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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...

Mass whale stranding linked to extreme man-made noise for the first time

A detailed investigation into a highly unusual mass stranding in May-June 2008 in which about 100 melon-headed whales washed up around the Loza Lagoon, northwest Madagascar has concluded that the cause was likely to have been high levels of underwater noise from sonar used by an oil exploration company to map the seabed. 

The report says that noise  from a high-power 12kHz multibeam echosounder system operated by a survey vessel contracted by ExxonMobil Exploration and Production (Northern Madagascar) Limited was determined to be the most likely cause of the mass stranding.

While aspects of this tragic event will remain unknown, the Independent Scientific Review Panel systematically excluded or deemed highly unlikely nearly all potential reasons for the animals leaving their typical offshore habitat and entering the Loza Lagoon. Seismic airguns, used in an offshore seismic survey several days after the whales were already in the lagoon system, were ruled out.

The multibeam echosounder system operated intermittently about 65km offshore by a survey vessel the day before the first known stranding. 

Evidence of the widespread impacts of intense noise pollution continues to be felt by an increasing number of whale and dolphin species throughout the worlds’ oceans. Regulators, and marine users that generate intense noise pollution, need to reassess how we manage and mitigate these disruptive and sometimes fatal sources of pollution. Noise-reducing alternatives to noisy sound sources should be advanced wherever possible”.

The full report can be found here: http://iwc.int/2008-mass-stranding-in-madagascar