Sushi Restaurant Serving Whale?

Whale Sushi

The filmmakers who made the Oscar award winning “The Cove”, a film about Japanese dolphin hunting, went undercover at a popular sushi restaurant in California to investigate rumors of whale being used in sushi. The Hump, in Santa Monica, was rumored to be serving whale meat, which is illegal in the United States. “The Cove” team’s investigation was conducted alongside law enforcement officials, who later raided the restaurant and confirmed the suspicions of whale meat being served.

Here’s more information, taken from Telegraph.co.uk

California state prosecutors told the New York Times that the restaurant was likely to be charged with violating federal laws against selling marine mammals, an offense punishable by a year in prison and a $20,000 (£13,000) fine.

The documentary team says it began investigating the restaurant in October last year after being tipped off by friends that The Hump – reportedly named after pilot slang for the Himalayas – had raw slices of whale on its menu.

Restaurant employees said at one point the meat came from a Mercedes parked in the rear of the restaurant. The investigation team also made it clear that the servers new the meat was from a whale, explaining to the “customers” why the sushi dish was so expensive ($60). We commend the crew of “The Cove” for their great efforts with both the documentary and their help on this investigation.