The Santa Monica restaurant found to be serving endangered whale meat sushi could find themselves off the proverbial hook, according to an AP report published on cbs2. Federal prosecutors are moving to dismiss the charges against Typhoon Restaurant, Inc., the parent company of the now-closed The Hump, and 45-year-old chef Kiyoshiro Yamamoto. more ›

One of the major talking points in the Oscar-winning documentary "The Cove" was that Japan continues to hunt whales--under the auspices of scientific study--with the meat sold across the country. It's still illegal to sell to the U.S. or South Korea, but DNA tests have confirmed that the meat from The Hump, the shuttered Santa Monica restaurant caught serving the meat, was from a scientific catch some three years ago. more ›

Now that The Hump, the sushi joint that was caught serving illegal whale meat, has closed, the municipally owned space is empty and possibly up for a new tenant. And who's in line vying for it? Ady Gil, the millionaire owner of American Hi-Def and animal rights activist and philanthropist who most recently donated a boat to the Sea Shepherds (the boat was soon damaged when a Japanese whaler boat crashed into it). more ›

The sushi restaurant that was exposed for selling endangered sei whale meat will be closing its doors today after 12 years of business in Santa Monica, according to MyFoxLA. The Hump will close permanently--and voluntarily today in a move described as "a self-imposed punishment" on the restaurant's website. more ›

Posted to the restaurant's website today, The Hump apologized and admitted guilt for serving endangered Sei whale, which prompted a federal investigation followed up by charges: more ›

As planned, a protest took place yesterday outside Santa Monica sushi restaurant The Hump. Organized by the non-profit Sea Shepherd group, the goal of the protest was to draw attention to and raise awareness in the community of the perils of serving endangered sei whale meat at the popular restaurant, in addition to garnering media attention. After being outed by the makers of the Academy Award-winning documentary The Cove, The Hump now faces charges from the US Attorney's office. more ›

Charges from the U.S. Attorney's office against restaurant allegedly serving whale meat are not enough for the international non profit Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. more ›

The investigation of Oscar-winning documentarians and federal officials has prompted the U.S. Attorney's Office to charge Typhoon Restaurant, Inc.--the parent company of The Hump restaurant--and Kiyoshiro Yamamoto, a 45-year-old chef who resides in Culver City, for the illegal sale of a marine mammal product, specifically, Sei whale, for an unauthorized purpose. “Someone should not be able to walk into a restaurant and order a plate of an endangered species,” said U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr. in a statement. It is illegal to sell any kind of whale meat in the United States. Sei whales are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and they are listed as endangered in Endangered Species Act of 1973. The misdemeanor offense carries a maximum statutory penalty of one year in federal prison and a maximum fine of $100,000 for an individual and $200,000 for an organization. more ›

The sushi restaurant at the center of the controversy and investigation over selling whale meat leases its space from the city of Santa Monica, which announced last night that it will also investigate accusations that came to light yesterday. The Hump leases space from the city for its airport location and the contract includes termination if illegal activity is proved. The news came after Heal the Bay's Mark Gold e-mailed the City Council urging them to take action. He also notes that his brother, the famous Pulitizer Prize winning food critic Jonathan Gold, calls the place “gimmicky and weird." Jonathan explains that “restaurants resort to gimmicks generally because their chefs just aren’t very good,” more ›

So it was the week before the Oscars and for the team that put together the documentary The Cove, which highlights mass dolphin killing in Japan (see a preview of it embedded below), it wasn't a week of getting prettied up and schmoozing--it was about what they won an Oscar for: undercover and investigative journalism. more ›