"We are also communicating our concern to the Solomon Islands, however we believe that on-ground action in the Solomon Islands to prevent the export may be difficult in light of that country's current situation," Kemp said in a statement.

Animal rights groups say around 200 dolphins had been rounded up by Solomon Islands fishermen, dumped in open boats and then imprisoned in three-feet deep pens on Gela island.

Pressure group Australians for Animals said the dolphins were being sold to a Mexican consortium. Australian newspapers have reported they are being sold for $263 cash a head.

The first batch of 33 "traumatized and terrified" dolphins was expected to be loaded on to a charter flight to Mexico in a few weeks, Australians for Animals said.

"No civilized nation can stand back and allow this kind of horrible marine abduction," said group coordinator Sue Arnold.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora, to which Mexico is a signatory, prohibits the trade in dolphins if it is detrimental to them and not subject to proper licensing and regulation.

The Solomons, a chain of 1,000 islands 1,200 miles northeast of Australia, has not signed up to the convention. Nor does it have a properly functioning public sector to efficiently oversee such things as export permits.