Solomon dolphin catch quota agreed

[Cetacea]

Solomon dolphin export quota agreed

At a recent forum held in the Solomon Islands to discuss the capture and export of live wild bottlenose dolphins from the area, the government agreed captures should continue and have authorised that up to 100 animals per annum can be exported. The decision was made known during a public forum which was supposedly organised to obtain the views of all major stakeholders involved in the exportation of the dolphins.

Local environmentalist Lawrence Makili who has been campaigning against the captures, labelled the forum on the dolphin trade a farce and saying it had been called by the Minister just to reinforce the governments' annual quota of 100 dolphins. Dolphin exporter Robert Satu from the Solomon Marine Export Limited lashed out at the comments, describing them as insensitive to the needs the ordinary Solomon Islanders, stating that the exports bring in a lot of revenue to the country. Hundreds of dolphins are killed every year in the Solomon Islands for their meat but since 2003 live dolphins have also been exported - a practice that has since generated international protests. Dr. Bradley Anita, a member of the Fisheries Advisory Council, said they are looking at expanding their Population Assessment Programme based on the preliminary work already carried out.

Director of Marine Connection, Margaux Dodds comments; “Much is being made by officials and exporters of the dolphins about hundreds being killed each year in the Solomon Islands for their meat. However, what is conveniently being overlooked is that the species killed for human consumption is not the same species which are being captured for export to marine parks; therefore to claim that they are 'saving' dolphins from death by allowing exports is not factually correct. They are simply creating demand for takes of another dolphin species, without an effective population assessment having been conducted to see what effect this will have before taking the decision to overturn an existing ban on capture for export and that is irresponsible and wrong."

Source

[chaostheory22]

Why do they need to try and rob the ocean of one of these creatures, when there are plenty of other fish in the sea? No pun intended. This could lead to the species demise, in my opinion, because just like with whales they never follow the rules set for them or the rules are too lax.

[Jack_of_Blades]

Why do they need to try and rob the ocean of one of these creatures, when there are plenty of other fish in the sea?

That's a double standard, because dem fishies ain't cute ehh If this article was about the Toadfish I

doubt you would have the same position, but I do ramble on....

without an effective population assessment having been conducted to see what effect this will have

Main (and only) reason I think it shouldn't be allowed. Some form of major survey should be done before ANY

harvesting is done.

[Cetacea]

That's a double standard, because dem fishies ain't cute ehh If this article was about the Toadfish I

doubt you would have the same position, but I do ramble on....

Main (and only) reason I think it shouldn't be allowed. Some form of major survey should be done before ANY

harvesting is done.

Double standards are a major problem in conservation, you are absolutely right. However the toadfish is not a valid comparison in this case because you are not taking into account the welfare of the animals after they have been captured, most bony fish do well in captivity and have a decent imitation of a natural habitat whereas dolphins do not.

Quite apart from the potentially major population impact, the welfare of the captured animals needs to be considered as well and cetaceans do extremely poorly in captivity.

[Jack_of_Blades]

However the toadfish is not a valid comparison in this case because you are not taking into account the welfare of the animals after they have been captured,

I only meant to compare the toadfish and bottlenose in the act of harvesting them. I'm only too well aware of the complications that can develop from the captivation of cetacean as opposed to a fish.

Quite apart from the potentially major population impact, the welfare of the captured animals needs to be considered as well and cetaceans do extremely poorly in captivity.

A potentially major impact is (in my mind) just as bad as an actual major impact. It shouldn't be a die roll, some census most be taken before this population of bnd's is even touched . To me it is more important that the area's population of bottlenose dolphins is thriving as opposed to the health of the captivated ones. While I do believe dolphins are extremely intelligent creatures that deserve some form ofrespect, there are some things that need more attention than others.

Edited March 27, 2009 by Jack_of_Blades

[Cetacea]

A potentially major impact is (in my mind) just as bad as an actual major impact. It shouldn't be a die roll, some census most be taken before this population of bnd's is even touched . To me it is more important that the area's population of bottlenose dolphins is thriving as opposed to the health of the captivated ones. While I do believe dolphins are extremely intelligent creatures that deserve some form ofrespect, there are some things that need more attention than others.

Of course wild populations are more important and they should have been forced to do an EIA before setting capture quotes but it doesn't look like they are going to do it, hence, I do believe that the welfare of the captured animals provides a powerful argument against captures as well until the environmental impact is established, especially cause this impact is well established.

Edited March 27, 2009 by Cetacea

[Mattshark]

That's a double standard, because dem fishies ain't cute ehh If this article was about the Toadfish I

doubt you would have the same position, but I do ramble on....

Main (and only) reason I think it shouldn't be allowed. Some form of major survey should be done before ANY

harvesting is done.

It is not just that, it is suitability (dolphins are not suitable for captivity) and sustainability. Taking 100 toadfish is far less detrimental than taking 100 dolphin for example, they can also be housed humanly unlike the dolphin can and are can have very fast population recovery.