September 25, 2014

Today marks the 12th anniversary of  Izumi Ishii's first voyage into the successful dolphin-watching business.

It is an important factor to mention the success of this business since Izumi used to be a third-generation dolphin hunter, who one day felt the pain in the dolphins he was hunting and changed the course of his life forever.

On that magical day, he becomes a dolphin savior and decides to use his boat to watch them and protect them instead of hunt them.

Today Izumi-san writes:
It is a memorial day today.
2002-09-25
The first dolphin watching 12 years ago.
We met with a sperm whale.

Hardy Jones of Blue Voice recounts the events first-hand:
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.
The maiden voyage was full of drama. The kind you can only experience in the wild. Until 4 pm there was zero sightings of any dolphins. And then...

A friendly sperm whale blessed Izumi-sans maiden voyage with a 45 minute visit...

Much to the delight and relief of Izumi-san!

Please join the world in congratulating him for taking the important step in proving that a lucrative business is possible for the fisherman who hunt the dolphins in Taiji, Japan.

Alond with the US Embassy in Tokyo, Izumi Ishii has visited Taiji with Ric O'Barry during the opening of the hunting season and met with the mayor of the town. He has been vocal in the protest of the dolphin hunts in Taiji and against the wishes of his own union, he has continued to offer dolphin watching charters to tourists from around the world and plays a key role of the international anti-captivity movement.
Please join me in supporting Izumi Ishii by becoming a Bright Sea member today.
Show your thanks for  taking such a courageous stand against a generations-strong industry.