How will we stop dolphins, porpoises and whales dying in fishing gear in UK seas?
We’ve been busy since we launched our campaign! We’re determined to make sure appropriate laws are in place to protect dolphins, porpoises and whales from fishing gear in UK seas post-Brexit. If you are one of the tens of thousands of people who have signed our Care2 petition – thank you! If you haven’t yet signed…
Read MoreFishermen arrested after spinner dolphins die in nets off Sri Lanka
I’m particularly saddened and concerned at the recent news that a dozen dolphins have died after being trapped in a beach seine net in the inner harbour at Trincomalee, northeast Sri Lanka. The dolphins were identified as spinner dolphins by WDC colleague, conservation biologist, Ranil Nanayakkara. Spinners, possibly the most acrobatic of all dolphin species,…
Read MoreWest African bycaught dolphins provide insights for new method for health assessment
Winners of the 2016 WDC Bharathi Viswanathan Award, Marie-Francoise Van Bressem and colleagues, studied photographs of dolphins bycaught in fishing gear from three Ghanaian ports, to develop an opportunistic, non-invasive research tool to examine epidemiological aspects of the general health of free-ranging and by-caught cetaceans. Read more about this novel research here and if you are…
Read MoreSo how was the IWC for you?
So IWC66 ends with a celebration of whale-themed ties, which, believe it or not, was won by a Japanese delegate. He was sporting a bright Moby Dick themed tie. so I guess that, as it’s a whaling themed tie, the individual concerned may be allowed back into Japan’s Far Seas Fisheries building where their whaling…
Read MoreAre the Irrawaddy dolphins in Burma holding steady or are they headed for extinction?
In Burma, Irrawaddy dolphins have generally been revered by local people in addition to providing direct economic benefits to cast-net fishermen through their role in a human-dolphin cooperative fishery. As with other dolphins who live in such close proximity to humans there are several threats to their survival however, in Burma there is concern that…
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