Design plans for a new eco-yacht that collects plastic from the ocean and recycles it into fuel have been unveiled in Southampton.
The £40million 'Ocean Saviour' has been specially designed to scoop up five tonnes of plastic pollution each day, which is then recycled into fuel that will power the vessel itself.
Moby, the oldest dolphin held in captivity died today at the Nuremberg Zoo, Germany.
Moby, who was thought to be around 58 years old, had been held in captivity since 1971. The exact cause of death is not known at present but further details may be released by the zoo following investigations.
Throughout much of his life, Moby could be seen swimming in the same pattern around his tank, a sign of stereotypic behaviour often seen in intelligent, wide-ranging marine mammals like dolphins when they are held in captivity for long periods.
Japan’s hopes of overturning the 32-year-old ban on commercial whale hunting by changing current international regulations have been defeated following a vote at the International Whaling Commission (the body that regulates whale hunting) in Brazil today.
Japan’s proposal had been seen as one of the most dangerous threats to the ban on whaling and the future of whales for many years, bringing back large scale whaling and ending one of the biggest successes in conservation history.
Following yesterday’s vote against the creation of a sanctuary for whales in the South Atlantic, more bad news for whales emerged from the International Whaling Commission meeting (the body that regulates whaling) in Brazil today with the passing of a proposal to allow some countries to have more control over the numb
Whale and Dolphin Conservation’s Scottish Dolphin Centre in Spey Bay has received an award from Volunteer Friendly Scotland in recognition of its work to support, encourage and develop its own volunteer staff.
A proposal to establish a South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary (SAWS) has failed to be ratified at International Whaling Commission (IWC – the body that regulates whale hunting), which is meeting in Brazil this week.
The sanctuary would prevent whale hunting and encourage research and economic opportunities for local communities in the South Atlantic, but it failed to pass with a 61% majority voting against it, and despite the IWC’s own Scientific Committee already giving the plan its backing.
Following public outcry and representation from environmental groups, including WDC, the Wellington High Court in New Zealand has reversed a previous decision by the country's Environmental Protection Authority allowing up to 50 million tonnes of iron sand to be mined from a 66sq km area off the South Taranaki Bight for a 35 year period.
WDC has joined up with other organisations to help with a new research project looking into the problem of marine mammal entanglement in fishing gear in Scottish waters, which has just been launched.
The first of its kind in Europe, the Scottish Entanglement Alliance (SEA) brings together fishing industry representatives, researchers and conservation and welfare charities to assess the scale and impact of the issue.
We are very excited to reveal the news that Rainbow and Kesslet, two of the WDC adoption programme bottlenose dolphins in Scotland have given birth to baby calves.