Residents of the tiny village of Fanalei in the Solomon Islands have killed more than 1600 dolphins in 2013 for their teeth, a local currency and popular adornment, researchers say.
The overall recorded tally from 1976-2013 was more than 15,400, according to research published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.
And despite the efforts of environmentalists to stop the practice, the local price of a dolphin tooth rose from the equivalent of 14 US cents in 2004 to about US$0.70 (NZ$0.93) in 2013.
"The large number of dolphins killed and the apparent incentive for future hunting offered by the increased commercial value of teeth highlight an urgent need to monitor hunts and assess the abundance and trends in local populations," the team wrote.
The Solomon Islands, particularly the island of Malaita where Fanalei is located, have a long history of "drive hunting" dolphins.
Hunters in groups of 20-30 canoes drive dolphin schools from deep to coastal waters by hitting stones together under the ocean surface to create a sound barrier that the animals - mainly spinner and spotted dolphins - cannot escape.
Across the Solomon Islands, the dolphins' teeth are used as currency, for bride price and as jewellery, and they are also sold for cash.
The meat is consumed in the hunting villages or sold to other islands.
The age-old practice appeared to have stopped around the middle of the 19th century, possibly with the introduction of Christianity, according to the study.
But it was revived in 1948, and by the mid-1960s several thousand dolphins were being killed every year. In recent years, villagers have also been capturing live dolphins for export to marine entertainment parks.
AFP
source: newshub archive
