HONOLULU — A group of experts is meeting this week to discuss ways to prevent the accidental snagging of a rare dolphin species by Hawaii’s longline fishing fleet.

Fishermen, marine mammal biologists, environmental activists and government officials are meeting in Waikiki from Wednesday through Friday.
The federal government is convening the false killer whale meeting in response to data indicating the fishery is snagging a large number of the animals.
Data show the fleet is accidentally killing or seriously injuring an average of 7.4 false killer whales each year in waters off Hawaii.
That exceeds the 2.5 per year that the population can lose without hurting its ability to sustain itself.