'Cove' filmmakers expose L.A. restaurant serving whale sushi during Oscars

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A Santa Monica sushi restaurant and one of its sushi chefs were charged yesterday with illegally serving endangered whale meat. Its owners face up to a year in prison and up to $200,000 in fines. The restaurant accepts responsibility and will pay the fines, according to the Los Angeles Times.
 
Once again armed with hidden video cameras and tiny microphones, the team behind the Oscar-winning documentary The Cove orchestrated a sting operation in one of California's most highly regarded sushi destinations — a restaurant called the Hump — while in Los Angeles to receive their Academy Award, according to the New York Times.

The so-called "sushi sting," which involved many of the same James Bond-like undercover methods used to reveal dolphin hunting in the movie, actually began last October when the documentary's associate producer, Charles Hambleton, heard from friends that the Hump was serving illegal whale meat — a shocking allegation, even in sushi-loving Tinseltown where unusual fish imported from Japan can be commonplace menu items.
 
Since Hambleton knew the whole crew would be in town for the Academy Awards, it only made sense to plan the operation for that same week. And, of course, Hambleton needed time to build specialized hidden cameras for the operation too.
 
On Feb. 28, just a week before the filmmakers stood on the stage at the Oscars to accept their award, two animal activist associates wearing cameras and microphones sat down at the Hump and ordered a session of omakase, a sushi meal for which the chef picks all the dishes. Sure enough, the video clearly shows them being served thick, pink slices of meat — which the waitress unambiguously describes as "whale."
 
After feigning interest and covertly stashing the meat in Ziploc bags, the activists walked out with their evidence. Samples were then sent to the Marine Mammal Institute at Oregon State University, confirming that the meat was indeed from a whale. Worse yet, DNA from the samples indicated more specifically that the animal was a Sei whale, an endangered species. "I’ve been doing this for years," said professor Scott Baker, who performed the tests. "I was pretty shocked."
 
After Baker forwarded his findings to the United States attorney in Los Angeles, further investigations allegedly revealed an assemblage of shady smuggling practices occurring at the Hump, including the discovery that the restaurant's chefs likely obtained their whale meat from a mysterious Mercedes parked behind the restaurant.
 
Law officials entered the Hump last Friday serving search warrants, and they said charges would be brought against the restaurant for violating federal laws against selling marine mammals.
 
"This isn’t just about saving whales," said Louie Psihoyos, the director of The Cove, "But about saving the planet."

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LOS ANGELES - A Los Angeles-area sushi restaurant that made international headlines after it was charged with serving endangered whale meat will close forever as a "self-imposed punishment," according to a statement on its website.

The parent company of the The Hump, a popular Santa Monica restaurant, and sushi chef Kiyoshiro Yamamoto were charged on March 11 with violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which makes it illegal to sell whale meat.

Federal prosecutors have said that the case stemmed from informants who were served whale meat at The Hump in October 2009 and evolved into a sting operation by U.S. wildlife and customs officials.
The federal charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in federal prison and a maximum fine of $100,000 for an individual or $200,000 for an organization.

A statement on the Web site said the eatery, which was picketed by protesters after the charges made news around the world, would be shuttered as of Saturday.

"The Hump hopes that by closing its doors, it will help bring awareness to the detrimental effects that illegal whaling has on the preservation of our ocean ecosystems and species," the statement said.

"Closing the restaurant is a self-imposed punishment on top of the fine that will be meted out by the court," the statement said. The restaurant apologized for its "illegal actions."The Cove'
According to the statement, the restaurant's owners would make a substantial contribution to organizations dedicated to the preservation of whales and other endangered species.

The New York Times has reported that the team of activists behind the "The Cove," a film about dolphin hunting that won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Film earlier this month, coordinated with federal officials on the sting operation.

The paper said that an associate producer on "The Cove" created a tiny camera that two activists wore into the restaurant, where they were served the whale meat.

The activists sent samples to the Marine Mammal Institute at Oregon State University, which confirmed that they were from an endangered Sei whale, the Times said.

The Hump, which has only six tables and has a view of the Pacific Ocean, has been open for 12 years.