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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...
WDC Seal Rescue April 2023 (1)

WDC conducts milestone seal rescue in Marshfield

For Immediate Release, April 10, 2023 MARSHFIELD, MA - A young grey seal was found...

Hope for whales in South Korea as coastguard announces clamp down on illegal hunting

The South Korean coastguard has announced that it will be increasing efforts to crack down on illegal whaling in the Yellow Sea.

Police and coast guard officials have been catching more and more poachers involved in the hunts, which are fuelled by high prices paid by local restaurants for the meat. A single minke whale can sell for tens of thousands of pounds.

Much of the meat is sold legally because, it is claimed, they have been caught in fishing nets by accident. However, minke whales are protected in South Korea and whalers have been caught deliberately targeting them on a mass scale.

The poaching vessels reportedly move from the nation’s eastern coastal regions to the Yellow Sea along the migration route of the whales. The illegally slaughtered whales are hidden on ships and smuggled into ports.
 
Under a list of measures, coastguard officials will distribute a list of illegal whalers and strengthen inspections on ships leaving and entering ports. They will also crackdown on groups involved in the processing and selling of the meat. Those caught face up to three years in prison however, the most helpful measure would be to stop the legal sales of whale meat from whales accidentally caught in nets, which is fuelling the illegal hunts.

Help WDC stop whaling.