Peruvian fishermen slaughtered dolphins to use as bait for shark fishing, an undercover investigation has revealed.
Footage showed infant and adult dolphins being harpooned then stabbed and clubbed before, in some cases, being cut open and butchered while still alive. The slaughtered dolphins were cut up and used as bait. Dolphins are also killed for human consumption in Peru even though it is illegal.
Up to 15,000 dolphins are being killed in this way every year by Peruvian long-line shark-fishing fleets, according to three organizations—Peruvian NGO Mundo Azul, US NGO Blue Voice and the UK-based Ecostorm agency—involved in the month-long investigation.
The footage was filmed secretly on two shark-fishing boats and numerous interviews with fishermen corroborate that dolphin killing is common practice.
Harpooned dolphin from video by Mundo Azul, Blue Voice and Ecostorm.
“We videotaped from the boat and in the water and what we saw was unimaginably horrific,” said Stefan Austermuhle, executive director of Mundo Azul, who spent 24 days on one shark-fishing boat off the Peruvian coast.
“I just went numb looking at the pitiful dolphin being battered with a club. All I could do was continue recording the event, as well as the butchering of the sharks in the hope that making the world aware of this tragedy can somehow bring an end to it.
“The Peruvian fishermen endanger the survival of the dolphin species while pushing sharks towards a population collapse.”
Sharks too are killed—by cutting off their noses while still alive and pushing wires through their brains and down the spinal cord in order to immobilize them, the investigation showed.
Pregnant sharks caught alive are not returned to sea in order to guarantee the species’ survival but are slaughtered on board with their living babies dying between the carcasses.
The killing of dolphins has been illegal in Peru since 1997.
Warning: video contains graphic content.
Original story: Dan Collyns. Fishermen in Peru slaughter dolphins to use as bait for shark fishing. The Guardian – October 17th, 2013
Related articles
The ‘dead’ ocean: eyewitness says overfishing has emptied the Pacific
(10/22/2013) An Australian sailor has described parts of the Pacific Ocean as “dead” because of severe overfishing, with his vessel having to repeatedly swerve debris for thousands of kilometers on a journey from Australia to Japan. Ivan MacFadyen told of his horror at the severe lack of marine life and copious amounts of rubbish witnessed on a yacht race between Melbourne and Osaka. He recently returned from the trip, which he previously completed 10 years ago.
President’s pledge to ban commercial fishing around Pacific island nation slow to materialize
(09/23/2013) In 2010 President Anote Tong of Kiribati made a historic pledge, committing to protect the waters around his island nation in a massive marine protected area. He said the gesture represented Kiribati’s contribution to protecting the environment and he urged industrial countries to do the same by cutting their greenhouse gas emissions, which threaten low-lying islands with rising sea levels. The commitment raised Tong’s profile, winning him international accolades, and boosted the tiny country’s standing in the fight against climate change. But since 2010 questions have begun to emerge about the extent of Tong’s commitment.
Shark overfishing hurts coral reefs
(09/20/2013) Overfishing for sharks is having detrimental effects on coral reefs, finds a new study published in the journal PLOS One.