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Southern Resident whales

Ambitious plan to free captive orca Lolita announced

The new owner of the Miami Seaquarium in the US has announced that it is...
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...
All policy news
  • All policy news
  • Create healthy seas
  • End captivity
  • Prevent deaths in nets
  • Stop whaling
  • Strandings
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...

Minke whale hunts stop in Iceland

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

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...

Icelandic fin whale hunting to resume

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

Norway increases whaling quota despite declining demand

Norway's government has announced an increase in the number of minke whales that can be...

Norway's whaling season begins

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

Second public consultation for controversial oil transfer plans in Scotland

Controversy continues to surround plans by the Port Authority of Cromarty Firth, Scotland to transfer millions of tonnes of crude oil between ships anchored near the mouth of the Firth.

The proposed location is within the Moray Firth Special Area of Conservation for bottlenose dolphins and is an important environmental site regularly visited seabirds, all of whom could be threatened if the oil transfer plans are given the go-ahead. But the plans will now be subject to a second public consultation, with many people in the area feeling that they were not properly consulted in the first place.

WDC also feels that the Cromarty Firth Port Authority’s (CFPA) assessment of environmental impacts of such a plan was inadequate and fall far short of what is required under the EU Habitat Directive Regulations.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency, who are determining the application, stated that ‘a number of areas were identified as needing additional thought’, and that as a result ‘a more refined and comprehensive application’ will be delivered.

Cromarty Firth Port Authority already has a licence for ship-to-ship transfers for vessels lying alongside the Nigg Oil Terminal. Between 2009 and 2014 there were more than 85 such operations, involving over 6.5 million tonnes of oil.

Read WDC’s submission on the original proposal 

 How you can help

Please make a donation or adopt a dolphin from the Moray Firth today to help ensure a secure and safe future for these special creatures.