Greenwire: The team behind the Oscar-winning documentary “The Cove” recently led a series of covert operations to identify what authorities say is illegal whale meat being sold at a highly regarded sushi restaurant in Santa Monica, Calif.
Authorities said yesterday that the finds from the team’s sting operation will likely lead to charges against the restaurant, the Hump, for violating federal laws against selling marine mammals.
“We’re moving forward rapidly,” said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney for the Central District of California who said charges could come as early as this week.
The planning behind the sushi sting operations began in October when the documentary’s associate producer, Charles Hambleton, was told by friends in the music industry that the popular California sushi restaurant was serving whale.
“This isn’t just about saving whales,” said Louie Psihoyos, the director of the award-winning documentary chronicling eco-activists’ battles with Japanese officials over dolphin hunting. He said the team’s work is about “saving the planet.”
Hambleton first created a tiny camera for two animal-activist associates to wear to the restaurant while they ordered a sushi meal in which the chef picks all the dishes. The waitress brought them food that she called “whale,” which the activists tucked into plastic bags that they sent off to be analyzed by Scott Baker, associate director of the Marine Mammal Institute at Oregon State University. Baker’s DNA analysis indicated the waitress was correct: they were from a Sei whale, which are endangered and found worldwide but sometimes hunted in the North Pacific under a controversial Japanese scientific program.
Next, the documentary team visited the restaurant late last month and fanned out between the sushi bar and a restaurant table to witness the chopping of the fish and whale first-hand and communicated with each other via text.
Then last week, when the “Cove” team was in town for the Oscars they repeated the operation — this time with several federal agents in tow, including one who spoke Japanese. The chef and wait staff once again identified some of the meat as a whale in Japanese, according to the affidavit of the incident.
Possession or sale of marine mammals is a violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and can lead to a year in prison and fine of $20,000 (Jennifer Steinhauer, New York Times, March 8). – DFM