Dolphins including rare albino worth millions await their fate after being rounded up in cove while Japanese fishermen will decide whether they live or die

250 dolphins being held captive, waiting for slaughter by spike or captivity

They will meet their fate tomorrow, when the selection process begins

The hunting process was documented in the Oscar winning film 'The Cove'

Albino bottlenose dolphins are the rarest and will be captured and sold

Blame could lie with burgeoning Japanese marine park industry



Fishermen use brutal tactics to herd and capture the dolphins in the cove

The yearly killings mean the dolphin population is being decimated

Elder dolphins are killed or captured, meaning they cannot raise young



Over 250 dolphins are being held captive in a cove on the coast of Japan, waiting for either a life in captivity, or slaughter.



The bottlenose dolphins, including one young and very rare albino dolphin worth millions, will be kept until the brutal selection process of the aquarium industry begins on January 18.

Those that aren't taken to perform in shows will either face death by spear, or a gory corral back into the sea with their community much thinner and a lot weaker.

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The pod of dolphins being held captive in the cove on the coast of Japan

Harsh conditions: These poles are deployed above the water, and then the fishermen hit a flange on the top of the poles with a hammer, creating a cacophony that drives the dolphins back out to sea

Annual process: The fishing crew are pictured transferring several dolphins into the 250-strong pod

Rounded up: The dolphins were forced to wait in the pen for 19 hours until the holding reached critical mass

The cove in Taiji on the south-west coast of Japan was made famous in the Academy Award-winning film The Cove, which documented the entire process from capture, to selection, to aftermath.

Within the captured pod there is a young albino bottlenose dolphin, who is likely to be kidnapped by the aquariums.



Albino bottlenose dolphins are extremely rare, and are worth considerable money to marine parks as spectator items and entertainment.

The marine parks in Japan are modeled after the U.S. aquarium industry that make millions of dollars using dolphins for extremely popular aquatic acrobatic shows.

Tradition: Each year the fishermen capture and kill a huge amount of dolphins, putting the population at risk

Did she kill herself? There is speculation that the mother of this albino dolphin trapped by Japanese fishermen in a cove has committed suicide after being torn apart from her baby

One of the crusaders from Sea Sheperd, who hope to bring the dolphin's plight to light (left). The fishermen preparing their nets to capture the next pod of dolphins (right)



The albino dolphin is one of the rarest from this current batch of captured bottlenoses

If the dolphins that escape captivity are not killed, they are 'driven' back to the open ocean by 'banger boats' that force them to travel out to sea using long poles attached to the sides of the boat.

These poles are deployed above the water, and then the fishermen hit a flange on the top of the poles with a hammer, creating a cacophony that drives the dolphins back out to sea.



This is the same tactic that the fisherman use to push the dolphins into the cove and capture them.

Heavy machinery: Fishermen hoist a dolphin out of the sea, on its way to either lifetime captivity or death

Boat: 'Banger boats' use poles and flanges to make unpleasant sounds, driving the dolphins to specific places

Preparation: Fishermen and trainers unload the orange nets yesterday - just 24 hours before decision day

(Left) the fishermen are for the most part, a selection of fishermen from the Ishana Fishermen's Union. (Right) one of the dolphin fences inside the cove that allows the fishermen to stand watch

Those driven back to sea will likely be very young, and will not have the guidance of the elders that have been killed or captured, making them very unlikely to survive.

Because the process is being repeated every year, entire communities of migratory dolphins along the coast of japan are being destroyed.

The capturing and killing of the dolphins is mostly carried out by the Isana Fishermen's union, who are being fought relentlessly by the Sea Shepher Conservation Society Cove Guardians.



The dolphins will be uncomfortably oblivious of the impending doom some of them will suffer at the hands of the fishermen. They are captured around four to five at a time until enough of them are collected for 'selection'



Treatment: The fishermen brutally kill the dolphins they do not set free or capture using a sharp spike or spear

Cramped: The cove does not provide much space for the dolphins to swim, forcing them to huddle up in groups





