Malaita have been captured for live export, the Bottlenose Dolphin is not hunted as the teeth are not considered to have any value. In recent years only villages on South Malaita Island have continued to hunt dolphin. In 2010, the villages of Fanalei, Walende, and Bitamae signed a memorandum of agreement with the non-governmental organization, Earth Island Institute, to stop hunting dolphin. However, in early 2013 the agreement broke down and some men in Fanalei resumed hunting. The hunting of dolphin continued in early 2014. Researchers from the South Pacific Whale Research Consortium, the Solomon Islands Ministry of Fisheries and Marine
Malaita Kwaio and 'Are'are regions, which may be a dialect of Kwaio. Sa'a, spoken on South Malaita, is also a member of the family. Mutual intelligibility is also aided by the large degree of trade and intermarriage among the groups. The peoples of Malaita share many aspects of their culture, although they are generally divided into ethnic groups along linguistic lines. In pre-colonial times, settlements were small and moved frequently. Both agnatic descent (patrilineal lines from a founding ancestor) and cognatic descent (through links of outmarrying women) are important. These lineages determine rights of residence and land use in a complex