Posts by Danny Groves
New date set for beluga move to sanctuary
Following bad weather preventing the initial operation to move two beluga whales from captivity in China to a new ocean home in Iceland, we’re pleased to confirm a new date has been set for the departure of Little Grey and Little White. Our top priority has always been Little Grey and Little White’s welfare and…
Read MoreFisherman frees escapee military whale from body harness
A Norwegian fisherman has reportedly removed a harness attached to a whale believed to have escaped from a Russian naval facility. The whale, thought to be a beluga, was spotted by Fisherman Joar Hesten off the coast of Finnmark in northern Norway. As the whale approached, Hesten put on a survival suit and jumped into…
Read MoreUpdate: Beluga move home to the ocean temporarily postponed
We can confirm the departure of two belugas, Little Grey and Little White from their current home in China to an ocean sanctuary in Iceland has had to be postponed. The temporary delay is due to the final leg of the complicated journey between the Icelandic mainland and the Island of Heimaey. Sadly, due to…
Read MoreNature may have the answer to plastic pollution
Scientists working on solutions to the growing problem of plastic pollution are now focusing attention on a potential breakthrough supplied by Mother Nature. A study by researchers at Utrecht University reveals that several species of mushrooms will break down and ‘eat’ plastic, sometimes in a matter of weeks. Some, such as the oyster mushroom, are…
Read MoreLast Japanese whale hunt for ‘research’ ends as mass slaughter for profit looms
Japanese vessels returned to port this weekend from what appears to be their last Antarctic Ocean whale hunting mission in the name of science. The fleet of five ships led by the 8,145-ton mothership Nisshin Maru left Japan for the Southern Hemisphere in November. Vessels returned to Shimonoseki port in Yamaguchi Prefecture and ports in…
Read MoreScientists offer help to Putin to help free captured whales
A group of scientists representing a range of international organisations, including WDC, have written to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin expressing concerns about the welfare of 87 belugas and 10 orcas currently held in a facility in Srednyaya Bay in Nakhodka, Russia. All were captured last year for sale to Chinese theme parks and dolphinaria,…
Read MoreCandidate conservation areas earmarked in Western Indian Ocean and Arabian Seas
Scientists and observers from 15 different countries have met to map important habitats for marine mammals in the western Indian Ocean and Arabian Seas. The meeting, held in Dhofar was attended by experts from WDC and was the first to look at habitats for rare and endangered whales and dolphins across the Western Indian Ocean…
Read MoreControversial captive dolphin facility to close following another dolphin death
A dolphinaria in Arizona, US has announced that it will close for the immediate future following the death of a fourth dolphin that it held captive. The latest bottlenose dolphin to die was 22 year old Kai, who had not been eating, swimming or breathing normally in recent days according to an official statement. The…
Read MorePlastic found in all whales and dolphins examined for UK research project
Scientists examining dolphins, whales and seals washed up dead around the UK have found every single one had plastic in their digestive systems. All 50 bodies from 10 different species that had died from a variety of causes contained microplastic particles – mostly synthetic fibres that may have been shed by clothes or fishing…
Read MoreAre France and Spain looking to weaken protection for whales and dolphins?
As EU governments continue to negotiate the terms of the Technical Measures under the European Common Fisheries Policy, it is emerging that French and Spanish Ministers seem set to choose fishing interests over the legal protection of dolphins, and other protected marine life, from entanglement in fishing gear in European waters. Entanglement in fishing nets and gear…
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