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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 -...
A dolphin called Arnie with a shell

Dolphins catch fish using giant shell tools

In Shark Bay, Australia, two groups of dolphins have figured out how to use tools...
Common dolphins at surface

Did you know that dolphins have unique personalities?

We all have personalities, and between the work Christmas party and your family get-together, perhaps...
Leaping harbour porpoise

The power of harbour porpoise poo

We know we need to save the whale to save the world. Now we are...
Holly. Image: Miray Campbell

Meet Holly, she’s an incredible orca leader

Let me tell you the story of an awe-inspiring orca with a fascinating family story...
Humpback whale. Image: Christopher Swann

A story about whales and humans

As well as working for WDC, I write books for young people. Stories; about the...
Risso's dolphin at surface

My lucky number – 13 years studying amazing Risso’s dolphins

Everything we learn about the Risso's dolphins off the coast of Scotland amazes us and...
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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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Did Icelandic whalers really kill a blue whale?

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

SOS alert for whales off Norway!

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

Norway's whaling season begins

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

Norway increases whaling quota despite declining demand

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

European Parliament passes up opportunity to improve dolphin and porpoise protection

The whole of the European Parliament (751 MEPs) voted yesterday on new conservation measures for fisheries in EU waters. This included rules covering the accidental entanglement (or ‘bycatch’) of dolphins and porpoises. I’d like to say a massive ‘thank you’ if you took part in our action last week and emailed your MEPs to ask them to vote for better protection.

So, what happened? Well, some things were improved for dolphins and porpoises, but these improvements are marginal compared with what could have been achieved. In summary, it was a great big missed opportunity.

Thousands of dolphins, porpoises and whales die in fishing gear in EU seas every year. Since 2004, most EU Member States have been required to undertake some monitoring and put in place some measures for reducing bycatch in some fishing activities.

In November 2017, WDC released a study that showed clearly that, based on independent scientific evidence, the current bycatch regulation is being flouted by most Member States, and is too weak to understand or reduce this serious problem. You can read about the different levels of compliance with the existing regulation in this WDC report.

Whilst these existing measures protect some dolphins and porpoises in some static nets used by the larger boats of the fishing fleet (>12 metres), the measures are not fit-for-purpose and do not currently cover all regions where bycatch is a problem (including the Mediterranean and Black Sea, for example, where there are huge bycatch issues).

Yesterday’s vote followed previous votes in November last year on a draft regulation by both the Environment (ENVI) Committee and the Fisheries (PECH) Committee. It was a massive opportunity to strengthen these inadequate measures and get much better protection for dolphins and porpoises. The European Parliament had the chance to reduce the numbers of individuals suffering a horrific death in fishing gear, but it let it go.

Unfortunately, not all the measures that we hoped for, including some important ones to improve monitoring and mitigation on a wider range of fishing vessel types (as the science has repeatedly shown are required), were put forward as amendments to be voted on. And there were some measures that we wish had not been put forward – like a proposal to remove existing bycatch measures in the Baltic Sea and in South Western Waters, off Spain and Portugal – where porpoise numbers are already low and declining, and the loss of existing measures would surely have seen these populations perish. Luckily, this amendment was not accepted.

There was further good news as bycatch measures were expanded from dolphins, porpoises and whales to cover all marine mammals, including seals, but requests to include consideration of the suffering caused by entanglement were rejected.

So, there were a few positive outcomes and we are glad of those, but on the whole, this was a massive lost opportunity. The European Parliament had the chance to strengthen protection measures, but they threw it away. We are bitterly disappointed that MEPs did not follow scientific advice and take this chance to strengthen the legislation and save dolphins’ and porpoises’ lives.

We will continue to work with our European colleagues to do all we can to improve bycatch measures throughout European waters and stop dolphins and porpoises dying. We will need your support again along the way, so please make sure you are signed up to receive our e-newsletter or you follow us on Facebook or Twitter so we can let you know when we need you to add voice to ours.

If you’d like to make a donation to help us continue this battle, we’d be very grateful.