In Japan, the hunting is done by a select group of fishermen.
[7] When a pod of dolphins has been spotted, fishing boats move into position. One end of a steel pipe is lowered into the water, and the fisherman aboard the boats strike them with
mallets. This is done at strategic points around the pod, in an effort to herd them toward land. The clamor may confuse or alarm the dolphins, which move away from the noise. The pod of dolphins is thus driven into a
bay by the fishermen, which is quickly closed off with nets to prevent escape. As the dolphins are initially quite agitated, they are left to calm down over night. The following day, fishermen enter the bay in small boats, and the dolphins are caught one at a time and killed.
The primary method of dispatch was for a long time to cut the dolphin's throat, severing blood vessels, and death was due to exsanguination. However, the government banned this method and now the officially sanctioned method requires that a metal pin be driven into the cervical region ("neck") of the dolphin, severing its brainstem, which causes it to die within seconds, according to a memo from Senzo Uchida, the executive secretary of the Japan Cetacean Conference on Zoological Gardens and Aquariums.