page_title: Oceanic dolphin
section_title: Consumption
hierarchical_section_title: Oceanic dolphin / Interactions with humans / Threats / Consumption
caption_attribution_description: English: Plate of dolphin sashimi in Japan. Slices of raw dolphin meat.
context_page_description: Oceanic dolphins or Delphinidae are a widely distributed family of dolphins that live in the sea. Thirty extant species are described. They include several big species whose common names contain "whale" rather than "dolphin", such as the killer whale and the pilot whales. Delphinidae is a family within the superfamily Delphinoidea, which also includes the porpoises and the Monodontidae. River dolphins are relatives of the Delphinoidea.
  Oceanic dolphins range in size from the 1.7-metre-long and 50-kilogram Maui's dolphin to the 9.4-metre and 10-metric-ton killer whale, the largest known dolphin. Several species exhibit sexual dimorphism; the males are larger than females. They have streamlined bodies and two limbs that are modified into flippers. Though not quite as flexible as seals, some dolphins can travel at speeds 29 km/h for short distances. Most delphinids primarily eat fish, along with a smaller number of squid and small crustaceans, but some species specialise in eating squid, or, in the case of the killer whale, also eat marine mammals and birds. All, however, are purely carnivorous.
context_section_description: In some parts of the world, such as Taiji, Japan and the Faroe Islands, dolphins are traditionally considered as food, and are killed in harpoon or drive hunts.
  Dolphin meat is consumed in a small number of countries worldwide, which include Japan and Peru (where it is referred to as chancho marino, or "sea pork").
  Dolphin meat is dense and such a dark shade of red as to appear black. Fat is located in a layer of blubber between the meat and the skin. When dolphin meat is eaten in Japan, it is often cut into thin strips and eaten raw as sashimi, garnished with onion and either horseradish or grated garlic, much as with sashimi of whale or horse meat (basashi). When cooked, dolphin meat is cut into bite-size cubes and then batter-fried or simmered in a miso sauce with vegetables. Cooked dolphin meat has a flavor very similar to beef liver. Dolphin meat is high in mercury, and may pose a health danger to humans when consumed.
  There have been human health concerns associated with the consumption of dolphin meat in Japan after tests showed that dolphin meat contained high levels of mercury. There are no known cases of mercury poisoning as a result of consuming dolphin meat, though the government continues to monitor people in areas where dolphin meat consumption is high. The Japanese government recommends that children and pregnant women avoid eating dolphin meat on a regular basis.
  Similar concerns exist with the consumption of dolphin meat in the Faroe Islands, where prenatal exposure to methylmercury and PCBs primarily from the consumption of pilot whale meat has resulted in neuropsychological deficits amongst children.
  Legally consuming dolphin meat in the United States would be near impossible for most due to the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which forbids "...the act of hunting, killing, capture, and/or harassment of any marine mammal..."  (Exceptions are made for certain groups of people, such as Alaska Natives.)  Theoretically, one could only eat the meat of a dolphin which died of natural causes, which would likely be highly undesirable (and potentially dangerous).
caption: Plate of dolphin sashimi
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