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Meet the 2023 Interns: Kaylee McKenna

I'm excited to introduce Kaylee McKenna as WDC's summer Marine Mammal Conservation Intern. Kaylee has...
Lasting legacies

Lasting Legacies: Orca Action Month 2023

Each June we celebrate Orca Month and the unique community of Southern Resident orcas, and this...
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...
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Meet the 2023 Interns: Thomas Zoutis

I'm happy to introduce WDC's first Marine Mammal Conservation Intern of the year, Thomas Zoutis!...
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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...

Teaming up with Fishtek to reduce dolphin deaths in fishing gear

Entanglement in fishing gear (bycatch) is the biggest global threat to dolphins, porpoises and whales. Not only is it the cause of hundreds of thousands of deaths every year, it is an awful way to die. The frustrating thing is, with a joined-up, concerted effort, we could so easily save lives.

Our colleagues at Fishtek work hard to provide practical and innovative solutions, such as pingers (devices that emit sounds to warn creatures away) to prevent dolphins and porpoises, as well as seabirds, turtles and sharks, meeting this fate.

Recently, Fishtek and WDC have joined forces with other international experts as members of a bycatch mitigation panel to find creative and effective ways to stop dolphins, porpoises and whales dying in fishing gear all around the world.

Fishtek have also teamed up with Triodos Bank to raise funds to increase uptake of their existing, effective devices and also to them to develop new, much-needed products to reduce this unnecessary bycatch, specifically bycatch solutions such as SharkGuard.

If these devices can be introduced to the fishing fleets where bycatch exists, with other measures where required, lives can be saved immediately, with minimal impact to fishing activities.

Fishtek is making a practical difference, all around the world, to the numbers of dolphins, porpoises, whales, seabirds, turtles and sharks dying in fishing gear.

Find out more about this partnership and how Fishtek are hoping to fund it.