WDC in talks with New Zealand‘s Minister for Conservation over dolphin protection
WDC team meets NZ Minister for Conservation Representatives from Whale and Dolphin Conservation have met with New Zealand’s Minister for Conservation, Eugenie Sage to discuss much-needed protection for Māui and Hector’s dolphins. The meeting was secured as part of WDC’s campaign to save these dolphins (collectively known as New Zealand dolphins) and took place as the…
Read MoreNZ government options for dolphins will be a CATastrophe
The New Zealand government is attempting to use a parasite spread by cats as an excuse to deflect from its failure to protect two of the most threatened native dolphin species in the country. Māui and Hector’s dolphins have declined dramatically due to net fishing over the last 50 years. There are fewer than 60…
Read MoreRecord numbers of dolphins dead on French beaches
According to reports from France, huge numbers of dolphins have been washing up dead on French beaches once again. Since the start of 2019, up to 600 dead dolphins have drifted onto beaches along France’s Atlantic coast due, it seems, to incidental capture in in fishing trawls and static fishing nets offshore (also known as bycatch).…
Read MoreWill Japan leave the International Whaling Commission?
Every now and again whaling interests in Japan call on their government to leave the International Whaling Commission (IWC, the body that regulates whaling). ‘JEXIT’ as one commentator noted, trying to be clever. This is not the first time that Japan has threatened to leave the IWC. Seemingly used as a negotiating tool, it has…
Read MoreNo EU-Japan trade agreement unless Japan stops whaling!
When we launched our campaign in March 2016, calling on the EU to make whaling a deal breaker in the negotiations with Japan on a free trade agreement, we had a clear goal: to get the EU to use the trade talks as a powerful tool and put pressure on Japan to stop its whaling…
Read MoreWhat we must do to protect UK dolphins, porpoises and whales from fishing gear after Brexit
How the UK manages fishing in its waters after we leave the EU is outlined in the new Fisheries Bill. This legislation is working its way through the House of Commons and had its second reading last week. You may have been one of the 75,535 people who joined our campaign asking for a new…
Read MoreUrgent step change needed to stop dolphins suffering in fishing nets
Does sustainably caught fish mean no harm has come to dolphins? The quick answer to that question is ‘no’. If you buy fish with a ‘sustainably caught’ or ‘dolphin safe’ eco-label, unless caught with a pole and line, you have no way of knowing whether dolphins, porpoises or whales suffered and died in the process…
Read MoreUkrainian ship's crew held after 46 porpoises die in nets
Illegally nets from a Ukrainian fishing boat have killed nearly 50 porpoises off the Crimean coast. The porpoises died after becoming entangled in almost six miles of nets and investigators believe that were deliberately targeted for illegal export. The crew of the trawler named YaMK-0041 was detained and the captain faces up to five years in jail…
Read MoreNew guidelines introduced to reduce impacts to Southern Resident orcas
The recent Washington State Executive Order and initiation of the Southern Resident Recovery Task Force has already resulted some changes, with new guidelines for the upcoming summer season in the core summer habitat of the endangered Southern Resident orcas. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has announced a voluntary no-go zone for recreational…
Read MorePetition calls for greater protection for Port River dolphins
WDC, together with local press and community organisations, are calling for greater protection for the unique population of indo-pacific bottlenose dolphins that live in the Port River in Adelaide. The dolphins are one of only a few populations that live in an urban environment and with that brings an increased threat from human activities. In…
Read More