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General News
Denmark refused humpback hunt
(Added: 07 March 2010)
At a recent three day meeting, the International Whaling Commission refused Denmark its request to allow them to limited hunting of humpback whales off the coast of Greenland.
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Cetaceans in the austral cone of South America
(Added: 07 March 2010)
Report by Nathan Gricks on cetaceans in this important area - a hotspot for any dolphin or whale enthusiast.
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New IWC proposal released
(Added: 23 February 2010)
Under a proposal recently released by International Whaling Commission chairman Cristian Maquieira, commercial whaling could be reintroduced on a limited basis and Japan would be able to continue hunting in the Antarctic.
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A killer whale called Luna
(Added: 21 February 2010)
The film "A killer whale called Luna" which was rescheduled from January will premiere in the UK on BBC’s Natural World on Wednesday, 24 February at 8:00pm on BBC2. The film made over three years by Michael Parfit & Suzanne Chisholm, has won 24 awards worldwide. It is about a young solitary killer whale called Luna.
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Whaling activists' trial begins
(Added: 15 February 2010)
While much of the focus on whaling is currently centred around the Southern Ocean, an important legal case has began in a regional courtroom in northern Japan. Two Japanese Greenpeace activists dubbed 'the Tokyo Two' will stand trial for trespass and the theft of whale meat. If found guilty they could face 10 years in prison.
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'The Cove' - wins best documentary at Awards
(Added: 19 January 2010)
The Cove - the documentary film about dolphin hunting in Japan's Wakayama Prefecture, was recently named best documentary at the Critics' Choice Awards in Los Angeles. It won Best Documentary Feature award, beating four other nominated movies, including "Michael Jackson's This Is It".
New minke whale study
(Added: 16 January 2010)
According to a new study supported by the Lenfest Ocean Program and published recently in the journal Molecular Ecology genetic analyses refute the hypothesis that an overly abundant population of minke whales is creating too much competition over food for populations of other whale species to rebound.
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Possible charge for dolphin assault
(Added: 16 January 2010)
Police in New Zealand are investigating reports that Moko the solitary dolphin who has a reputation for stealing surfboards and balls from swimmers was attacked with a paddle after annoying a canoeist.
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Dolphin found with throat slashed
(Added: 08 January 2010)
Wildlife officers have appealed to the public for information about a dolphin that was slashed across the throat and left on the lawn of a house in Western Australia on January 7th.
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A killer whale called Luna
(Added: 06 January 2010)
The film "A killer whale called Luna" premieres in the UK on BBC’s Natural World on Wednesday, January 13 at 8:00pm on BBC2.The film made over three years by Michael Parfit & Suzanne Chisholm, has won 24 awards worldwide. It is about a young solitary killer whale called Luna.
Click here for further details: NOTE this has been rescheduled
UK killer whale discovery
(Added: 05 January 2010)
Scientists have revealed for the first time there is not one but two types of killer whale (orca) living in UK waters. Each differs in appearance and diet, with males of one type being much larger than the other.
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Scientists to research whales in Antarctica
(Added: 04 January 2010)
New Zealand scientists are soon to go on a six week voyage to research whales around Antarctica to study the impact of climate change on whales and prove Japan's claims that the mammals have to be killed to be studied are unecessary. It is the first time the vesselTangaroa has been used for whale research in international waters.The crew plan to use DNA darts, satellite tags, acoustics and photographs of tail markings to study the whales.
Fin whales in abundance
(Added: 04 January 2010)
Sightings of the fin whale - the second largest marine mammal used to be a rarity in the Santa Monica Bay but not anymore and researchers are having excellent sightings at the moment.
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Dolphin intelligence
(Added: 04 January 2010)
Dolphins have been declared the world's second most intelligent creatures after humans, with scientists suggesting they are so bright that they should be treated as "non-human persons."
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Australia may challenge whaling
(Added: 28 December 2009)
Australia Prime Minister Kevin Rudd recently commented that if Japan's new government continue its annual scientific research whaling program, he will have no hesitation in taking international legal action. The Prime Minister made the remarks during a brief stopover in Japan on his way to UN climate change talks in Copenhagen.
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Differing opinions over whales
(Added: 28 December 2009)
Two of Alaska's politicians are requesting that more scientific research be carried out on the Cook Inlet's beluga whales to counter a federal conclusion that the whales are endangered and need special habitat protections.
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Whale songs becoming deeper
(Added: 07 December 2009)
Scientists are baffled to why blue whales are changing their tune and singing in deeper voices. A study, published in the journal Endangered Species Research, has found male blue whales all over the world have dropped their tone, even though different populations sing different songs.
