Sushi Lovers Beware

Several months ago I reviewed the movie The Cove, which won the Academy Award for best documentary this year. These filmakers took many risks in their undercover filming of illegal dolphin slaughter in Japan. Their newest undercover operation has revealed a restaurant in Santa Monica, Hump, which is apparently serving whale meat, which is illegal.

With video cameras and tiny microphones, the team behind the Oscar winning film "The Cove" orchestrated a Hollywood-meets-Greenpeace-style covert operation to ferret out what the authorities say is illegal whale meat at one of the most highly regarded sushi restaurants in Los Angeles.

Their work was coordinated with law enforcement officials, who said that they were likely to bring charges against the restaurant for violating federal laws against selling marine animals.

In the clash of two Southern California cultures-sushi aficinados and hard-core animal lovers-the animal lovers have thrown a hard punch.

The sushi sting actually began in October, when the documentary's associate producer and director of clendestine operations, Charles Hambleton, heard from friends in the music industry that the Hump was serving whale. Tiny cameras were created to film the sushi being served and eaten. The undercover activists ate some of the whale, then put the rest in a zip lock bag. The contents of the bag were sent to a Marine Mammal Institute for analysis, and the results confirmed that the meat was from a Sei whale, which are found worldwide and are endangered, but are sometimes hunted in the North Pacific under a controversial Japanese scientific program.

The restaurant is now closed, and federal officials indicate that indictments against the restaurant may be forthcoming. This story is far from over. It is one of those "under the radar" stories that you really have to look for, but I will keep and eye on it and let you know how it develops. Its' great to have activists that are willing to take risks to expose wrongs in our society. As long as things are done peacefully, as this was, they are making an important contribution to our world. It's when things turn violent that I have a problem. So far this group of filmmakers has done everything peacefully, and for this I applaud them.