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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...

Future fishing rules must include better bycatch monitoring and reduction

Future fishing rules in European waters, like elsewhere in the world, need to include transparent management and better mitigation of marine life bycatch – for all countries, whether or not they are part of the EU.

WDC are calling for a clear, effective strategy to identify the steps that are required by all countries that share European waters to reduce bycatch of porpoises, dolphins and whales towards zero. WDC, with experts from other organisations, have published this week on the necessary steps required to better protect cetaceans from bycatch

Bycatch remains a major conservation and welfare concern in European waters, with high numbers of harbour porpoises, dolphins and whales continuing to die each year. Steps urgently needed include to:

  • Improve collection of data on fishing activities
  • Improve and unify cetacean population surveillance and bycatch monitoring, with better implementation and enforcement
  • Develop a more regionalised evidence-based approach to monitoring and mitigation
  • Robustly show that bycatch levels are decreasing over time
  • Develop an Action Plan to identify in detail the steps required to reduce cetacean bycatch in European waters