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Glimpsing inside the head of Cuvier's Beaked Whale
(Added: 25 November 2009)
Rocket science is opening new doors to understanding how sounds associated with Navy sonar might affect the hearing of a marine mammal. The same type of large industrial sized X-ray scanners that NASA uses to detect flaws in the space shuttle's behemoth solid fuel rockets is now allowing scientists to peek inside the giant head of a whale.
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Japans' whaling fleet sets sail
(Added: 19 November 2009)
Japanese whalers recently set out for waters off the Australian Antarctic Territory - the third season since the Australian Rudd Government came to power hoping to end Southern Ocean whaling.
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Funding cuts could end whaling
(Added: 14 November 2009)
A review of Japanese government spending could put an end to Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, Japan's new Prime Minister, Yukio Hatoyama, has recommended that funding for the Overseas Fishery Cooperation Foundation ( OFCF ) be cancelled after 2010.
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Glider eavesdrops on cetacans
(Added: 11 November 2009)
To help better understand the communication of cetaceans, mainly beaked whales, an undersea glider equipped with a recording device is currently cruising 1,000 metres deep off Hawaii to capture the sounds made by the marine mammals.
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Mysterious whale sighted
(Added: 05 November 2009)
A large group of a rarely sighted, Arnoux's beaked whales have been seen and photographed in the Gerlache Strait, Antarctica. Few sightings of this species are made and even less inshore, it's also the largest group ever recorded with approx 60 whales sighted.
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Japans' Prime Minister dislikes whale meat
(Added: 01 November 2009)
Japans' Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama recently revealed he dislikes whale meat,an unusual confession for the prime minister of a country that defies Western criticism of whaling.
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Dolphins gather in Douglas Bay, Isle of Man
(Added: 28 October 2009)
Douglas residents have had a view of one of the largest pods of bottlenose dolphins seen in Manx waters this year. Up to 100 dolphins were recently spotted in the sea off the lighthouse before moving into the bay itself. Tom Felce, a researcher with Manx Whale and Dolphin Watch, says that large groups can congregate off the islands' coasts, although it's unusual to see so many.
Humpback whale first for BBC Natural History crew
(Added: 26 October 2009)
A BBC natural history crew has filmed male humpback whales in Tonga, battling it out with rivals to mate with females.
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Palau to review whaling policy
(Added: 17 October 2009)
Palau's President Johnson Toribiong recently stated that his government will review its current position on whaling to ensure the country does not contribute to the depletion and extinction of whales. Palau has been declared as a shark sanctuary and he said the country also needs to protect other marine species in Palau. There will be bilateral meetings between Palau and Japan - Palau a member of the International Whaling Commission since 2002, supports Japan's research programme.
Killer whales filmed off Scotland
(Added: 17 October 2009)
A massive pod of up to 50 killer whales has been filmed for the first time off the coast of Scotland. Gordon Buchanan, presenter of BBC Autumnwatch, filmed the whales as they approached a fishing boat to feed on mackerel that had escaped the fishing nets.
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Shark nets continue to threaten whales
(Added: 13 October 2009)
The Australian State Government is refusing to remove sharks nets along the gold coast shark during the annual whale migration despite the fifth stranding of a humpback whale this season.
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Concerns over beluga survival
(Added: 07 October 2009)
According to figures released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a group of endangered beluga whales in Alaska is declining, raising concern that protection for the animals is not coming quickly enough. Numbers have slipped again to 321 animals, down from an estimated 375 animals in 2007 and 2008.
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Basking shark seminar in Ireland
(Added: 05 October 2009)
A seminar has been organised for 30-31 October in Greencastle, Co Donegal to share present knowledge on basking sharks in Ireland and seek to establish an Irish Basking Shark Study Group.
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Review for humpback whales
(Added: 29 September 2009)
The US federal government is considering taking the humpback whale off the endangered species list in response to data showing the population of the massive marine mammal has been steadily growing in recent decades. The species were nearly hunted to extinction for their oil and meat by industrial-sized whaling ships well through the middle of the 20th century.
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Large whale meat export to Japan
(Added: 27 September 2009)
Hvalur, Iceland's only fin whaling company, is planning a large export of about 1,500 tonnes of fin whale meat, mainly to Japan, after the closure of this year's fin whale whale hunting season. This will substantially increase the amount of whale meat in the Japanese market.
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NZ dolphin death mystery
(Added: 27 September 2009)
The deaths of eight dolphins in the Hauraki Gulf, a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand look set to remain a mystery. This coincided with the death of several dogs around the same time on Auckland beaches.
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US Navy still prefers dolphins
(Added: 11 September 2009)
The US Navy have released their final Environmental Impact Statement (EIA) on a security system to make make sure that no swimmers or divers are able to enter the Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor via Hood Canal waters. It will announce shortly which of five options it selects.
