scientific recommendations

The Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin is listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Accordingly, Article IV of the Convention requires that the export of any specimen requires the prior grant and presentation of an export permit accompanied by a valid Non-Detriment Finding (NDF) issued by the Scientific Authority of the country of export.

According to the Cetacean Specialist Group (CSG) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Solomon Islands government does not have the necessary data on which to make a credible NDF due to a lack of valid local dolphin population estimates. This conclusion was drawn in 2003 and reiterated again in 2007.

“No scientific assessment of the population-level effects of the removals of bottlenose dolphins in the Solomon Islands was undertaken in advance of the recent live-capture operations. Without any reliable data on numbers and population structure of bottlenose dolphins in this region, it is impossible to make a credible judgment about the impacts of this level of exploitation. Until such data are available, a non-detriment finding necessary under CITIES Article IV is not possible. Therefore CITES Parties should not issue permits to import dolphins from the Solomon Islands.”
Report of a fact-finding visit to the Solomon Islands, 9-12 September 2003: Prepared by the IUCN/SSC Cetacean Specialist and Veterinary Specialist Groups.

“We are not aware that any credible, peer-reviewed studies of bottlenose dolphins have been undertaken in the Solomon Islands since 2003 that would lead us to change the conclusion we reached at that time, i.e., that a non-detriment finding under CITES is not possible for these populations at present and that exports therefore should not take place.”
IUCN/Cetacean Specialist Group letter to W. Wijnstekers, CITES Secretariat, 13 June 2007

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