The Cove Documents Japan's Dolphin Hunt

Oceanic Crew & Flipper Star Film Taiji Kill

The new documentary The Cove casts light on a dark and deadly secret hidden in a remote cove on the coast of Taiji, Japan: the slaughter of more than 23,000 dolphins every year.

At the core of this eco-docu-adventure lies the story of Ric O'Barry, the former show business dolphin trainer from Flipper who turns into a guerrilla activist as he and his crew embark on a mission to stop the dolphin trade in Japan.

"I spent 10 years of my life building up the dolphins-in-captivity industry," says a teary O'Barry in the camera, "and I spent the last 35 years trying to tear it down."

Death of Flipper Dolphin

Back in the 1960s, it was O'Barry who captured and trained the 5 dolphins for Flipper. The show triggered a global fascination with trained sea mammals and stoked worldwide interest for Sea World-type showcases that turn the intelligence and trainable charm of dolphins into a high-profit industry.

But after 10 years in the "Flipper industry," Kathy, the dolphin who played Flipper most of the time, died in O'Barry's arms and he realized that these sensitive and highly-intelligent creatures did not belong in captivity.

"[Sea World and the Taiji fishermen] are in this for money. Take it away, and they'll quit doing this," says OʼBarry. "Dolphins are free-ranging, intelligent, and complex wild animals and they belong in the oceans, not playing the clown in our human schemes."

Oceanianic Preservation Society

O'Barry's mission has brought him to Taiji, a town that appears to be devoted to the dolphins and whales that swim off their coast. But in a remote, glistening cove, surrounded by barbed wire and Keep Out signs, the market for mercury-tainted dolphin meat means the slaughter of thousands of these peaceful creatures every year.

O'Barry joins forces with filmmaker Louis Psihoyos and the Oceanic Preservation Society (OPS) to explore the off-limits cove. With the local Chief of Police and fishermen on their trail, the Ocean11-style crew of marine explorers, dolphin activists, and world-class free divers team up with special effects artists who construct fake boulders containing high-definition cameras to carry out their undercover underwater operation.

Ric O' Barry's Campaigns

Ultimately, the crew's risky business pays off, resulting in a provocative mix of investigative journalism, environmental documentary and commando-mission footage that launched Take Part and Save Japan Dolphins campaigns led by O'Barry..