Posts by Danny Groves
Icelandic whalers kill first fin whales in four years
As feared, whale hunters in Iceland have slaughtered at least two fin whales, the first to be killed in four years. Hopes remain that the cruel practice will end in 2023 after the country’s Fisheries Minister, Svandís Svavarsdóttir cast doubt over its future a few weeks ago, saying that there is now little justification for authorizing…
Read MorePumps and conveyor belts. How could more whales help save us?
We are excited to announce backing for two ground-breaking research projects to assess the little understood impact whales have on marine productivity and carbon capture. The projects, run by scientists from US and UK universities, will explore the extent to which whales transfer vital nutrients as they feed, defecate and migrate. The Alaska Whale Pump…
Read MoreHigh mercury levels found in slaughtered Japanese dolphin meat
According to reports from Japan, police there are investigating the sale of whale and dolphin meat containing potentially illegal levels of dangerous toxins. Action for Dolphins group say tests on samples of meat sold in the coastal town of Taiji reveal mercury levels up to 25 times higher that safe limits set by the government.…
Read MoreSweden’s last dolphin shows to end
Sweden will become dolphinaria-free following the announcement by Kolmården Zoo in Stockholm that it will be closing its dolphin facility, which currently holds twelve bottlenose dolphins. The Zoo says it wants to focus on the conservation of endangered species and end its 50-year-old era of keeping dolphins. The dolphinarium will remain in operation until the…
Read MoreThe show is over for captive orca Lolita
Lolita, the orca, held at the Miami Seaquarium in Florida since 1970, will no longer perform in shows at the theme park. New managers at the Florida facility have announced that Lolita, also known to many as Tokitae, and thought to be around 56 years old, will be retired from performances in the stadium tank. MS Leisure, a…
Read MoreLatest Taiji slaughter season ends with many dolphins killed
Fishermen in the coastal town of Taiji, Japan have ended this season’s brutal dolphin hunt and, according to local sources, have killed or captured over 550 whales and dolphins. Species killed include Risso’s and striped dolphins as well as melon-headed whales and short-finned pilot whales. These drive hunts run from September to March or April…
Read MoreNorway’s government gives green light for slaughter of hundreds of whales this year
Just weeks after Iceland indicated it is moving away from cruel whale hunting, Norway’s government has announced that its whalers can kill hundreds of minke whales in 2022. Bjørnar Skjæran, Norway’s new Minister of Fisheries and Marine Affairs has set a quota (numbers that can be killed) of 917 minke whales for the upcoming hunt…
Read MoreHalf a million net death petition handed to EU Commission
Over half a million citizens have signed a petition to demand action to stop thousands of dolphins dying in fishing nets (bycatch) in the Bay of Biscay. The petition has been handed over to European Commission Deputy Director General of DG Environment, Patrick Child, the French Director of Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Eric Banel, and…
Read MoreHumpback whale freed from rope entanglement by passing orcas
A strange incident involving a pod of orcas and an entangled humpback whale off the coast of western Australia has left experts scratching their heads. Observers from Whale Watch Western Australia captured drone footage of what appeared to be a number of orcas freeing a humpback whale from a discarded rope that had become wrapped…
Read MoreInfamous whale jail dismantled – could a capture ban be next?
A Russian facility used to house captured whales in cramped conditions has finally been dismantled, hopefully putting an end to anymore cruel activities at the site. Dubbed the ‘whale jail’ after an international outcry, the floating pens in Srednyaya bay in Far East Russia were emptied of whales in late 2019 following public criticism from…
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