WDC helping to shape the future for UK dolphins and porpoises
Last week, WDC took part in a two day workshop to help shape a “UK Dolphin and Porpoise Conservation Strategy”. We hope the strategy, once finalised will help to protect these species from bycatch, disturbance, pollution, noise and other pressures, individually as well as collectively. We warmly welcome this initiative, which has developed from an…
Read MoreEuropean Parliament passes up opportunity to improve dolphin and porpoise protection
The whole of the European Parliament (751 MEPs) voted yesterday on new conservation measures for fisheries in EU waters. This included rules covering the accidental entanglement (or ‘bycatch’) of dolphins and porpoises. I’d like to say a massive ‘thank you’ if you took part in our action last week and emailed your MEPs to ask…
Read MoreBycatch responsible for two more species being placed on the Endangered List!
Unfortunately, 2017 is not turning out to be a great year for whales, dolphins and porpoises with the numbers of some species dropping to worrying levels. Added to the list of “endangered” species by the IUCN are the Irrawaddy dolphin and the finless porpoise both having had their numbers more than halved over the last…
Read MoreDeath of a species
The discovery of yet another dead endangered North Atlantic right whale off Virginia brings the loss to a total of 18 dead since April, a devastating blow to the species during a year when only five calves were born. While 12 of the deaths occurred in Canadian waters between June and September, this latest mortality…
Read MoreOpportunity lost in EU Ministers bycatch vote
On Tuesday there was an important vote in the European Parliament Fisheries Committee about fisheries conservation measures including future bycatch measures for dolphins, porpoises and whales. Here is a summary of what happened in the vote on bycatch. The existing (inadequate) rules for monitoring and mitigating dolphin and porpoise bycatch remain intact for now and…
Read MoreFuture of European dolphins lies in EU Fisheries Committee hands TODAY!
Today (on Tuesday afternoon), MEPs from across Europe will vote on a range of fisheries measures aimed to conserve fish stocks, habitats and protected species. The vote will include measures to protect dolphins, porpoises and whales, as well as seabirds, seals and turtles, from incidental entanglement in fishing gear. Many thousands of dolphins, porpoises and…
Read MoreConserving Migratory Species
Some species of whales and dolphins can migrate many thousands of miles, travelling through the national waters of a number of different countries to get to their destinations. Others can live their lives more locally in the national waters of more than one country – take for example a dolphin in the Mediterranean Sea, in…
Read MoreAnother risky summer for West Coast humpbacks
For the third year in a row, the coast of California has been treated to a “whale spectacular” of humpback whales coming very close to shore, even into San Francisco Bay, giving tourists and residents, both casual onlookers and avid whale watchers, an amazing look into the lives of these magnificent beings. The whales are…
Read MoreMichael Gove sets out his vision of 'Green Brexit'
On Friday, I and some eighty plus conservationists and journalists were invited to listen to the UK Secretary of State for the Environment, Michael Gove MP, speak at what was his first major speech after having been appointed some six weeks ago. Before he spoke, WWF, who were hosting the event at their headquarters in…
Read MoreWDC visits European Parliament to stop dolphins and porpoises dying in fishing gear!
This week WDC was proud to co-host an event in the European Parliament in Brussels. Led by our friends at Birdlife, the event was a great opportunity to highlight the massive issue of seabirds, marine mammals and turtles dying in fishing gear in European waters. We talked to MEPs about the scale of the problem…
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