Boulder Oscar Winners Bust Fishy Sushi Operation
Louie Psihoyos, the Boulder photographer and ecological activist turned filmmaker behind "The Cove," isn't giving up the spotlight just because the Academy Awards have passed. After winning an Oscar on Sunday for a documentary that reveals a secret dolphin-slaughtering operation in Japan, he's taking on sushi joints in the United States. Armed with hidden video cameras and microphones, Psihoyos has revealed what authorities consider an illegal whale-meat operation at Hump, an exclusive sushi spot in Hollywood, reports The New York Times. "We’re moving forward rapidly," says Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for a U.S. attorney in California, noting that charges could come sometime this week. The sting, which began in October and continued into Oscars night, has caught the attention of BoingBoing and The Wrap, which talked with Psihoyos in New York yesterday during the first screening of "The Cove" for the Japanese press. He says Hump isn't the only Los Angeles restaurant that deserves scrutiny for allegedly serving whale. "I know of two others that did it in the past two years," he claims. "It's in places that serve the highest-end sushi. If you speak Japanese and say the right thing, they have a special place in the cooler." A moratorium on commercial whaling by the International Whaling Commission has been in place since 1986.
Comments
Submitted by Charlie Hudson (not verified) on Mon, 2010-04-05 05:49.
Maybe you could use your political phrase you are so fond of. " Give me liberty, or give Dolphins death"
Just a thought since you like that phrase so much
Submitted by » Boulder Oscar Winners Bust Fishy Sushi Operation | 5280 Ma (not verified) on Thu, 2010-03-11 04:29.
[...] posted here: » Boulder Oscar Winners Bust Fishy Sushi Operation | 5280 Magazine Uncategorized activist, ecological, [...]
Submitted by Jeff Montgomery (not verified) on Wed, 2010-03-10 21:53.
I'd probably go see this film. I'm supportive of the idea of education and appealing to people's sympathy and reason (in other words, trying to convince people one-on-one regarding a cause). I think most of us in Colorado move here, and/or stay here because we enjoy the outdoors and the wildlife that inhabits it (animals that attack me are excepted!). And I think if you want to be a carnivore (as I do), it's part of being living consciously to face the implications of your choices.
At the same time, I am very leery of the political ramifications of such a film. Politically, it is not an issue of humans vs. animals, but of humans vs. other humans. After all, animals aren't going to appear in court or advocate fining someone or putting them in jail for fishing for a certain type of creature. They also aren't going to restrict their individual rights or ability to earn a living.
The word "illegal" typically equates to "morally wrong" in the popular mind, and especially these days, that is very wrong. There are just too many bad laws, including many of those guiding natural resource usage, for "illegal" to mean "wrong". Simply because we have to follow them does not mean we need to bow to them and accept them as morally right.
Personally, I think this is just one more case where so-called public "property" is a disaster. Farmers with access to only the scarce farm land they possess need to manage their crops to survive over the long haul. So it would be with oceans, if only we treated them similarly. There has to be a better way, based on clear property rights like farming or mining. Such a way would not impose laws that criminalize fisherman. Just because it looks bad and makes some people cry, does not mean it should be outlawed.
