In a sting operation under the auspices of the maker of Oscar-winning “The Cove”, a sushi chef in California has been charged with serving illegal whale meat.
In October, two activists posing as customers went to The Hump, a restaurant in Santa Monica, and ordered “omakase,” which means they let the chef choose the choicest fresh fish. They also requested whale and pocketed a sample.
The young women cooperated with Louie Psihoyos, director of the Oscar-winning documentary The Cove, to record the meal with a hidden camera and microphone.
Psihoyos took their findings to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the US Government body administering fisheries, which started an investigation leading to federal charges recently being filed against the owner and sushi chef Kiyoshiro Yamamoto, 45, for illegally selling an endangered species product.
An attorney for the owner said the restaurant accepts responsibility for serving whale and will agree to pay a fine. If convicted, the company could be fined up to $200,000.
Yamamoto, who has admitted to selling whale to the two women, could face a year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.
Japan’s controversial “research” whaling program has resulted in hundreds of killed whales in the Antarctic each year lately, triggering both violent protest by environmentalists and strong objections by diplomats.
Psihoyos’ film The Cove, on the secretive mass-killing of dolphins in a remote and hidden cove in Taiji, Japan, won an Academy Award for best feature documentary in 2009.