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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...
Irrawaddy dolphin

Helping fishers protect dolphins in Sarawak, Borneo

Fishing nets are bad news for dolphins and porpoises, so we're working with local fishers...
Dolphin watching from Chanonry Point, Scotland. Image: WDC/Charlie Phillips

Discovering inner peace – whale and dolphin watching and mental wellbeing

Guest blog If you've ever seen whales or dolphins in the wild, you'll know that...
Whale tail

An ocean of hope

In a monumental, jaw-dropping demonstration of global community, the nations of the world made history...
The infamous killing cove at Taiji, Japan

Why the Taiji dolphin hunt can never be justified

Supporters of the dolphin slaughter in Japan argue that killing a few hundred dolphins every...
Image: Peter Linforth

Tracking whales from space will help us save them

Satellite technology holds one of the keys to 21st century whale conservation, so we're exploring...
Fishers' involvement is crucial. Image: WDC/JTF

When porpoises and people overlap

We're funding a project in Hong Kong that's working with fishing communities to help save...

Mindful conservation – why we need a new respect for nature

'We should look at whales and dolphins as the indigenous people of the seas -...
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  • Create healthy seas
  • End captivity
  • Prevent deaths in nets
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Minke whale hunts stop in Iceland

Iceland’s commercial hunt of minke whales has ended for this year. The common minke whale is the...
Port River dolphins

New report reveals 100,000 dolphins and small whales hunted every year

When you hear the words ‘dolphin hunts’ it’s likely that you think of Japan or...

Japan set to resume commercial whaling

Reports from Japan suggest that the government they will formally propose plans to resume commercial...

End the whale hunts! Icelandic fin whaler isolated as public mood shifts

Here’s a sight I hoped never again to witness. A boat being scrubbed and repainted...

Australian Government to block Japanese whaling proposal

Japanese Government officials have reportedly confirmed that they will propose the resumption of commercial whaling...

Did Icelandic whalers really kill a blue whale?

*Warning - this blog contains an image that you may find upsetting* They say a...

Icelandic whalers breach international law and kill iconic, protected whale by mistake

Icelandic whalers out hunting fin whales for the first time in three years appear to...

Pregnant whales once again a target for Japanese whalers

Figures from Japan's whaling expedition to Antarctica during the 2017/18 austral summer have revealed that...

Doubts remain after Icelandic Marine Institute claims slaughtered whale was a hybrid not a blue

Experts remain sceptical of initial test results issued by the Icelandic Marine Institute, which indicate...

Norway's whaling season begins

April 1st saw the start of the whaling season in Norway. Despite a widely-accepted international moratorium...

SOS alert for whales off Norway!

I have to admit to bitter disappointment when I arrived in Tromsø, northern Norway, a...

Icelandic fin whale hunting to resume

Iceland’s only fin whaling company, Hvalur hf,  announced today that it will resume fin whaling...

Ross Sea receives long awaited protection

Shout it from the highest mountain in Antarctica: The Ross Sea, at last, has received protection. The nations of CCAMLR (the Commission on the Conservation of Antarctic Living Resources) have finally after years of discussion and negotiation agreed on a 1.55 million sq km core area of the Ross Sea to be protected. Some 1.12 million sq km will receive the highest level of protection. The balance will be in special research zones where some fishing may still be allowed.

As in many areas of the world, access to fishing has been the stumbling block. In the case of the Ross Sea it is the valuable toothfish treasured not only by fishers but by the Ross Sea killer whales and the entire Ross Sea ecosystem. The toothfish and the battle for the Ross Sea were brilliantly captured in the feature film The Last Ocean by Peter Young. WDC helped sponsor and promote this film which introduced the world to the treasures of the Ross Sea and why it needed to be protected.

The Ross Sea Marine Protected Area (MPA) is the culmination of many years work by many individuals and groups, notably Jim Barnes and Claire Christian from the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC) and penguin scientist David Ainley, It is a tribute to what can be accomplished by those who have a great idea and refuse to give up, no matter how long it takes.

WDC also played a role with the publication of Marine Protected Areas for Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises (2004, 2011) which included a detailed case study and mapping proposal for what was then the nascent Ross Sea MPA idea. WDC celebrated the whale populations in the area, not just that it was the stronghold for the ecotype of Ross Sea orcas, but that it had substantial minke whale numbers as well as other whale species, and that it was a largely intact ecosystem, the last of its kind in the southern ocean. The Ross Sea was the jewel of WDC’s original “12 for 2012” MPA campaign — an effort to accelerate habitat protection for whales and dolphins around the world.

The small print on the agreement for the new MPA is that it will need to be revisited and renewed in 35 years. This buys a lot of time for nations of the world to appreciate its value.

For more about the Ross Sea, see http://uk.whales.org/wdc-in-action/proposal-for-marine-protection-of-ross-sea