Students Saving Dolphins in Japan

Please Note: Donations are in Australian dollar amounts, not US Dollar

For months the kids at our school, Gecko,  have been working on a school project about marine life and dolphins. We decided to watch a documentary, The Cove, after we discovered a dolphinarium was planned to open in Phuket.  A representative from the Dolphin Project who actively works to stop the capture and slaughter of the Dolphins in Taiji, Japan came to talk to us about dolphins. We were horrified to hear that the the tragedy happening in Japan is happening on our doorstep as 5 of the 8 dolphins bound for Phuket were from Taiji.

This really had an affect on all of us so we started 'doing something about it'. We wrote persuasive anti dolphinarium posters, signed online petitions, promised never to go to a dolphin show, created message rocks which were taken to Taiji Japan to The Cove, sent letters to the Thai fisheries and government departments, created dolphin art using recycled materials, presented at the AMCHAM conference,  spoke to Ric O'Barry (Flipper Trainer and now head of the Dolphin Project)  via Skype to ask his advice on how we can work with their initiative here in Phuket, attended a dolphin talk in Patong, took part in a whole day of 'kids in captivity' so we could feel what it was like to be a dolphin in a tank and lastly we went on a boat trip to see dolphins in the wild. 

With all this great work, we felt like we were helping, but it just wasn't enough. We decided we needed to take more action, we really want to know that our efforts are helping, so went  to Taiji in Japan to 'make a difference' and work as the first ever 'kid cove monitors'.  3 adults and 6 kids made the journey from Phuket to Taiji in January. When we were there we actively  monitored the dolphin boats leaving and returning to the harbour, photographed and documented their movements and recoded and counted the species of dolphins  captured and slaughtered. We actively blogged and uploaded information onto social media sites in keeping with the ongoing Dolphin Project initiative. This way, we really felt we helped and made the world aware.

As a school we have decided to continue our fight with the news of the dolphinarium opening in Phuket. In November we are taking another group of 10 students back to Taiji. Not only will they monitor the dolphin slaughter and capture but also present at international schools in Japan so everyone will be better informed.