"Mercury Detected at 100 Times the Allowable Limit"…Japan's 'Dolgorae Gogi' Controversy

The British daily newspaper The Guardian reported on the 18th (local time) that mercury levels close to 100 times the government-approved limit were detected in dolphin meat sold in Japan.

The Australian non-profit marine conservation organization Action for Dolphins (ADF) purchased two packs of "bottlenose dolphin" meat sold by the major online retailer Yahoo Japan and analyzed them, finding mercury levels 97.5 times and 80 times the allowable limit, respectively.

Two packs of mixed meat of "bottlenose dolphins" purchased by the Australian non-profit marine conservation organization "Action for Dolphins (ADF)" from Yahoo Japan
[Photo by ADF]

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The products were ordered on October 13 of last year. The organization sent the products to a research facility in Japan for analysis immediately after delivery on the 15th of the same month.

The organization has filed a complaint with the Japanese police authorities, stating that dolphin meat with high mercury content could threaten consumer health. They also urged the government to ban the sale of dolphin meat at the national level.

Hannah Tate, Secretary-General of ADF, said she hopes that dolphin meat will no longer be handled in Japanese supermarkets, restaurants, or e-commerce companies as a result of this incident.

Tate criticized, "Over the past decade, several analyses have detected potentially toxic levels of mercury in whale and dolphin meat sold on Yahoo Japan. Yet, it is very concerning that anyone, including pregnant women, can buy this meat without any related information or labeling."

She also claimed, "Selling dolphin meat violates Japan's Food Sanitation Act, but the Japanese government is ignoring these issues."

In response, Yahoo Japan emailed The Guardian stating, "We do not handle products related to dolphin meat; we only sell whale meat."

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They explained, "The bottlenose dolphin analyzed by ADF is sometimes called 'dolphin' and sometimes 'pilot whale.' The former term was used in the process of translating the product name into English." This appears to be an argument that ADF mistook whale meat for dolphin meat.

However, Secretary-General Tate refuted this explanation, stating that biologically, the bottlenose dolphin belongs to the dolphin family.

This report came amid ongoing domestic and international criticism of the notorious "dolphin hunt" conducted every year from September to March in the western coastal city of Taiji (太地), Japan.

In Taiji, dolphins are driven into a narrow bay, where some are captured for exhibition purposes, and the rest are brutally killed by spearing.

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