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Rare white Common dolphin sighted
(Added: 27 August 2009)
A rare, completely white common dolphin has been photographed in the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand.
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Stranded belugas swim free
(Added: 27 August 2009)
Beluga whales that became stranded in mud during a low tide recently have managed to free themselves. So far there are no signs of stranded or dead whales, but quite a few of the whales swimming freely.
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Hopes for whale nursery return
(Added: 20 August 2009)
After a break of almost 200 years, Tasmania is showing once again to be a nursery for the endangered Southern right whale. Very recently a biologist photographed a mother and her calf (thought to be only a few days old), in sheltered waters off Swansea on Tasmania's East Coast. Tasmania's waters were once thick with whales, but in the early 1800s they were hunted almost to extinction. So far, 20 mother and calf pairs have been been sighted but hopefully one day, once again there will be hundreds.
Migaloo back in familiar waters
(Added: 17 August 2009)
Migaloo, the famous white humpabck whale was spotted recently making his annual migration north past Cairns, Australia. Estimated to be over twenty years old, there are some concerns over what appears to be some sort of tumour on his head. He was first spotted off the coast of Byron Bay in 1991 and Aboriginal elders named him Migaloo meaning "White Fella".
Whaling Season in Iceland
(Added: 11 August 2009)
A total of 110 whales, 46 minke whales and 64 fin whales, have been caught during the current whaling season in Iceland, according to information from the Directorate of Fisheries.
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Tokyo shuns dolphin-slaughter documentary
(Added: 08 July 2009)
'The Cove', the horrific exposé of Japanese dolphin slaughter has been shut out of the Tokyo International Film Festival which runs October 17-25. The theme of this year's event is protecting the environment. The rejection is a setback for plans to get the Japanese people onside with the pro-dolphin cause, because most of them don't know what's happening. The plan however is still to get The Cove into Japan somehow.
Dolphin victim of shark attack
(Added: 30 July 2009)
The Marine Connection was saddened to learn that a dolphin which was found suffering from pneumonia and gastritis on Anclote Key, West Florida and had spent seven months in rehabilitation was attacked twice by at least two different sharks shortly after release.
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Whale's first breath caught on film
(Added: 24 July 2009)
Researchers surveying humpback whales off Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia filmed the moment a mother humpback whale lifted up her calf to take its first breath.
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Pacific States meet to discuss cetacean conservation
(Added: 24 July 2009)
Pacific Island states and territories are meeting in Auckland on 28-29 July, to agree a way forward to conserve the whales and dolphins of the Pacific Islands Region.
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Devon's marinelife recorded
(Added: 19 July 2009)
Volunteers this week will record sightings and behavioural observations of marine life off the coast of Devon. The coastline is home to many different species of marine life, but there are fears some are under threat. Berry Head the main area where the data will be collected is well known for harbour porpoises. The data from the research will be published early next year.
Scientists track pygmy blue whale
(Added: 19 July 2009)
Australian scientists have tracked the 4,000km-plus journey of a pygmy blue whale from local shores to Indonesia. So little is known about this particular whale species, scientists weren't sure what to expect when they began monitoring the movements of one young male off the Western Australia coast.
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A Right surpise for Chile
(Added: 15 July 2009)
Biologists in recent months have discovered that the Southern right whale, which previously had been sighted only in Argentine waters, is venturing into the Magellan Strait off Punta Arenas in Chile's Region XII.
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A lucky escape
(Added: 01 July 2009)
Photographer and conservationist Rob Lott travelled to Patagonia to study and photograph the foraging behaviour of a pod of 18 orcas. An astonishing sequence of images shows one of the orcas - a 50 year old male known as Mel - emerging from shallow icy waters towards the shore in an attempt to feed on a seal pup.
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Inside Nature's Giants
(Added: 29 June 2009)
The new Channel 4 documentary series Inside Nature's Giants delves into the depths of some of nature's most formidible creatures - quite literally.
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Japanese whaling exposed
(Added: 24 June 2009)
A third of the whales harpooned by Japan in the Antarctic last summer were pregnant. Japan's own figures, revealed in secret documents discovered at the International Whaling Commission meeting being held this week, showed the true nature of the country's whale hunting.
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Norway suspends whale hunt
(Added: 24 June 2009)
Norwegian whalers have suspended their hunt mid-season this year with less than half the quota of 885 whales killed because demand is saturated, said Willy Godtliebsen, head of sales at the Norwegian Fishermen's Sales Organisation.
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EU membership may stop Iceland whaling
(Added: 19 June 2009)
Iceland could be forced to end its controversial whale hunting tradition in its bid to join the European Union, the head of a leading Icelandic whaling company has said. Kristjan Loftsson, the 66-year-old chief executive of Hvalur, fears Brussels would clamp down on whaling in Iceland due to widespread opposition by European countries.
