The superstition of fishermen, who believe the tucuxi dolphin to be a sacred animal that brings the bodies of drowned people back to the shore, has ensured that it has rarely been targeted as a food item (6). In 1994, the International Whaling Commission's (IWC) Scientific Committee urged member states to reduce by-catch and monitor populations (1). The IWC had previously started the Sotalia Project with the organisation 'Brasil's Biologists', which sets out to study the behaviour and habitat needs of the tucuxi dolphin, and has managed to build a significant collection of photo identifications (6).