Hardy Jones

Hardy Jones(1943 – December 12, 2018) was a wildlife and conservationfilmmaker.He began his career in radio atWNOEinNew Orleansand worked forUnited Press International,The Peruvian Times, andCBS News.He had been a televisiondocumentaryproducer since 1978 and produced over 75 films forPBS,Discovery,TBS,andNational Geographic.His first film, entitledDOLPHIN,depicts a school of spotted dolphins residing 40 miles north ofGrand Bahamaisland. Beginning in 1978, Jones returned countless times to the Bahamas to visit these dolphins and film them. Some of the dolphins have become internationally famous. Chopper, a 27-year-old male, was filmed by Jones for the first time in 1979 and appeared in the 2005 PBS filmThe Dolphin Defender.

Education

Jones was an alumnus (1958) ofNew Canaan Country Schooland in 2008 received the prestigious alumni award.He was a graduate ofChoateandTulane University.

Work

Jones fought for nearly thirty years to stop the killing and capture of dolphins in Japan and worked on environmental issues in Peru for more than five years. He documented themass mortality of dolphins along the coast of Peruand the massiveslaughter of dolphins for use as shark baitin the longline fishery. His documentary film on this subject will be broadcast in 2017.

In 2000, Jones joined film actor and ocean activistTed Dansonand foundedBlueVoice.org(a website dedicated to the protection of dolphins and whales and particularly stopping the hunting of dolphins in Japanese fishing villages).The organization uses television and the internet to publicize ocean issues. One of the group's main concerns is the alarming level ofcontaminationin the oceans -bio-accumulatingin thefoodwebfromplanktonto fish,marine mammals,then humans.

Jones’ book,The Voice of the Dolphins,was published in 2011.It recounts more than thirty years of work with dolphins in the wild as well as the efforts of BlueVoice.org to end the killing of dolphins inJapanand the increasing menace of chemical contaminants in themarine food chain.

Recognition

Among his numerous awards are 2005 Filmmaker of the Year Award from Filmmakers for Conservation,a Lifetime Achievement Award from theInternational Wildlife Film Festival,theGenesis Awardof theHumane Society of the United States,and the Special Jury Award of theExplorers Club.He also appeared in the2010 Academy Awardwinning documentaryThe Cove.He was the recipient of the 2016 NOGI award from the Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences for his environmental work.

Later life and death

In 2003, Jones was diagnosed withmultiple myeloma,a form of blood cancer often linked to exposure to toxic chemicals such asdioxins.His recent work was researching the relationship betweenpersistent organic pollutantsto cancer and other health problems in humans and marine mammals.

Jones died on December 12, 2018, after a long battle with multiple myeloma. He is survived by his wife Deborah Cutting and his sister Betsy Jones.

See also

• Taiji, Wakayama