Sonar tied to deaths of 400 dolphins? (3 May 2006)

Japanese fleet returns with vast whale haul (21 Apr 2006)

Over 1,100km of fishing net killing Britain's porpoises and dolphins (13 Mar 2006)

4 Belugas from Russia arrived at Taiwan (17 Feb 2006)

Whale lost in River Thames dies (21 Jan 2006)

3 May 2006

Sonar tied to deaths of 400 dolphins?

About 400 dead bottlenose dolphins washed up on 28 April along the shore of a popular tourist destination on Zanzibar's northern coast. It was not immediately clear what killed the 400 dolphins, whose carcasses were strewn along a 2 1/2-mile stretch of Nungwi, said Narriman Jidawi, a marine biologist at the Institute of Marine Science in Zanzibar.

Scientists are now studying the remains of some of the 400 dolphins. Among other possibilities, marine biologists were examining whether U.S. Navy sonar threw the animals off course.

Some scientists surmise that loud bursts of sonar, which can be heard for miles in the water, may disorient or scare marine mammals, causing them to surface too quickly and suffer the equivalent of what divers call the bends — when sudden decompression forms nitrogen bubbles in tissue.

A U.S. Navy task force patrols the coast of East Africa in counterterrorism operations. A Navy spokesman ruled out the possibility Navy sonar might have disoriented the dolphins and led to their deaths. He said there were no U.S. Navy vessels within 580 miles of the location in the 48 hours before it happened.

The most conclusive link between the use of military sonar and injury to marine mammals was observed from the stranding of whales in 2000 in the Bahamas. The U.S. Navy later acknowledged that sonar likely contributed to the stranding of the extremely shy species.

In Zanzibar, a preliminary examination of their dolphins' stomach contents failed to show the presence of squid beaks or other remains of animals hunted by dolphins. Their general condition, however, appeared to show that they had eaten recently, since their ribs were not clearly visible under the skin.

Experts are preparing to further examine the dolphins' stomachs for traces of poisonous substances such as toxic "red tides" of algae.

Source: The Associated Press

21 April 2006

Japanese fleet returns with vast whale haul

Japan's so called ‘research' voyage to Antarctica ended 14 April with the return of the fleet to Kanazawa Port. On board, their research subjects are already processed, shrink-wrapped and frozen into neat blocks. The meat from 853 minke whales and ten fin whales will now be sold to subsidise future years' research in Antarctica (where 50 humpback whales, and 40 more fin whales will be added in 2007) and the North Pacific, where Japan ‘studies' 160 minkes, 50 Bryde's, 100 sei and 10 sperm whales each year.

WDCS anticipates that Japan will again have trouble selling the meat from this hunt. Last summer, 4,800 tonnes of whale meat were stored in warehouses in Japan, which included 20 percent of meat from the 2005 hunt which was unsold. The addition of fin whales and almost double the number of minkes this year will add over 1000 extra tonnes of meat, but prices continue to fall. Japan must be hoping that the species will re-awaken consumer interest, but the signs are not good: Bryde's meat - a new species in 2000 - has fallen to almost half its initial value; while the price of sei meat – new in 2002 and once the most prized species - has fallen by almost a third since it was first sold.

To shift the meat, the government is selling it at a great discount, including to schools. More than 1.6 tons of whale meat were served as school lunch in hundreds of schools in Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka and Nara prefectures and in Tokyo in January 2006, almost double the amount for the whole of 2005.

WDCS is also very concerned about the methods Japan used to kill these fin whales. Killing whales as large as fin, sei and sperm whales at sea under difficult circumstances is fraught with problems, which is reflected in the poor rate of instantaneous kills that Japan has reported from its Pacific hunt of the bigger species. Of even greater concern is the fate of whales that escape wounded and may die lingering deaths.

Source: WDCS

13 Mar 2006

Over 1,100km of fishing net killing Britain's porpoises and dolphins

Thousands of Britain's porpoises and dolphins are feared to be dying each year in over 1,100km of bottom set fishing nets currently in use off the south west coast of England while the UK Government has failed to implement the EU law brought in to protect them.

According to figures from Fisheries Minister Ben Bradshaw, some 1,100 km of gill and tangle nets – enough to stretch the length of the UK eight times over – is used by British fishermen in the waters to the south west of England.

With both harbour porpoise and common dolphin populations threatened by these fishing nets, WDCS, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, is calling on the government to act now before it is too late.

