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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...

Endangered porpoise could be even closer to extinction than first thought

Unconfirmed reports on the plight of the vaquita suggest that no more than 12 now remain.

Vaquitas are the world’s smallest and one of the most endangered species of whale, dolphin or porpoise on the planet. Found only in Mexico’s northern Gulf of California, the population has declined by more than 75% in the past three years alone. In Spanish, vaquita means ‘little cow’ and many local people believe them to be ‘mythical creatures’ as most have never seen one and photographs, until recently, were lacking.

In 2017, the International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita reported that there were just 30 left in the northern gulf, but Andrea Crosta, director of the international wildlife trade watchdog group, EAL says that sources think that figure has more than halved in the past year.

The single biggest threat to this species is accidental catch in illegal fisheries targeting yet another endangered species, a fish known as the totoaba. Smuggled into China, dried totoaba swim bladders, worth more than $10,000 each, are used to make maw, a soup thought to boost fertility. 

Read more about how WDC is tackling whale and dolphin deaths in nets.