The federal government said yesterday it will form a group to develop ways of preventing the accidental snagging of a rare dolphin species by the Hawaii-based longline fishery.

The fishery is accidentally killing or seriously injuring an average of 7.4 false killer whales each year in waters off Hawaii, the National Marine Fisheries Service said in a Federal Register notice.

That exceeds the 2.5 per year that the population can lose without hurting its ability to sustain itself.

Fishermen are expected to join marine mammal biologists, environmental activists and government officials in developing a plan to reduce the number of the dolphins getting caught in fishing gear. The group is due to meet in Honolulu Feb. 17-19.

“;By participating in this Take Reduction Team, I'm hopeful we can put an end to this needless slaughter,”; Brendan Cummings, senior counsel for the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement.

The agency said earlier this month that it was studying whether it should put the Hawaii nearshore, or insular, population of false killer whales on the endangered species list.

Scientists estimate about 120 live in waters up to 60 miles off Hawaii's coasts. A few hundred more live close by in waters farther out These are considered Hawaii's pelagic population of false killer whales.

The plan is to address how to prevent the accidental catching of these populations, as well as those that live around Palmyra Atoll.

Longline fishing vessels string lines in the ocean, ranging from 1 mile to 50 miles long. They run smaller lines with baited hooks off the central line and wait for the bait to attract fish.

False killer whales tend to get caught by these lines because they eat fish that fishermen have snagged for human consumption: yellowfin tuna, mahimahi and ono.

The species is particularly vulnerable because the dolphins do not reproduce quickly or frequently.