The call of a conch shell roused the dolphin hunters from their beds. Under moonlight, the six men shuffled to the village church.

There a priest led them in a whispered prayer, his voice barely audible over the sound of crashing waves; the tide was high that day. Saltwater pooled in parts of the village, which is on Fanalei Island, an ever-shrinking speck of land that is part of the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific.

They paddled out in wooden canoes before first light, cutting through the darkness until they were miles away from shore. After hours of scanning the horizon, one of the hunters, Lesley Fugui, saw a fin slice the glassy water. He raised a 10-foot-long bamboo pole with a piece of cloth tied to the end, alerting the others of his discovery. Then he made a phone call to his wife. He had found dolphins. The hunt would begin.