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Wednesday, 2nd May 2012
In General Japan News,
'The Cove' town proposes dolphin park
The coastal town of Taiji in western Japan is planning to turn part of its famous cove into a gigantic pool that would be home to whales and dolphins.
Taiji gained notoriety when Oscar-winning documentary The Cove shed light on its annual dolphin hunt, but the new plans would create a sanctuary for the sea mammals, while allowing visitors to swim and kayak with them.
Officials in the Wkayama prefecture are now hoping to create the project inside five years following negotiations with the local government and the pearl farmers who work in the idyllic bay, Jiji Press reported.
The plans are causing much excitement and a Fisheries Agency official told the news agency: "We've never heard of such an attempt elsewhere."
Plans put together by a panel of local residents would see the vast pool created by placing a net over the entrance to the Moriura Bay, leaving an area of sea around 28 hectares sectioned off.
Bottlenose dolphins and black whales would then be released into the area after it had been developed into a natural park.
The Cove was directed by Louie Psihoyos and won Best Documentary Feature at the 2010 Academy Awards.
Written by Susan Ballion
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