Humans kill more than 100,000 dolphins worldwide each year. Many end up as bycatch in fishing nets. Others are hunted down. Japan, the Faroe Islands and West Africa are three places where the animals are slaughtered. In Ghana, some 10,000 dolphins are killed each year even though the creatures have been legally protected there since 1971. In the west of the country, dolphin meat is an important source of food and income. In the small fishing village of Dixcove, the investigative team reported that dead dolphins are being landed daily. But filming was difficult. Local fishers are wary of journalists because they know that catching dolphins is outlawed. But European and Chinese trawler fleets overfish their waters, leaving small-scale fishers with little choice if they want to avoid ruin. Dolphins play an important role in marine ecosystems, but their numbers are dwindling. About one third of dolphin species are endangered.