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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...
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  • All policy news
  • Create healthy seas
  • End captivity
  • Prevent deaths in nets
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  • Strandings

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...

What we must do to protect UK dolphins, porpoises and whales from fishing gear after Brexit

How the UK manages fishing in its waters after we leave the EU is outlined in the new Fisheries Bill. This legislation is working its way through the House of Commons and had its second reading last week. You may have been one of the 75,535 people who joined our campaign asking for a new law to include strong measures to stop dolphins, porpoises and whales dying in fishing nets (as ‘bycatch’) in UK seas – dolphin bycatch even got a mention when the Bill was being discussed in parliament.

This week, WDC submitted a response – focussed on bycatch – to the parliamentary committee that is reviewing the content of the Bill. 

The Fisheries Bill includes an important framework for managing bycatch, but it needs to be improved. It’s all very well having a top-level framework, but to actually stop dolphins, porpoises and whales dying a horrible death in fishing gear in our seas we’re going to need strong secondary legislation. This will contain the details and practical measures that will enable the law to be operational and enforced. That’s the message WDC provided in our response. 

When we presented our petition to Fisheries Minister, George Eustice last year, he stated his ambition to be a world-leader in tackling whale and dolphin bycatch, and internationally the UK government has a good track record in this regard. The UK is also streets ahead of many other countries in its consideration of whale and dolphin welfare in decision making and has shown leadership in efforts to reduce bycatch through various international conventions, including the International Whaling Commission (the body that regulates whaling). 

Here in the UK, approximately 1,500 harbour porpoises and hundreds of dolphins and seals, as well as whales, seabirds and sharks, still die in fishing gear deployed by the UK fleet every year. An unknown number (but likely as many) die in gear of non-UK fleets fishing in UK waters, as well as in UK nets in European waters. Also, worrying numbers of humpbacks and minke whales become entangled in static creel lines, mainly in Scotland. High levels of bycatch (including these entanglements) have continued for decades in some regions, including in the Celtic and Irish Sea, North Sea, English Channel and Scottish waters. Each individual dolphin, porpoise or whale who dies in a net suffers enormously and some populations may even be declining because of bycatch. The good news is that we can change this. The Fisheries Bill, and the secondary legislation I talked about earlier, provides us with that chance.

If the UK genuinely wants to be a world-leader in tackling dolphin, porpoise and whale bycatch, we need to improve the framework in the Fisheries Bill and put secondary legislation in place to implement it. With your support, we’re working with political and legal experts to make sure this happens and that the UK laws we have after Brexit are actually strong enough to stop the suffering and save lives.

If you would like to make a donation to help us with this important work, we promise to put it to good use straight away.