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Scientific Committee gives first ever official species extinction warning

Scientific Committee gives first ever official species extinction warning

Vaquita. Photo Thomas Jefferson

Photo: Thomas Jefferson We have welcomed the urgent call by experts to protect the vaquita porpoise following the first ever official warning of the imminent extinction of a species by the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission (IWC)  – the global body that regulates whale hunting, and conservation of whales, dolphins and porpoises. Its…

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Humpback whale rescued from shark net in Australia

Humpback whale underwater

A humpback whale and her calf have managed to escape after becoming entangled in a shark net off the coast of Queensland.. Humpback whales spend the austral summer in Antarctica before migrating north during the winter months to breed and give birth in warmer waters. Their migration route takes them along the east or west…

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Half 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…

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Humpback 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…

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WDC scientists join call for global action to protect whales and dolphins from extinction

Scientists from Whale and Dolphin Conservation, along with over 250 other experts from 40 countries, have signed on to an open letter calling for action to urgently address the precarious situation of many populations of whales, dolphins and porpoises, (collectively ‘cetaceans’) many of which face extinction threats due to harmful human activity such as incidental…

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Darwin Initiative boosts whale and dolphin protection work in Senegal

WDC’s work to protect significant numbers of whales and dolphins dying in fishing nets and gear in Senegal, as well as other threats they face, has received a substantial Partnership Project funding boost from the Darwin Initiative. The Darwin Initiative is a UK government grants scheme that funds projects to protect biodiversity and the natural environment in developing…

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Significant victory for WDC in fight to save world’s smallest dolphins

A significant victory in the fight to save dolphins in New Zealand from extinction has been achieved after stricter fishing and environmental protections for the critically endangered Māui and endangered Hector’s dolphins have been sanctioned by the government. The move comes after a long campaign by WDC and gives the Māui and Hector’s a fighting chance…

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80,000 dolphins dying each year in Indian Ocean nets

A new report has revealed the shocking figures behind dolphin deaths in fishing nets in the Indian Ocean, suggesting that populations may have dropped by over 80% in recent decades. The study, led by Dr Charles Anderson of the Manta Marine organisation and published in the journal Endangered Species Research, paints a catastrophic picture, revealing…

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