Dolphins: Why they so often end up as fishing bait

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River dolphins in Brazil

Photo: Morales / IMAGO

Animal rights activists estimate that more than 100,000 dolphins, porpoises and small whales are killed worldwide every year. The exact dimension is difficult to estimate, said Sandra Altherr, biologist and scientific director at the animal protection organization Pro Wildlife. However, it can be assumed that the number could be much higher. Pro Wildlife has developed a new analysis of dolphin capture together with the animal protection organization Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC).

The report “Small Cetaceans – Even Bigger Problems” evaluates 250 studies and other sources. Accordingly, the situation for dolphins and small whales has become even worse in recent years. The animal protection organizations said that hunting the animals meant that some populations were on the verge of extinction.

Dismembered dolphins for bait

The report gives various reasons for this: On the one hand, dolphins are eaten in some poorer regions because other fish species are hardly caught anymore. On the other hand, dolphins are increasingly being dismembered and used as bait, especially in commercial fisheries. In the past, this fate mainly affected dolphins that were caught as bycatch in fishing nets. “But targeted hunting has increasingly developed for this practice in recent years,” said Nicola Hodgins, dolphin expert at the WDC. In some areas, the market value of dolphins as bait even exceeds their value as food. According to information, around 15,000 dolphins and small whales are killed every year in Peru and almost 10,000 in Ghana.

Another reason, according to the report, is overfishing of the world's oceans. Fishermen kill the animals in the belief that they are supposed to be "competitors" to eliminate the dwindling fish stocks. "Given the overfished state of the seas, we fear that the killing of dolphins will even increase," said Altherr.

Animal oil to treat corona infections

According to the report, the situation of river dolphins in the Amazon region is particularly serious. “Every year, thousands of these endangered animals are slaughtered unnoticed to serve as bait for pirate fishing,” said Altherr. In addition, the oil from the animals, also known as botos, has recently been used to treat corona infections. “We run the risk of losing the Boto completely in the next few decades,” says Altherr.

In addition to Peru and Ghana, the list of countries with the most dolphins and small whales killed includes Nigeria, Brazil, Venezuela, Greenland and Taiwan, it said. In regions such as Indonesia, the Philippines and the Tristao Islands (Guinea), hunting and eating dolphins is a more recent practice.

Animal rights activists are urgently calling for global regulation of the hunting of dolphins and small whales. Coastal states would therefore have to tighten up their national laws and enforce them better. In addition, international agreements and programs must take urgent measures to end illegal hunting and regulate authorized hunting.

ani/dpa