Awe just look at those dolphins! Aren't they adorable!!
Their cuteness is part of the reason why the public got so behind the campaign for 'dolphin friendly tuna' back in the 80's and 90's. We were worried about dolphin bycatch - and dolphin death - in our tuna fisheries.
In what was hailed a campaign success, 'dolphin friendly tuna' because commonplace in our supermarkets. Apparently consumers could rest assured that the fishers who caught this tuna now had measures in place to allow dolphins to escape, reducing dolphin deaths. Great stuff!
....here's a thought...
"No credible threat to dolphin populations had ever been identified in the world’s largest tuna fishery – the Western and Central Pacific Ocean – nor raised in the relevant scientific and management organisations"
In this article, Dr Quentin Hanich of the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources & Security, University of Wollongong in Australia, asks if we are worrying about the wrong species.