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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...

Plastic found in all whales and dolphins examined for UK research project

Scientists examining dolphins, whales and seals washed up dead around the UK have found every single one had plastic in their digestive systems.

All 50 bodies from 10 different species that had died from a variety of causes contained microplastic particles – mostly synthetic fibres that may have been shed by clothes or fishing nets. Some plastic found came from food packaging or bottles.

Sarah Nelms, from the University of Exeter, who lead the research said the findings were ‘shocking - but not surprising.’

Species studied included Atlantic white-sided dolphin , common dolphin, bottlenose dolphin, and harbor porpoise.

Plastic is a growing threat to whales and dolphins as well as seabirds and other marine creatures with over half of all whale and dolphin species recorded eating plastics they've mistaken for food.

For more information on the plastics issue, its effect of whales and dolphins, and how you can help, go to WDC’s #NotWhaleFood site.