Friendly Sperm Whale

Former dolphin hunter leads dolphin watch and encounters friendly sperm whale.

Izumi Ishii was once head of the dolphin hunters in Futo, Japan but one day he heard the cry of a dying dolphin and it changed him. So he began a dolphin watching business. BlueVoice.org supported his work and Hardy Jones was aboard for the first expedition. Ishii's vessel sailed for four hours with no luck and he was in danger of bringing back the tourists and the press with a failure. But then a huge sperm whale appeared - and it turned out to be friendly, lingering around the boat for 45 minutes. Ishii's transformation from dolphin hunter to dolphin tour operator makes him more money than his pervious business and has taken thousands of Japanese to see whales and dolphins. It shows that dolphin watching can replace dolphin killing. For more information go to http://www.bluevoice.org. Hardy Jones is co-founder of BlueVoice.org with Ted Danson.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• BlueVoice
• bluevoice.org
• marine
• mammal
• protection
• ocean
• conservation
• whale
• watching
• save
• dolphins

[BlueVoiceOrg]

An account of my encounter with a friendly sperm whale in the waters off Dominica is posted on the BlueVoice website. The full story of Mr. Ishii's conversion from dolphin hunter to dolphin watcher is told in my book The Voice of the Dolphins by Hardy Jones, available at Amazon in print and Kindle formats.

[BlueVoiceOrg]

We do not use terms such as Japs and we do not hold the Japanese people responsible for the hunting of dolphins - only s small group of fishermen do it. Hardy

[BlueVoiceOrg]

It is not a country or the Japanese who kill whales and dolphins in this cruel manner. It is a small group of fishermen - 37 in total. We work with Japanese people to try to end this barbarity. I have spent my life working with whales and dolphins so it is appropriate that I try to aid them. Hardy Jones

[lgndarymeth]

Amazing place on youtube :)

[voodookook]

Best of luck to Izumi Ishii and his business!! Respect!

[BenaiahLLC]

what a wonderful story :)

[grobanista]

Maybe there's hope

For those interested in the relationship between dolphins and the Japanese, the film The Cove will be of interest.

[ccskatepark]

Sony Handycam NEX VG10 ??? 2:50

[ccskatepark]

wow ...notice how the on cam narration sounded hokey with room tone ...then off cam narration became 'just the ticket' ... what a great story !!! ...and GREAT presentation !!!

[1221solstice2012]

@tasteegold7772 Couldn't have said it better... I'm with you! People in his area and tourists need to get out there and patronize his dolphin watching/whale watching business. I hope he is still in this business.

[tasteegold7772]

well it might seem easy to condemn an entire country or race for something a few shit for brains do but NO COUNTRY is innocent!..we here in the states are just as guilty of severe animal torment and abuse..just not with certaceans as much except for marine parks. this izumi made a change for the better and will hopefully start a movement so whats done is done and the guy should be supported for it!!.

[Crazy21Grl]

See whales dont need Seaworld or other amusement parks. They can show off in their natural environment.