Investigating following a DNA track is not unique to murder scenes and serial killing crimes. Well, at least not unique to the human species.
DNA analysis has been recently used to track down how whale sushi ended up in the plates of restaurants in California and Korea.
Such tracking is already being conducted on a limited scale by academic researchers and the makers of the Oscar-winning documentary The Cove, using hidden cameras and sophisticated DNA analysis to uncovered the illegal sale of whale meat at a Santa Monica restaurant and at a sushi restaurant in Seoul.
Since the imposition of an international whaling moratorium in 1986 only the Japanese continue whales hunting today. The fact raises many questions regarding the illegal worldwide whale meat trade. Investigators from the Korean Federation of Environmental Movements and Seoul National University helped identify the types of marine animals served at the Korean sushi restaurant. One sample, from a fin whale, genetically matched meat purchased in Japanese markets in 2007, strongly suggesting it came from the same whale.
Dna analysis made possible a deeper understanding of the spreading of whale meat’s black market, even though the total closure on the japans government side on the issue make further investigations quite difficult to pursue.
