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Icelandic hunting vessels in port

Whaling boat kept in port after more hunt cruelty exposed

Icelandic whale hunting fleet One of the whaling boats involved in the latest hunts in...
Commerson's dolphin

New Important Marine Mammal Areas added to global ocean conservation list

Commerson's dolphin Experts from a number of countries have mapped out a new set of...
Fin whale shot with two harpoons

Whalers kill just days after Iceland’s hunt suspension is lifted

Whalers in Iceland have claimed their first victims since the lifting (just a few days...
Fin whale

Icelandic government lifts suspension on cruel hunts

The Icelandic government is to allow fin whales to be hunted again after lifting a...

US government approves use of underwater sonic cannons

The US government has announced its approval for the use of loud sonic cannons to find oil and gas deposits below the ocean floor along eastern coastal areas of America.

The approval opens a stretch of water from Delaware to Florida to exploration by energy companies preparing to apply for drilling leases in 2018. It also exposes whale, dolphins and other marine wildlife, such as turtles, to extreme levels of noise pollution under the water. The sonic cannons can fire pulses of sound 100 times louder than a jet engine through the water and down to the ocean floor. The decibel level is higher than that which would cause serious hearing damage in humans, and noise from sonic cannons has been recorded by underwater microphones over 2,000 miles from the source of the original blast.  

Noise pollution threatens whale and dolphin populations, interrupting their normal behaviour, driving them away from areas important to their survival, and at worst injuring or sometimes even causing their deaths. For whales and dolphins, ‘listening’ is as important as ‘seeing’ is for humans, yet there are still no international regulations regarding noise pollution in the world’s seas.