A group of international scientists have come together to conduct a study on the mortality rate of dolphins caused by fisheries. They found that the tuna fishing industry has killed up to 90% of the dolphin population in the Indian Ocean. The researchers believe the alarming drop in dolphin numbers is associated with the use of illegal gillnets that are widely used across the world by fishing companies. These gillnets trap sharks, dolphins and other cetaceans, leaving them tangled with no way to get out until they die of starvation.
The study, led by Dr. Putu Mustika and his team from James Cook University in Australia, and Dr. Charles Anderson of Manta Marine in the Maldives, yields results that highlight the unsustainable nature of seafood consumption. The team calls for “urgent, drastic changes” in fisheries to protect the population of dolphins and other species.
The researchers estimate that the dolphin population in the Indian Ocean may only be 13% of what it was in 1980. They found their results by calculating the figures of bycatch from tuna driftnets and gillnets across ten sampling programs in Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, and Australia. The calculations showed that since 2004 the number of dolphins snared had decreased by 20%. This drop is a sign of a decline in the number of dolphins in the ocean.
Dr. Mustika said:
The declining cetacean bycatch rates are shown by what we can measure suggest current mortality rates are not sustainable. The estimates we have developed show that average small cetacean abundance may currently be at 13% of the 1980 levels.
Even though the United Nations have already banned gillnets, they are still used by many fishing companies in multiple countries around the world. Gillnets have snared hundreds of thousands of dolphins over the years. Official data from fisheries have shown over 4 million small cetaceans, such as whales, porpoises, and dolphins were caught in Indian Ocean fishing operations from 1950 to 2018. “Gillnets can and do kill threatened species like snubfin dolphins and dugongs. Our vulnerable species need sanctuary. We must permanently remove gillnets from their habitats,” explained Tooni Mahto, an Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) campaigner.
The significant drop in the dolphin population is a consequence of the never-ending demand of seafood for human consumption. Scientists recently estimated that by 2050 there would be no more fish left in the oceans for people to eat.
