The annual dolphin hunt in the Japanese town of Taiji, which has been the subject of international condemnation and Oscar-winning documentary The Cove, has begun after a delayed start due to bad weather.
However, on the first day of the hunt, which involves fishermen driving hundreds of the animals into a secluded cove where they are later dispatched by having a metal rod driven into their necks, no dolphins died, as the twelve boats failed to trap any.
The boats will set sail again for another attempt on 4 September, if the weather allows, a Taiji fisheries spokeswoman said.
The hunt has taken place for centuries, but was thrust into the public eye after the release of The Cove in 2009, which was secretly recorded at the Taiji hunts over the course of five years.
Annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan
The footage showed the water in the bay where the dolphins are slaughtered turning red with blood, as they are dispatched by fishermen. The dolphins used to have their throats cut, but this method was banned in favour of the metal rod technique, which is thought to be more humane.
Some of the dolphins are sold to aquariums, but many are eaten, despite possible health risks due to the small amounts of mercury present in the dolphin meat.
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Protesters and environmental campaigners visit the town every year, and authorities have recently increased their presence during the hunts, to discourage any potential confrontation between the locals and the demonstrators.
Those who participate in and defend the hunt point to the tradition, and the fact that the dolphins are not endangered.
Game of Thrones actress Maisie Williams protests against the Taiji hunt in London in January 2015
One of the protesters included Ric O'Barry, an animal trainer who trained dolphins for the Flipper TV series in the 1960s.
He was released from police custody, after he was detained for not carrying his passport, which is against the law for foreign visitors to Japan.
O'Barry, 75, appeared in The Cove, and after his time working on Flipper had a change of heart, and now is a vocal campaigner against the capture and killing of dolphins.
Dolphin conservationist Ric O'Barry was detained by police ahead of the hunt, for not carrying his passport
In a separate hunting development in Japan, fisheries officials announced that they would start the annual coastal whale hunt, and plan to capture 51 minke whales over the next two months.
Like many of the dolphins killed in Taiji, the minke whale is not endangered, but many activists are opposed to the use of explosive harpoons in the hunts, which can sometimes result in the whales taking hours to die when they are shot by inexperienced gunmen.
Commercial whaling is banned, but Japan claim that their killing of whales is for scientific research, thus skirting the ban.
