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Gray whale

UN adopts High Seas Treaty to protect the ocean

At the UN 'High Seas Treaty' negotiations in New York, a historic vote for the...

Hopes raised for whale and dolphin protection after last minute landmark nature agreement

WDC's Ed Goodall (far right) at COP15 with Thérèse Coffey (centre) UK Secretary of State...

WDC orca champion picks up award

Beatrice Whishart MSP picks up her Nature Champion award The Scottish Environment LINK, an organisation...

Large number of dolphins moved to Abu Dhabi marine park

Up to 24 captive bottlenose dolphins have reportedly been sent to a new SeaWorld theme...

Study reveals entanglement impact on freed whales

Hundreds of thousands of whales, dolphins and porpoises die every year as a result of being caught in fishing gear and nets but many survive horrific injuries only to live short and painful lives pulling nets around before slowly dying as a result.

Now research from scientists looking into the long term consequences of this kind of entanglement has revealed that whales can burn up twice as much energy whilst entangled. By using fishing gear removed from an entangled whale and then lowering it into the water behind a moving skiff, the researchers were able to estimate how much drag the fishing lines and buoys generated, and how much energy a whale would have to use up to pull the extra weight.

Find out more about the threat to whales and dolphins from fishing nets and gear.

The full report is available at Wiley Online Library