The sound of a conch shell woke the dolphin hunters from their sleep. Under the moonlight, the six men walked to the village church on Fanalei Island, where a priest led them in a quiet prayer. The tide was high, and seawater covered parts of the village. They paddled out in wooden canoes before dawn, cutting through the darkness until they were miles away from shore. After hours of searching, Lesley Fugui, one of the hunters, spotted a fin in the water and alerted the others. He called his wife to tell her that dolphins had been found and the hunt could begin.

These men are among the last dolphin hunters in the Solomon Islands. Some conservationists say the slaughter is cruel and unnecessary, but the villagers need the dolphins for their teeth, which are used as local currency to buy land on higher ground and escape their sinking home. Each tooth sells for 3 Solomon Islands dollars, and a single hunt can bring in tens of thousands of dollars. Fanalei’s land has been destroyed by saltwater, and the government suggests the island could be underwater by the end of the century. The villagers have used dolphin teeth to pay for a new church, a sea wall, and a school extension. In recent years, many villagers have moved to a neighboring island but continue to hunt dolphins from there. Hunting is a community affair, and the teeth are shared among every family according to a strict tier system. Successful hunts are never guaranteed, and experts are unsure if dolphin hunting is sustainable.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/26/world/asia/dolphin-hunters-global-warming-solomon-islands.html