The mid‑19th century Mediterranean saw fishing communities in crisis as declining stocks and damaged nets pushed them to seek drastic measures.
A small group of local fishermen in Marseille claimed that dolphins were siphoning fish from their nets, prompting officials to intervene.
The bounty was not unique to France; Italy in 1889 paid for dolphin kills, while Croatia and Japan followed suit in the early 20th century.
A 2026 review led by Julian D. Olden catalogued the French scheme as the earliest documented dolphin bounty, noting that records of total kills remain missing.
The lack of data means the program’s environmental impact is unknown, and the review warns that such incentives can backfire by driving non‑target species to decline or even bolstering target populations.