TAIJI, Wakayama Pref. — In the fervor of the Academy Awards in Hollywood on Sunday, last year's winners were a distant memory. Half a world away in the fishing village of Taiji, few will ever forget the film that won in 2010 for Best Documentary Feature.
A year after "The Cove" received an Oscar for its scathing portrayal of Taiji's dolphin hunting tradition, the tiny town in Wakayama Prefecture is still under siege by foreign activists. That has created a deep deadlock with Taiji's fishermen, leading some activists to seek a different tack.
"I'm trying to get a grassroots movement going in Japan. I've come to realize, you can't show up with a big stick and tell them what to do," said Ric O'Barry, the veteran dolphin activist featured in "The Cove."