/03/2009
Wyland applauds efforts of filmmakers to expose Japanese dolphin slaughter

“In a remote, glistening cove in Taiji, Japan, surrounded by barbed wire and "Keep Out" signs, lies a dark reality. It is here, under cover of night, that the fishermen of the town, driven by a multi-billion dollar dolphin entertainment industry and an underhanded market for mercury-tainted dolphin meat, engage in an unseen hunt. The nature of what they do is so chilling and the consequences are so dangerous to human health that they will go to great lengths to halt anyone from seeing it.”
— Film Synopsis of “The Cove,” winner of the 2009 Sundance Audience Award
Wyland responds:


“I recently had the opportunity to view “The Cove” and watched it with great admiration, knowing the risk involved in documenting the dolphin and whale slaughter. The film sheds light on one of the most devastating atrocities facing dolphin and whale conservation. A perfect storm is occurring today with pollution, overfishing, development to such a point that even the killing of one dolphin or whale can create an imbalance in the health of the oceans. Taiji’s dolphin drive is the worst possible scenario. At best this is unsustainable. At worst, this type of hunting threatens the very survival of these animals. The other issue that the film raises is the high level of toxins found in these animals. This alone should stop the killing of dolphins, not only in Japan, but throughout the world. No longer can a group or city continue to kill a species that is intelligent and important to the balance of nature. I commend the director and all who gave their effort to bring this issue to the public. I condemn, along with most of the world, the killing of great whales, dolphins, and other aquatic life. Yes, it was once Japan’s tradition to kill whales. America also killed whales. These traditions, however, are no longer in step with today’s world. It is time to stop the slaughter and rethink our relationship with these marine mammals. Taiji and other coastal cities could immediately change from whale killing to whale watching, create more jobs and revenue for the cities, not to mention the good will from its global neighbors. I call on Japan to end this slaughter and announce to the world that it joins the international community to end the dolphin hunt and commercial whaling for scientific or any other reason.
I should also give some background on my own personal experience in the region several decades ago. In 1987, I was invited by Mr. Ono, president of the Tokyo Bay Fishing Association, to paint one of my Whaling Walls on Tokyo Bay. Mr. Ono and a group of scientists explained that by painting one of my conservation murals featuring sperm whales, it would call needed attention to not only protection of whales, but conservation of Tokyo Bay.
The Japanese government was filling in part of the bay to accommodate the growing population of the city. This was having a negative impact on fish populations. I completed the mural featuring two life size sperm whales as part of an effort to raise about issues regarding Tokyo Bay and Japan’s continued hunting of whales. Afterwards, I was invited to the Whaling Town of Taiji to meet with city officials and discuss the possibility of painting a Whaling Wall in Taiji, “The City of Whales.” Having met with the mayor and other city officials, I had hoped to raise the issues of commercial whaling. I discussed the idea of Taiji transforming from a whale hunting city to a whale watching city. They were receptive, but non-commital. I agreed to return in the future and paint a life-size portrait of a right whale and calf on Taiji’s historic whaling museum. I felt that art could play an important role in teaching the people of Taiji, as it had in other communities, to appreciate the living whales. Through art and science, I had always hoped to inspire a change in the paradigm from whale killing to whale appreciation. I knew this was going to be a great challenge in Taiji and felt their resistance, but there was a strong support from the young people in the area who had experienced the thrill of whale watching excursions in Hawaii and other destinations. Slowly, the general public was becoming sensitized to the importance of these whales, dolphins, and other cetaceans to humanity.
I, too, had the opportunity to witness the drive of thirty-one pilot whales into “The Cove” back in 1988. At the time, I could not sleep after learning of a pod of more than thirty short finned pilot whales that had been herded into the cove for slaughter the next day. Determined to do something, I rounded up some friends in the area, including Kevin Short, a writer for the Japan Times, and at four a.m. we made our way down to the edge of the cove where I swam out for a final moment with these doomed whales. All the whales were surrounding a large male in a circle. The only thing I could think of was to try to untie the net that imprisoned them. Kevin dived in after me. After much arguing, he convinced me that my most effective contribution to the cause would be to continue to use my art to have a stronger impact on the people of Taiji and all the people of Japan.
I was not convinced at first. But the sun was coming up and the whaling boats were heading towards us. I decided to take Kevin’s advice and return one day to paint a public mural that would confront all the citizens of Taiji and all who visited it for years to come. To this day, I still feel guilty that I did not save those thirty-one whales. At the same time, I feel strongly that I have had a more important impact by returning to Taiji to complete the mural on the whaling museum and paint a total of four Whaling Walls in Japan.
On behalf of the wyland foundation and our conservation partners, we applaud the efforts of the filmmakers of the Cove and people everywhere working on the front lines to save our fragile marine life and the health of our entire environment.”