Concern over use of dolphins for bait in shark fisheries

The release last week of a newspaper article and accompanying video footage of dolphins in Peru being harpooned by fishermen and the flesh used as bait in the shark fishery has received considerable international attention<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2465575/Dolphins-killed-bait-catch-endangered-sharks-Peru.html>.

The CSG has evidence that in addition to Peru, dolphins are, or have been, used as shark bait in a variety of other countries and regions, including East Africa and South America, and it is probable that the killing of dolphins, as a perceived free source of bait, is on the increase, driven by the lucrative shark fin trade.

At present very little information is available on the prevalence of this activity, but as many cetacean populations are small, with restricted distributions, and are already under pressure from other human activities, these directed takes are very likely to be unsustainable.  It is important that efforts are made to investigate the Peru story further, and to better understand and quantify this threat to dolphins in Peru and elsewhere.