Posts Tagged ‘Boat traffic’
See you in court. WDC takes legal action against US government
WDC and its conservation partners filed a suit in US federal court today challenging the US government’s five year delay in designating additional Critical Habitat for critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. Fewer than 500 North Atlantic right whales remain and their survival is threatened by vessel strikes, entanglements in fishing gear, and habitat degradation. …
Read MoreWhat does “success” looks like for WDC’s projects and campaigns
Perhaps one metric for success that we should strive for is to have the number of North Atlantic right whales greater than the number of people working to save them. With fewer than 500 North Atlantic right whales remaining, we are far from meeting that goal. The fatalities they face from ship strikes and fishing gear…
Read MoreThe Most Important Valentine You’ll Send This Year
This year, I am adding a very special recipient to my Valentine’s list: the North Atlantic right whale. Instead of chocolate, I am sending a much more important message: human interest does not trump their right to survive. SIGN TODAY – RIGHT WHALES URGENTLY NEED OUR HELP AGAIN Over the last several decades, the number…
Read MoreTwo people convicted after UK dolphin death
Two people have been ordered to take part in ‘restorative justice’ following the death of a wild dolphin off the coat of Cornwall, UK in 2013. The young dolphin was swimming with a pod near Padstow when up to 25 small boats began harassing them off Daymer Bay last July. Some of the boats drove…
Read MoreMisa-line-ing whale protection
As a federally appointed member of the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team, WDC has worked for the past several years to help develop a plan that would reduce the amount of vertical line in the water column, thereby reducing the risk of entanglement to North Atlantic right whales by commercial fisheries. We were pleased…
Read MoreWDC Wins Again – Ship Speed Limit Rule Extended to Save Whales
NOAA announced today that they will permanently extend the Final Rule Implementing Vessel Speed Restrictions to Reduce the Threat of Ship Collisions With North Atlantic Right Whales. “As we reflect on all that we’ve done to help protect this species over the years, and this past year specifically, we can’t help but feel proud as…
Read MoreA Major Win for Right Whales
In the North American office of WDC, we have spent the last year focused on The Act Right Now campaign, the goal of which was to ensure federal protections for the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. Specifically, the Federal Ship Strike Rule (which was established in 2008 and requires large ships to slow down…
Read MoreWDC demands action to stop porpoises being sliced up by ducted ship propellers
WDC has called on the UK Government to take immediate action after the release of more evidence linking the deaths of large numbers of healthy seals and harbour porpoises to injuries consistent with impact by ducted propellers used by a range of shipping vessels. Between June 2008 and July 2012, 106 dead harbour seals and…
Read MoreWhales die slow death from fishing gear entanglement
Scientists working out of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution have released data that shows ‘for the first time how fishing lines changed a whale’s diving and swimming behavior. The monitoring revealed how fishing gear hinders whales’ ability to eat and migrate, depletes their energy as they drag gear for months or years, and can result…
Read MoreEarthquake monitors could protect fin whales
Researchers at the University of Washington are to use sensors placed on the seabed to monitor and protect endangered fin whales from being killed or injured in collisions with boats. The sensors, which are designed to detect earthquakes, are able to also track the low-pitch frequency call of fin whales. By locating the birthing places of fin…
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