Title: The Cove

Thesis Statement: Brutal Japanese fishing practices and the degradations of oceans are a danger

to the aquatic ecosystem.

A. Brutal Japanese Fishing Practices.

a) Topic Sentence.

b) Dolphins are brutally hunted to sell their meat

c) "The captivity industry keeps this slaughter going by rewarding the

fishermen for their bad behavior” (The Cove, 2009).

d) My Opinion

B. Degradations of oceans

a) Topic Sentence

b) Massacre of Dolphins

c) Pollution caused by fishing boats

d) Extinction of fish
 REACTION PAPER (THE COVE)
For this reaction paper, I will give my opinion about the problems that exist in this

documentary. Documentary 'The Cove.' is an American documentary directed by filmmaker

Louie Psihoyos in 2009. It talks about the dolphin hunting practices in Japan, analyzes and

questions mass dolphin kills in Taiji. This documentary pretend to open the mind of the people to

change Japanese fishing practices, and educate the public about of mercury poisoning from

dolphin meat. The cove is an Academy Award-winning documentary about the horrifying and

merciless slaughter of dolphins in Japan. I watched the film in absolute horror. I’d seen the

previews of the bright red water in the cove where dolphins were killed. Although this slaughter

is happening in an entirely different country, watching this film made me feel as if it could be

happening here. Reason why I am in agreement with the documentary is because in Taiji exist a

brutal Japanese fishing practices. Dolphins that are not selected for water parks are brutally

hunted to sell their meat, sometimes people sell these meats as whale meat, and authorities try to

hide it because dolphin meat has high mercury content. According to Richard O’Barry (Earth

Island Institute) "The captivity industry keeps this slaughter going by rewarding the fishermen

for their bad behavior” (The Cove, 2009); this means that fishermen not just hunt dolphins to sell

the meat but it is a cruelty process where the dolphins suffer a lot. Also, in Japan dolphin meat is

sold as expensive meat from larger whales and the consumer may think that they are buying

healthy meat; these dolphin meats have levels of mercury that are 20 times higher than World

Health Organization recommendations. Consequently, fishermen not just harm dolphins; they

also harm the health of people in Japan.

A few things about the documentary stood out to me. The most emotional part of the film, for
me, was the scene in which the one dolphin had escaped the nets and was coming toward shore,
after being harpooned. What made this so upsetting was not just the emotional element of an
animal struggling to live, but the fact that the Japanese fisherman were laughing, lightheartedly,
directly after the filmmakers had witnessed this dolphin’s horrible end. It really made me realize
who these fishermen truly are, at their core.

The last reason why I agree with the documentary is because due to the massacre of

dolphins like many other fish, the pollution caused by fishing boats and the extinction of some

fish the oceans degrades more and more. In this documentary film Louie Psihoyos (co-founder,

Oceanic Preservation Society) say “we have been diving for over 35 years, and you could go

back to the same dive sport year after year and literally see the degradation of oceans before your

very eyes” (The Cove, 2009); oceans are degrading when killing dolphins, sharks, turtles and

other fish; every day fish are becoming extinct, we can see that the main extinctions of fish are

occurring right now. Also, the pollution caused by fishing boats is an issue that contributes with

the disappearance of aquifers. Fishing boats shower tons of garbage and fuel a day in the ocean.

For example, in our country there are pollution caused by fishing boats too, and we have the

hotel industries that throw their waste into the sea; Authorities should demand solutions and we

must inform and accuse these awful habits to make a change.

On another note, I had a slight problem with the human, dolphin connections that the filmmakers
were making. Although I do believe in having a deep connection with animals, especially
intelligent animals such as dolphins and whales, I don’t always believe that dolphins
purposefully save human lives or seek out connections with us. I have a problem every time a
documentary or organization tries to justify saving a species because of how closely that animal
can connect or relate to us on a human level. All animals, all life, are equal on this earth. To
say, “Dolphins are so much like us, we need to save them”, seems irrelevant to me. Dolphins
and humans have certain similarities without a doubt, and I definitely believe that they can form
personal connections with people, just like other animals can, but more importantly they are
dolphins, who form connections with each other and play a vital role and gives entertainment to
us and in the ecosystem of the ocean.

After I watched the documentary “The Cove”, I felt lingering sense of hope, just to know the
reality of this documentary. Innocent animals who know no better are getting absolutely
slaughtered for no reason. The documentary made me realize how much I do care about animals
and how I do indeed they deserve rights. It is true they cannot comprehend that they have rights,
but this doesn’t mean they don’t deserve the rights. They living creatures. It should be our duty
to make sure that these living creatures have rights. Out of all the movies we have watched in
Social Justice this one has moved me the most.

References

(The Cove, 2009) , Richard O’Barry (Earth Island Institute) , Psihovos, L. (cinema director).
(2009)
My Reaction about the
Documentary: The Cove

Joshua D. Lumaban

MGT P-1
ost.