Posts by Danny Groves
Russian citizens call for action to prevent another whale jail
Reports from inside Russia have revealed more than 100,000 petition signers have raised their objections to captivity and have asked the Russian government to end captures of orcas, beluga whales and dolphins in Russian waters for sale to captive facilities. The national petition-signing campaign involved grassroots protest organisations, many scientists, and celebrities within the country. The…
Read MoreEU Commission asked to do more to tackle climate change
EU Heads of State have taken the unprecedented step of asking the European Commission to propose policy options to tackle the impacts of climate change on the ocean. The move represents a significant step forward for the protection of the marine environment, and in making the ocean more resilient to face the inevitable changes it…
Read MoreWhalers turn whale watchers
WDC and the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Environment Fund are celebrating the launch of two boats that will be dedicated to whale and wildlife watching tours. The two vessels will operate out of Barrouallie, a place better known for the hunting of pilot whales, orcas and some species of dolphins. However, since 2014, WDC has supported…
Read MoreStunning new whale watching venue to be built in Norway
New plans to open a huge, land-based whale watching attraction in Norway will promote the amazing opportunities see whales in Norway but could also help change the opinions of some Norwegians who still support whale hunting in the region. The stunning looking building will sit right on the shore around 300km north of the…
Read MoreInfamous ‘whale jail’ now empty
Reports from Russia suggest the notorious whale jail in Srednyaya bay in Far East Russia is now, finally, empty of whales. The 11 orcas and 87 belugas were initially captured last year for sale to Chinese marine park facilities and were placed into a collection of small sea pens in waters near Nakhodka that became…
Read MoreLost Sowerby’s beaked whale suffered slow and painful death
A female Sowerbys beaked whale found dead on a beach at Gullane, on the outskirts of Edinburgh must have suffered a painful and slow death say experts after a post mortem confirmed rope embedded deep into her skin and blubber, and severe dorsal fluke damage. The lost whale was first reported on Muirfield Beach on…
Read MoreAre right whales ‘whispering’ to avoid predators?
A new study published in the journal Biology Letters, has revealed that North Atlantic right whales alter their calls to their young in order to protect them from predators. Normally right whales use a rising call or ‘whoop’ sound to communicate with each other but, according to the latest research, right whale mothers will ‘whisper’ to…
Read MoreFinancial worth of whales revealed
Policymakers and economists at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have placed a substantial value on the benefits of having healthy whales in the ocean. The report looks at the economic benefits whales provide to industries such as ecotourism, and also the environmental benefits (such as how much carbon they remove from the atmosphere by absorbing…
Read MoreAntibiotic resistance in dolphins mirrors trend seen in humans
Samples collected from dolphins by scientists over a 12 year period indicate that dolphins may be mirroring the trend in human resistance to antibiotic drugs. Researchers looked at the samples from bottlenose dolphins living in the Indian River Lagoon in Florida between 2003 and 2015 and found that nearly 90% of the 733 samples taken…
Read MoreCanada to move two captive belugas to theme park in Spain
Two captive beluga whales are to be moved from the Marineland theme park in Canada to a Spanish facility, despite the Canadian government recently banning live imports and exports of these marine mammals, and the capture of wild whales, dolphins and porpoises for aquaria. The Canadian Fisheries Minister approved the permits for the move under exceptions…
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