Posts by Danny Groves
WDC funded research shows ‘pingers’ could save porpoises from fishing nets
Underwater sound devices called ‘pingers’ could be an effective, long-term way to prevent porpoises getting caught in fishing nets without having negative effects on their everyday behaviour. Newly published research part funded by WDC shows that porpoises in the seas off Cornwall were 37% less likely to be found close to an active pinger. Pingers…
Read MoreWhales in Waters Around Russia Could Still Be Captured
A Russian ‘expert’ working group has concluded that the exploitation of whales and dolphins for cultural and educational purposes should continue. The working group was responding to a 100,000 thousand signature petition from members of the public in Russia asking the government there to end captures of orcas, beluga whales and dolphins for sale to…
Read MoreSuccess! Icelandic minke whale hunts end after years of WDC campaigning
Following on from the news that Iceland’s fin whaling vessels will not be leaving port this season to begin their annual hunts, it seems Iceland’s only minke whaling company is ending its hunts for good. Gunnar Bergmann Jonsson, managing director of Icelandic company IP-Utgerd, which specializes in hunting minke whales, has told media that it…
Read MorePositive whaling news emerges from Iceland
News is emerging from Iceland that the company behind Iceland’s fin whale hunts, Hvalur hf, will not be venturing out to kill endangered fin whales this summer. According to Icelandic press reports, Hvalur hf’s owner, Kristian Loftsson, has said the hunts will not take place due to tough market conditions in Japan. This will be the…
Read MoreNewer sonar technology still a threat to whales
A study into the effects of newer underwater sonar technology has revealed that it is just as disruptive to whales as sonar used by the military. Researchers at St. Andrews University, led by Professor Patrick Miller, looked at experiments on continuous sonar near Norway. Data from the new, continuous sonar was compared to data from…
Read MoreSolitary captive dolphin Honey dies
Dolphin Project reports state that a bottlenose dolphin named Honey has died at the Inubosaki Marine Park Aquarium near Tokyo in Japan. She was often described as the world’s loneliest dolphin. Honey was taken from the wild in 2005 in one of the drive hunts that take place each year in Taiji, Japan. In these…
Read MoreSeaWorld CEO parts company with captivity giant
SeaWorld has parted with another CEO. Sergio Rivera was the theme park giant’s chief executive officer for only five months. He is thought to have left after disagreements with the board. Previous CEO, Gus Antorcha, was with SeaWorld for fewer than seven months. He also resigned following internal disagreements over decision making. SeaWorld has faced…
Read MoreDolphins sync when they work together
A new study has shown male bottlenose dolphins synchronise their physical and verbal actions when they work together in a very similar way to humans. Using long-term acoustic data from studying a population of dolphins in Shark Bay, Western Australia, researchers discovered that the male dolphins in the group matched the tempo of each other’s…
Read MoreNo self-isolation for Norwegian whalers
While the world deals with the global issues around a pandemic, it seems that whalers in Norway will not be grounded by the coronavirus. The Norwegian whaling season starts on Wednesday, April 1st with a number of boats set to kill up to 1,278 minke whales. Last year, Norwegian whalers killed 429 minke whales, fewer than in 2018…
Read MoreGood news from Greece on Captivity!
The authorities in Attica, the Greek region that encompasses the city of Athens, have taken away licences for the marine mammal (dolphin) facility at Attica Zoological Park. The move follows pressure from scientists, activists, and members of the public. Recently, vets conducting inspections dismissed the Zoo’s claims that its dolphin performances were educational programs and…
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