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Dominica announces new protections for sperm whales

Dominica has placed almost 800 square kilometers of sea off the west coast of the...
Commerson's dolphin

New Important Marine Mammal Areas added to global ocean conservation list

Commerson's dolphin Experts from a number of countries have mapped out a new set of...
Vaquita. Photo Thomas Jefferson

Scientific Committee gives first ever official species extinction warning

Photo: Thomas Jefferson We have welcomed the urgent call by experts to protect the vaquita...
blue whale

Whale fossil from Peru may have been heavier than blue whale

Scientists examining the bones of a 39 million-year-old ancient whale have concluded that it may...
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...

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...

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...

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...

Preparations for beluga whale move to Iceland continue

Beluga whale

Ahead of the relocation of Little White and Little Grey to the world’s first open water sanctuary for beluga whales this April, yesterday we gave international media the opportunity to discover how this epic 6,000 mile journey will be delivered to plan and also speak to some of the expert team involved in making this a smooth trip for the two whales.

At the headquarters of Cargolux, our fantastic project transport partner, situated at Luxembourg airport, media were given the chance to step inside the specially branded Boeing 747-400ERF cargo plane that will carry Little White and Little Grey from Changfeng Ocean World in Shanghai, China, to the SEA LIFE TRUST Beluga Whale Sanctuary located in a secluded bay on the remote island Heimaey, one of the Westman islands in Iceland.

We also offered those present the chance to speak to the two Cargolux pilots who will be responsible for helping to deliver this phase of this complex, landmark project, and so help to achieve our long term goal of giving the two whales a better future in their new natural ocean home, and also bring to reality a practical solution to whale and dolphin captivity.

At every step along the way, we have always sought the highest expertise available to ensure the sanctuary is success and that the welfare of the two belugas is paramount. That also extends to the pilots involved in the transportation phase, with Cargolux providing two of their most experienced flight team to fly the plane in April – Claude and Claude.

Speaking to WDC, Claude Zehren a 21-year veteran with Cargolux and captain on the 747 for the past 14 years, said he was extremely excited to be given the opportunity to be part of the team that would be bringing the belugas home to the sea. His colleague and fellow pilot, Claude Konsbrück, Vice-President Flight Operations at Cargolux said that in many ways the flight was pretty much standard but that this time they would have some very special guests onboard when the plane take off from China in a few weeks.

Check out the quick film here which also features our own captivity campaigner, Rob Lott and Rob Hicks from Sea Life.

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