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WDC2023-007 NMLC Release (16)

Seal Rescued in Marshfield Released Back Into The Wild

For Immediate Release, May 31, 2023 PLYMOUTH, MA - A young male grey seal that...

Norway ups whale kill numbers and removes whale welfare protections

The whaling season in Norway has begun on the back of disturbing announcements from the...
Image taken from an unmanned hexacopter at >100ft during a research collaboration between NOAA/SWFSC, SR3 and the Coastal Ocean Research Institute. Research authorized by NMFS permit #19091.

Southern Resident orca petition to list them under Oregon Endangered Species Act advanced

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted today to advance a petition seeking to protect...
Hysazu Photography

WDC and Conservation Partners Continue to Seek Oregon Endangered Species Protection for Southern Resident Orcas

On Friday, April 21st, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission will determine whether the petition...

A deadly season for whales and dolphins in the Faroe Islands

The horrific killing of whales and dolphins continues in the Faroe Islands.  On August 13, two separate drive hunts occurred on the southern islands of Sandoy and Suduroy and resulted in the deaths of 565 individual whales and dolphins. Instead of pilot whales, the hunt in Hvalba targeted Atlantic white-sided dolphins, killing 430 dolphins.  The other hunt occurred in Husavik where 135 pilot whales were driven and killed. WDC is extremely concerned with this staggering number of dolphins targeted and killed in this hunt.  Although it is not uncommon for white-sided dolphins to be targeted in the drive hunts in the Faroe Islands, the last time this species was killed was in 2010, also in Hvalba, where 14 dolphins were killed. In addition, 141 white-sided dolphins were killed in 2009 in Oravik.

To date, an astounding 1085 whales and dolphins have been killed in the Faroe Islands since the first grind was conducted on July 21st.  In just the first 24 days of the hunt season alone, the total number of whales and dolphins killed in the Faroe Islands far eclipses the total number killed in all of last season (713 pilot whales).