New research on Southern Resident orcas highlights risks to population
Two recently published papers provide new information about the highly endangered Southern Resident orca population and threats to their survival and recovery. This unique community of orcas lives in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of the U.S. and Canada, and is primarily threatened by prey depletion, pollution, and acoustic and physical disturbance. Previous research…
Read MoreNew Zealand government to undertake net review after dolphin deaths
The government in New Zealand is reviewing the use of commercial set nets (a type of gillnet that is attached to the seabed) after the deaths of five Hector’s dolphins in one net in February. The incident took place off the Banks Peninsula off the east coast of the South Island. A complete ban on…
Read MoreEndangered porpoise could be even closer to extinction than first thought
Unconfirmed reports on the plight of the vaquita suggest that no more than 12 now remain. Vaquitas are the world’s smallest and one of the most endangered species of whale, dolphin or porpoise on the planet. Found only in Mexico’s northern Gulf of California, the population has declined by more than 75% in the past three…
Read MoreWDC participates in ropeless fishing workshop
Last week, WDC was invited to participate in Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s workshop on reducing entanglements to critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. At this workshop, engineers introduced developing technologies for remote gear retrieval, which means a method for fishing that doesn’t use rope connecting the lobster trap at the ocean floor to the buoy…
Read MoreDolphins and fishermen working together in Brazil
The BBC reports on how dolphins and fishermen work together to catch fish in Brazil. This kind of collaborative fishing also happens in other parts of the world. However, the use of illegal fishing nets in the area is resulting in some dolphins dying entangled in these nets.
Read MoreWDC and Partner Groups demand US and Canada act to save North Atlantic right whales
Critically Endangered Whales Suffered Mass Die-off on East Coast in 2017 WDC and its conservation and animal-protection partners sought action today by the United States and Canada to prevent painful, deadly entanglements in fishing gear that threaten the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. In letters to Canadian officials and the U.S. National Marine Fisheries…
Read MoreNew findings highlight decline in North Atlantic right whale population
The past five years have seen the population of North Atlantic right whales fall from 482 in 2010 to 458 in 2015 according to a new model used to estimate their numbers. Over the preceding twenty years the findings revealed the population had increased from around 270 whales in 1990 at a rate of just under 3%.…
Read MoreDolphins in New Zealand listed on US Endangered Species Act
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has agreed to list the Maui Dolphin as Endangered and the South Island Hector’s dolphin as Threatened on the US Endangered Species Act on October 19th. Consultation on the proposal took place last year and WDC was one of the organizations that wrote in support while at the…
Read MoreAnother risky summer for West Coast humpbacks
For the third year in a row, the coast of California has been treated to a “whale spectacular” of humpback whales coming very close to shore, even into San Francisco Bay, giving tourists and residents, both casual onlookers and avid whale watchers, an amazing look into the lives of these magnificent beings. The whales are…
Read MoreLatest UK report highlights lack of action to stop hundreds of dolphins dying in fishing nets
The latest report on the numbers of dolphins and porpoises killed in fishing nets and gear in waters around the UK reveals the estimated total caught accidentally by the UK fishing industry is still alarming high, and highlights that too little is being done to stop these unnecessary deaths. The report, released by Defra (Department…
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