Skip to content
All articles
  • All articles
  • About whales & dolphins
  • Create healthy seas
  • End captivity
  • Green Whale
  • Prevent deaths in nets
  • Scottish Dolphin Centre
  • Stop whaling
Orca Lulu's body contained PCB levels 100x above the safe limit. Image: SMASS

Toxic tides, troubled whales: the toll of chemical pollution

In last week's blog, we examined the challenges whales and dolphins face as they travel...
Group of orcas at surface

Breaking barriers for whales and dolphins at the Convention of Migratory Species

Many species of whales, dolphins and porpoises undertake long journeys, encountering human-made obstacles along the...
Tokyo

WDC in Japan – Part 1: Finding allies in Tokyo

At the end of May, I embarked on an incredible journey to Japan on behalf...
Amazon river dolphins leaping

The state of river dolphin conservation

At Whale and Dolphin Conservation, we partner with conservationists and communities fighting to save river...
Researchers in Southeast Alaska studying whale poo

We’re funding crucial research on whale poo to combat the climate crisis

The ocean is one of the lungs of our planet, and whales help it to...
Narwhal surfacing

The unicorns of the sea must be protected – CITES

The narwhal, is under threat. Often referred to as the unicorns of the sea, narwhals,...
Sperm whales

We’re pushing governments for action for our climate heroes – whales

The climate crisis is the greatest threat to all life on Earth. But there is...
Dolphins captured for captivity in Taiji. Image: Hans Peter Roth

Loved and killed – whales and dolphins in Japan

Protests and criticism from outside Japan in response to the slaughter of whales and dolphins...

Iceland's Tourism Ministry speaks out for whales

After the recent election there it would seem that the battle lines for Iceland’s soul and future are being drawn.

Iceland Review reports that further to the online campaign site Avvaz acting to try to ban the transfer of Icelandic fin whale meat through Dutch ports, the ‘Chairman of the Icelandic Travel Industry Association, Árni Gunnarsson, however, told visir.is that he is concerned about the issue. “We are concerned about whaling itself but are also worried about not just that the animals that we watch are about to be hunted but also the image of the country.”

According to Árni, whaling hurts the efforts of tourism companies in promoting whale watching.’

visir.is reports furtherArni says that tourism organizations have repeatedly expressed concern because whaling is allowed: “We believe it to be an anachronism and it has hurt the progress that we have been gaining in promoting Whale watching” [translation]

The LakiWDC Rob Lott was recently in Iceland helping with a celebration of whales and the ever growing Icelandic whale watching. WDC has worked to support Iceland’s whale watching industry from its earliest days and believes that it is a viable alternative to whaling as an industry that brings economic benefits to the many rather than the few.

WDC has persuaded a large number of reatilers to stop stocking fish from Grandi, the owner and operator of the fin whaling fleet and you can help by letting the Icelandic PM know that you don’t support their whaling.