In Peru, the harpoon strikes first. The dolphin thrashes. Then it's hauled aboard, carved up, and fed to sharks.
Thousands of dolphins are killed every year. Not for meat. Not for oil.
For bait.
It’s one of the ocean’s quietest tragedies. Some estimates say the annual toll is at least 15,000. Others suggest it could be closer to 25,000. The true figure? No one really knows. Much of it is illegal. Most of it goes unreported.
The shark meat caught this way doesn’t stay in Peru. It shows up in Europe under names like “rock salmon” or “flake.” It ends up in pet food. Sometimes, it’s even labelled as “sustainable”, because no one ever asked where it came from.
This week’s episode of Voice for the Blue pulls back the curtain on a trade few are willing to name. It’s an exposé of how sentient animals become bait, and how global complicity keeps the cycle alive.
We talk about dolphin-safe tuna. But we don’t talk about dolphin-baited shark.
We can’t keep protecting the idea of the ocean while ignoring what’s really happening in its depths.
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