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North Atlantic right whale - Peter Flood

Whale AID 2023: A Night of Music and Hope for North Atlantic Right Whales

The inaugural Whale AID concert to support Whale and Dolphin Conservation's (WDC's) work to protect...
IMG_6030

Meet the 2023 Interns: Thomas Zoutis

I'm happy to introduce WDC's first Marine Mammal Conservation Intern of the year, Thomas Zoutis!...
MicrosoftTeams-image (9)

Double Your Impact for Marine Animal Rescue & Response

On a chilly day this past December, the WDC North America team celebrated the first...
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WDC’s Education Wishlist = Cleared!

To the WDC Community, I want to thank you so much for your support of...
Hysazu Photography

Looking forward for Southern Resident orcas in 2023

Hysazu Photography 2022 was a big year for Southern Resident orcas - 2022 brought the...
Credit: Seacoast Science Center

The Unlikely Adventure of Shoebert, a Young Grey Seal Who Visited an Industrial Park Pond

Credit: Seacoast Science Center In mid-September, our stranding partners in northern Massachusetts were inundated with...
Leaping harbour porpoise

The power of harbour porpoise poo

We know we need to save the whale to save the world. Now we are...
Right whale - Regina WDC

Whale and Dolphin Conservation: Change Through Policy.

WDC focuses on education, research, conservation projects, and policy work to create a sustainable future...

WDC raises plight of New Zealand dolphin at scientific meeting

WDC has a small but hardworking team at the Biennial meeting of the Marine Mammal Society taking place this week at the University of Otago, in Dunedin, NZ. At the meeting are Erich Hoyt from the UK, Philippa Brakes from NZ and Mike Bossley based in Australia, all of whom have been involved in presenting cetacean conservation material to the conference.

The Biennial is the most important meeting for marine mammal scientists and over a thousand from all over the world are attending this meeting. This provides an important opportunity for us to network with scientists performing important cetacean conservation work, as well as to meet with other NGOs working on cetacean conservation.

Much of our WDC activity has focussed on drawing attention to the plight of the New Zealand Dolphin, whose population is plummeting from being drowned in set nets and trawls. These dolphins could be saved if fishers used alternative techniques. Prior to the meeting we commissioned research which reveals that the people of NZ are fully prepared to pay extra for their fish and chips if it means the dolphins are protected, so there is no excuse not to change fishing methods.

On Tuesday next week WDC will be running a workshop for NZ politicians and policy makers to explore practical ways to implement protection measures.

New Zealand Dolphins (sometimes called Hectors and Mauis dolphins) are found only in New Zealand and are one of the smallest dolphins in the world.