TOKYO — Japanese fishermen have finished killing about 40 dolphins targeted for their meat as part of a larger group trapped recently in what activists say was the biggest roundup they have witnessed in the last four annual hunts.
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, best known for its antiwhaling activities, said that of roughly 250 captured dolphins, the fishermen first selected 52 to keep alive for sale to aquariums and other customers.
Of the rest, about 40 were killed, one became stuck in a net and drowned, and the others were released, it said.
A video released Tuesday by Sea Shepherd shows dozens of fishermen on boats surveying the dolphins after they were confined to a cove with nets. Divers can be seen holding the dolphins selected for sale and guiding them to nets hanging off the boats.
Although other dolphins have been killed since the hunting season began in September, Sea Shepherd said the 250 herded into the cove last Friday was the largest group it has seen since it began monitoring the hunt.
The annual hunt in the village of Taiji received high-profile criticism when the US ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy, tweeted last weekend that she was deeply concerned about the practice.