Progress for our campaign as New Zealand takes action to protect dolphins from fishing nets
Following our long-running campaign to save endangered Hector’s dolphins, the New Zealand government has announced action … but will it be enough? Hector’s dolphins live only around New Zealand and their safety and survival is at risk from dying in fishing nets as ‘bycatch’. We’ve been campaigning hard to get the most dangerous nets banned…
Read MoreA breath of fresh air – why I love studying beautiful Commerson’s dolphins
Lockdown in Argentina has been long and tough and so I was excited when restrictions eased and we could finally visit our Commerson’s dolphin field research project. After spending close to a year in confinement in my home city of Buenos Aries, it was literally a breath of fresh air to travel to the beautiful,…
Read MoreAmazing, beautiful Commerson’s dolphins and what we’re doing to protect them
Have you heard of Commerson’s dolphins? These little-known dolphins are beautiful, full of character and in trouble. We’ve been studying and working to protect them for 25 years now and to celebrate I thought I’d share the lives of these remarkable dolphins with you, including the story of a wonderful dolphin mother named Frank. WDC…
Read MoreTragic tale of the UK orcas facing extinction
If you watched David Attenborough’s Extinction: The Facts, you’ll have heard the tragic account of the group of orcas known as the West Coast Community. They face almost certain extinction because of human chemical pollution. These orcas spend their time between Scotland, Wales and Ireland and until 2016 it was believed that there were nine…
Read MoreWe’ve won protection for Māui and Hector’s dolphins, but is it enough?
After decades of our campaigning, the New Zealand government has finally released the Threat Management Plan (TMP) for the Māui and Hector’s dolphins who live only around this country’s shores. It’s more protection than these dolphins have ever had before and we are grateful to the New Zealand government for pushing hard for these changes,…
Read MoreHow has the world changed for whale and dolphin protection?
A veteran conservationist looks back… I’m Dr Mike Bossley and I’ve been engaged in research, conservation and education for the past 50 years. I’ve worked with and for WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation for about 25 of those years, having headed-up Greenpeace Australia in the late 1970s and early 80s. Although technically semi-retired, here I…
Read MoreCoronavirus and New Zealand dolphins: many questions, few answers
Like people over the world, New Zealanders have recently been faced with a lot of time at home. Fortunately, humans are remarkably resourceful and we have come up with a variety of ways to amuse, distract and entertain ourselves during these difficult times. As well as being strange and difficult, these are also very sad…
Read MoreHow we’re protecting whales and dolphins across borders
It’s all very well individual nations putting their own conservation plans into action, but what about species, like whales, dolphins and porpoises, that don’t just stay in one country – how do we protect them? Last week I told you that I was at a meeting of the Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species (or…
Read MoreConservation in action – working on an international stage to protect whales and dolphins
Unlike us humans, whales, dolphins and porpoises don’t entertain the concept of borders. For them it’s not the artificial construct of imaginary barriers that prevents them from living their life as they please, for them it’s all just one big connected ocean (or river). For those species that migrate, whether it’s a journey from one…
Read MoreBuying fish – can you ever be sure that dolphins haven’t suffered?
In the future, dolphins, porpoises and whales won’t get caught in fishing gear – that’s our goal. Entanglement in fishing nets and gear is known as ‘bycatch’ and it’s the biggest threat to dolphins, porpoises and whales on the planet today. Nobody, including fishers, wants them to suffer this way. But until this future, is…
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