Solomon Islands are Hunting Dolphins for Their Teeth During Mass Kills

It turns out that people are hunting dolphins for their teeth. Researchers have discovered that from 1976 to 2013, more than 15,000 dolphins were killed by villagers in Fanalei in the Solomon Islands alone.

"In the Solomon Islands, the hunting is as much about culture as economic value," said Scott Baker, co-author of the new study, in a news release. "In other parts of the world, however, the targeting of dolphins and other small cetaceans appears to be increasing as coastal fishing stocks decline."

The drive-hunting of dolphins has a long history in the Solomon Islands, particularly at the island of Malaita. In drive-hunting, the hunters operate in close coordination from 20 to 30 traditional canoes. When dolphins are found, the hunters use rounded stones to create a clapping sound underwater and form a U-shape with their canoes to drive the dolphins toward shore. There, they are killed.

In 2010, the most active village, Fanalei, suspended hunting in exchange for financial compensation. However, hunting was resumed in 2013.

The researchers examined detailed records of the kills. During the first three months of 2013, people killed more than 1,500 spotted dolphins, 159 spinner dolphins and 15 bottlenose dolphins. This is one of the largest documented hunts of dolphins in the world, rivaling even the more-industrialized hunting of dolphins in Japan.

"The government of the Solomon Islands has contributed substantially to research in recent years, but it is not well-equipped to undertake the scale of research needed to estimate abundance and trends of the local dolphin population," said Marc Oremus, one of the researchers. "This problem exists in many island nations with large 'Exclusive Economic Zones.'"

The findings are published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

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