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WDC joins new project helping to prevent whale and dolphin entanglement in fishing gear

WDC joins new project helping to prevent whale and dolphin entanglement in fishing gear

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…

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Warmer waters threaten whales in Pacific Ocean

Whales migrating through the waters off California in the US maybe at risk from the unusual warming in the Pacific Ocean, which is causing them to change their feeding habits. In 2015, more than 60 whales that have become entangled in fishing gear have been spotted along the coastline, up 400 percent on normal levels.…

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Record number of whales entangled on US west coast

A record number of whales were reported entangled in fishing gear in in 2014 off the west coast of the US (Washington State, Oregon and California), according to figures from the US authorities. The data, released by the Center for Biological Diversity, shows that at least 30 whales, mainly gray and humpback, were found entangled,…

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Collaboration Results in Exciting Development for Large Whales

Earlier this week the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team met in person for the first time since 2012.  This team of 60 members consists of scientists, conservationists, state officials, and members of the fishing industry hailing from all over the East Coast of the US.  WDC has held a seat on this federally appointed…

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ENTANGLEMENT: A Deadly Mess for Whales

Images collected under MMPA Research permit number 1058-1733-01 Photo credit: NOAA/NEFSC/Peter Duley For over a week now, fishery officials have been searching for a badly injured North Atlantic right whale in Canadian waters. The whale is believed to have suffered severe injuries as a result of becoming entangled in fishing lines; the ropes can get wrapped around…

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WDC sues US government to protect whales

WDC together with a coalition of other environmental and animal protection groups is suing the US federal government over a failure to take action to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. Only about 450 North Atlantic right whales exist today, making them one of the world’s most endangered large whales. Without this additional protection,…

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WDC responds to recent publication

A recent essay published by Dr. Michael Moore in ICES Journal of Marine Science, chronicles the horrendous suffering experienced by large whales which become entangled in fishing gear.  The graphic image of a dead critically endangered North Atlantic right whale that was “dissected” by gillnet gear while it was still alive, is horrific.  But the…

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Misa-line-ing whale protection

As a federally appointed member of the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team, WDC has worked for the past several years to help develop a plan that would reduce the amount of vertical line in the water column, thereby reducing the risk of entanglement to North Atlantic right whales by commercial fisheries.   We were pleased…

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