Gill nets and tangle nets are set on the seabed using anchors or weights and left to fish passively, for several days in some fisheries. The netting is fine, light and cheap and can be fished in huge quantities - over 100 km per vessel in the case of tangle nets. French, Irish and Spanish fishing vessels also use bottom set nets in this area.

Harbour porpoises are particularly at risk from these nets because of their feeding behaviour near the seabed. However, common dolphins are also getting killed. These animals become tangled in both gill nets and tangle nets and in their struggle to free themselves, become tightly gripped by the net. After a struggle which can result in cuts, severed fins and tail and even a broken beak, the animal eventually suffocates and dies. While some of the nets' victims wash up on the beaches in the south west, the majority sink to the ocean bed and go unrecorded.

Since the 1st January, these nets are legally required to be fitted with “pingers”, electronic acoustic devices designed to keep porpoises away from the danger. Despite having more than 18 months notice since the EU law was adopted, Bradshaw has now admitted that not enough preparation has been done to be confident that the pingers can be introduced effectively. A further two month trial is due to be completed at the end of March. In the meantime, porpoises and dolphins continue to die in these nets.

Source: WDCS

17 Feb 2006

4 Belugas from Russia arrived at Taiwan

Earlier this year the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium (NMMBA) of Taiwan decided to import four more belugas. After a seventeen-hour flight, the plane carrying the four animals finally arrived at Kaohsiung airport the night of 17 February. To avoid being confronted by protests from the local conservation groups, the airport and the airline company refused to confirm the flight and its landing time. Even though some concerned organizations knew about the belugas' arrival, NMMBA refused all media interviews and the animals were able to be transported to the aquarium in a low-keyed way.

NMMBA said that they would place the four belugas in an adaptation pool for a month and arrange for their meetings with visitors later. All of these animals are females with an average age of 4 - 5 years-old. This is the second time NMMBA had imported belugas, and they claimed that the import is for the aquarium's three existing male belugas (the fourth is a female) to breed with. Four years ago NMMBA imported six belugas but two died within two months of arrival.

The import of these four belugas has prompted much public opposition. Some local and oversea conservation groups have pointed out that introducing belugas from Russia poses a survival threat to the local wild population; and the process of hunting beluga is so brutal that the belugas are treated in an inhumane way.

Source: dwnews.com

21 Jan 2006

Whale lost in Rive Thames dies

The lost and distressed whale seen swimming for two days in the River Thames, London, died on 21 January 2006, when rescue workers ferried it on a salvage barge in an effort to release it in the open sea. The whale struggled with the effects of being out of the water as it was ferried toward the Thames Estuary, officials said. It was learned that the animal had suffered a series of convulsions before its death.

The Northern bottlenose whale was first seen flailing through the Thames the day before, luring thousands of curious onlookers along the shoreline. Northern bottlenose whale is only found in the North Atlantic ocean, and is a species which prefers deep water (more than 1,000 m). It is generally accepted that the animal had got lost, being away from its normal habitat.

Source: Yahoo News, BBC News

8 Jan 2006

Green group ships intend to stop whale hunt

Every year Japan dispatches a whaling fleet to the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary around Antarctica. In the face of international opposition, Japanese whaling fleet set out again on 8 November 2005. This time Japan has doubled their whale hunt quota to 935 minke whales, and for the first time added 10 endangered fin whales, raising stronger controversies over the hunt.

Two of the concerned groups, Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd, have already sent out vessels to pursue the whaling fleet to Antarctica, in an attempt to halt their whale hunt and record their whaling operation. One of the Greenpeace ships has collided with the factory ship of the whaling fleet, while another ship of Sea Shepherd has rammed a whaling supply ship. Besides, Greenpeace sometimes deploy a few inflatable boats between the hunted whales and the harpooners in order to stop them firing the harpoons, but still a certain amount of minke whales have been taken. Greenpeace considered the protest successful, “It has prolonged the hunt; some whales have got away and the whalers have had to look for another one.” And Greenpeace has not seen any fin whale hunt yet.

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) imposed a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986. However, Japan has continued to hunt whales in the name of “scientific research”. Whale meat has long been a part of the Japanese cuisine, and Japan makes no secret that the meat from the “scientific research” ends up in markets. For years a number of countries have urged Japan to stop their hunt, including Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United Sates. But Japan, considering consuming whale as a part of their cultures, has no intention to stop the annual hunt. Other than Japan, Norway and Iceland have also carried out commercial whaling every year, causing opposition of the IWC member countries.

Sources: WDCS, Greenpeace, Sea Shepherd, stuff.co.nz, news.com.au

Photo credit: Greenpeace / Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert