On 28 February 2026, the main phase of Taiji’s dolphin drive season ended. For bottlenose, striped, rough-toothed, spotted, and Pacific white-sided dolphins, the waters off the Wakayama coast are now quieter. Pilot whales remain at risk through April. But the season’s end offers a moment to reflect on what the numbers show, and what a new pattern observed by independent monitors may mean for the future.