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Cruise ship docks with dead whale on bow

Cruise ship docks with dead whale on bow

A cruise ship carrying thousands of passengers has arrived at an Alaskan port carrying the carcass of a 6m long humpback whale on its bow. The Grand Princess, a 290 metre ship pulled into Ketchikan with the whale attached to a submerge part of the bow designed to avoid wave-making. It is not known if the…

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Two whales washed up on UK shores may have been hit by ships

Two whales have been washed up on UK beaches within hours of each other, both believed to have been hit by passing ships. The first incident was reported in Scotland, when a minke whale, thought to have been killed by a boat propeller, came ashore on Easter Ross beach. The whale, which was more than…

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Just A Whale? I don’t think so.

Here in WDC’s North American office we always laugh when someone asks us what a typical day is like. The reason we laugh is because on any given day anything can come up, and last week was a perfect example of that.  We got a call from the harbormaster here in Plymouth on Wednesday about…

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Are whale watching boats the greatest collision threat to whales?

“Revealed: whale-watching boats the greatest collision threat to whales” — this big hype headline sadly comes from The Guardian which is normally more careful about reporting. Their subhead is no better: “Guardian Australia analysis of International Whaling Commission data shows motor yachts, naval vessels and ferries come close behind.” In fact, this database that the journalists…

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WDC wins again – Ship speed limit rule extended to save whales

Following a long running campaign to prevent ships injuring and killing endangered North Atlantic right whales, WDC is pleased to announce that the US government authorities have agreed to permanently extend the 10-knot speed restrictions for all vessels over 65 feet long travelling along the east coast of America. The five year long speed limit…

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WDC Wins Again – Ship Speed Limit Rule Extended to Save Whales

NOAA announced today that they will permanently extend the Final Rule Implementing Vessel Speed Restrictions to Reduce the Threat of Ship Collisions With North Atlantic Right Whales.  “As we reflect on all that we’ve done to help protect this species over the years, and this past year specifically, we can’t help but feel proud as…

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A Major Win for Right Whales

In the North American office of WDC, we have spent the last year focused on The Act Right Now campaign, the goal of which was to ensure federal protections for the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.  Specifically, the Federal Ship Strike Rule (which was established in 2008 and requires large ships to slow down…

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Slow Ships for Safe Whales

As a policy intern I spend most of my time in the office, reading a lot of important papers and doing a lot of important things, but every once in a while they unchain me from my desk (remember, we’re against captivity) and let me out on a boat.  It’s nice to get out on…

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