Posts by Danny Groves
Update: Beluga move home to the ocean temporarily postponed
We can confirm the departure of two belugas, Little Grey and Little White from their current home in China to an ocean sanctuary in Iceland has had to be postponed. The temporary delay is due to the final leg of the complicated journey between the Icelandic mainland and the Island of Heimaey. Sadly, due to…
Read MoreNature may have the answer to plastic pollution
Scientists working on solutions to the growing problem of plastic pollution are now focusing attention on a potential breakthrough supplied by Mother Nature. A study by researchers at Utrecht University reveals that several species of mushrooms will break down and ‘eat’ plastic, sometimes in a matter of weeks. Some, such as the oyster mushroom, are…
Read MoreEU parliament approves ban on single use plastics
The European Union parliament has announced today that it has approved a ban on single-use plastics, a move that would reduce the amount of plastic pollution feeding into rivers and then out to the ocean. The ban covers several types of products, such as straws, cutlery and cotton buds, with the EU also encouraging all…
Read MoreControversial captive dolphin facility to close following another dolphin death
A dolphinaria in Arizona, US has announced that it will close for the immediate future following the death of a fourth dolphin that it held captive. The latest bottlenose dolphin to die was 22 year old Kai, who had not been eating, swimming or breathing normally in recent days according to an official statement. The…
Read MorePlastic 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.…
Read MoreAre France and Spain looking to weaken protection for whales and dolphins?
As EU governments continue to negotiate the terms of the Technical Measures under the European Common Fisheries Policy, it is emerging that French and Spanish Ministers seem set to choose fishing interests over the legal protection of dolphins, and other protected marine life, from entanglement in fishing gear in European waters. Entanglement in fishing nets and gear…
Read MoreOrcas held in Russian whale jail face threat from ice
The 11 orcas captured last year for sale to China and currently held along with 87 beluga whales in small sea pens described as a ‘whale jail’ near Vladivostok, may start dying after many have reportedly developed frostbite. As temperatures begin to drop at the site, ice is starting to form on the surface of…
Read MoreNo change in Norway as number of whales to be killed remains high
Norway’s Minister of Fisheries has announced today that the country has set itself the same number of whales that it will seek to kill in 2019 as were slaughtered in 2018. The quota level will be 1278 minke whales, a very high figure given the lack of demand for the meat in Norway. Some of…
Read MoreJapan to resume commercial hunts the day after leaving IWC
According to reports from Japan, whalers there are looking to begin a commercial whale hunt (killing whales for profit) one day after Japan formally withdraws from the IWC (International Whaling Commission – the global body that regulates whale hunting), on July 1st. This will be the first time Japan has openly hunted whales commercially for…
Read MoreIcelandic whaling report raises concerns
A long-anticipated report into the economic impact of Icelandic whaling has been released and raises a number of concerns. Commissioned by the Icelandic government’s Ministry of Industries and Innovation, which includes the pro-whaling Fisheries Ministry, the report is authored by the University of Iceland’s Institute of Economic Studies, and concludes that whaling is of overall benefit to the…
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