SOLS: Exporter denies link to dead dolphins
Updated
The Director of the company in Solomon Islands that exports dolphins has denied any involvement the death of three dolphins including a calf. The decomposing carcases of the mamals were found in east Honiara where the Marine Mammal Education Centre and Exporters Limited has a dolphin holding pen.
Presenter: Sam Seke
Speakers: Christopher Porter, Dolphin exporter, Lawrence Makili, Solomon Islands environmental campaigner,
PORTER: The transport of the dolphins to Dubai was very successful and all 28 animals arrived safely to the facility. One of the most technical logically advanced facilities in the world.
SEKE: How much are you getting out of the dolphin export business?
PORTER: I think the business of dolphins within the Solomon Islands is very advantageous for the Solomon Islands people, based on the traditional hunting values of the animal and we're able through the program and the export of dolphins of increasing the resource value of an animal that's currently being killed for teeth and their meat. The transport of the dolphins to Dubai in Solomon Islands terms made one live dolphin equivalent to 1700 dolphins dead in a hunt.
SEKE: You have mentioned there the traditional hunting of dolphins, where hundreds of dolphins are killed, especially in the northern region of Malaita each year. Now the conservationists are worried about like the export of dolphins. You are talking about the 28 you have just exported. Now how does that sound to you?
PORTER: I'm always surprised at conservation's stand on the export of only 28 animals, where they haven't never addressed the traditional hunting of dolphins in Malaita. No Conservation group has ever mentioned the traditional hunting or has tried to work with the community in providing them any alternative to killing dolphins. Our program works directly with the hunters and we have numerous villages and numerous hunters that have dedicated not to kill any more dolphins in order to work through projects, such as mine.
SEKE: This week, there's been reports of the carcasses of three foreign nose dolphins found at Ranandi and you have I believe a holding pen there for dolphins. Now, do you have any involvement in the dead dolphins?
PORTER: We've also heard the reports of the three carcasses. We have no involvement in them and we're actually trying to investigate the story, because the images that we've been shown of the animals actually show inconsistent signs of being a dolphin. So we're actually investigating the story. We have no involvement with those carcasses and we're not even sure if those carcasses are of dolphins.
SEKE: Christopher Porter, the Director of the Dolphin exporting company in Solomon Islands.
Meanwhile, Solomon Islands environmental campaigner, Lawrence Makili, is taking fresh legal action to stop any further export of dolphins by the company.
Mr Makili is not happy with the company and the government over the dolphin issue.
MAKILI: Yeah, it's a sad day, a sad day for me, especially and also for the people of the Solomon Islands that our leaders do not care about the sensitivity of the issue.
SEKE: You are worried about the export and most other environmental and conservation organisations in the world have spoken out against the export of live dolphins. And what about the mass killing of dolphins, especially in the northern region of Malaita annually?
MAKILI: Some have to make this clear. There was a propaganda created by Chris Porter, the director of this company that exports dolphins Fremet, that's why exporting hundreds of dolphins per annum from Solomon Islands saves the lives of those dolphins, because he was saying that he will buy dolphins from those traditional hunters. In this case, that's not the way it happened. They were not bought from the traditional hunters. They were caught by the company's own employees within Guadalcanal's provincial waters, who are not dolphin hunters.
SEKE: Lawrence, you have unsuccessfully tried to stop the recent export of dolphins. What other legal action are you pursuing at this time?
MAKILI: Yeah, me and the local landowners of Gela, are pursuing a civil suit in the high court to block any further export of dolphins, because they do have a permit at the moment approved by the government to export 80 dolphins this year. So 28 have gone, and then 52 yet to be exported, so that if it's true I am pursuing my legal case to make sure that I stop it.