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Antarctic whale expedition planned
(Added: 19 June 2009)
Australia and New Zealand plan a non-lethal whale research expedition to the Antarctic, a direct challenge to Japan's research program that kills up to 1,000 whales a year.
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Moray Firth Dolphins travelling record breaking distances
(Added: 11 June 2009)
It has been discovered that British dolphins have been travelling record-breaking distances. Seven bottlenose dolphins identified in the Moray Firth were tracked to islands on the west coast of Scotland and three of those to locations as far afield as Cork and Galway off southern Ireland.
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Dolphins back in New Jersey river
(Added: 11 June 2009)
Early last June, a group of 16 bottlenose dolphins took up residence in a river at the New Jersey shore, USA. Then winter closed in, and a little over half made it out alive.
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Global warming threat to marine life
(Added: 03 June 2009)
According to a new study, more than a fifth of the worlds' cetaceans are facing potential extinction because of global warming. Five of the six species of porpoises which inhabit the world's oceans are under threat which include the harbour porpoise, the vaquita, the spectacled porpoise, Dall's porpoise and Burmeister's porpoise.
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Tracking humpback whales
(Added: 26 May 2009)
In the first move of its kind in Australia, scientists are using satellite technology to track the migration of the humpback whale. The Southern Ocean Research Partnership has tracked 16 humpback and four blue whales as they journeyed from the coast of Australia to their feeding grounds in Antarctica.
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Whaling in Iceland commences
(Added: 26 May 2009)
It is expected that the first Ielandic whaling boat will start hunting minke whales any time soon.A quota has been issued for 100 minkes this season with the goal to export the meat from 50 of these whales to Japan. For the past years the meat has primarily been sold on the domestic market and last year was the first in a number of years that commercial minke hunting was allowed, until then minkes were primarily hunted for scientific purposes.
Sperm whale sounds
(Added: 22 May 2009)
For decades scientists have been intrigued by the variety of sounds emitted by sperm whales, partly due to a popular theory that suggests that the sounds might contain information about the animals' size.
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Monitoring on whales continues
(Added: 14 May 2009)
Marine mammal officials are continuing to monitor a pod of up to five pygmy killer whales that have been lingering approx 150 yards off the north Kihei coast, Hawaii. These animals are normally only seen in much deeper water and rarely seen near shore.
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Fears raised for dolphin habitats
(Added: 12 May 2009)
The waters off the Welsh coast have become the setting for an increasingly bitter dispute over scallop dredging because the practice could be disturbing the dolphins and seals that frequent the area and also damage or destroy their habitats and breeding sites.
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New Jersey dolphins - update
(Added: 03 May 2009)
Since first reporting on this issue (see 8 January 2009 below), Marine Connection has been monitoring the situation surrounding a pod of 16 dolphins that that set up home in New Jersey's Shrewsbury-Navesink Rivers last year.
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Pro-whaling nations gather
(Added: 01 May 2009)
The international deadlock on whaling is set to continue with pro-whaling nations vowing to make an unprecedented bloc vote at upcoming talks.
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Iceland to study whaling impact
(Added: 21 April 2009)
Minister of Fisheries Steingrímur J. Sigfússon has reached an agreement with the University of Iceland’s Institute of Economic Studies to investigate the macro-economic influence of commercial whaling in Iceland.
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Illegal dolphin feeding
(Added: 21 April 2009)
The issue of illegal dolphin feeding around Panama City, Florida is once again rearing its head as summer boating season approaches. The problem is growing and the law is simply not being enforced.
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Dolphin 'language' revealed
(Added: 14 April 2009)
Recent reports claim that a British acoustics researcher has almost completed his 10 year mission to disipher dolphin 'language'. If this proves to be the case we wonder if everyone will like what they have to tell us ?
Read full report here
Whalers return home
(Added: 13 April 2009)
Japan's whaling fleet recently returned to home waters with the carcases of 680 whales aboard. The target was 850 when the annual hunt began in November.
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Record breaking whale season
(Added: 07 April 2009)
A record-breaking season is drawing to a close as North Atlantic right whales head north for the summer. Research survey results indicate that the number of right whales spending the winter in the South again increased this year, a hopeful sign for these endangered marine giants.
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New hope for Irrawaddy dolphins
(Added: 01 April 2009)
A new study has shown that approx 6,000 Irrawaddy dolphins are alive and swimming in Bangladesh. Researchers found the dolphins living in the freshwater regions of Bangladesh's Sundarbans mangrove forest and nearby waters in the Bay of Bengal.
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Scientists to boost whale surveys
(Added: 23 March 2009)
New data on minke whale distribution in pack ice in the Southern Ocean and new techniques developed by Australian scientists for researching whale abundance will help advance non-lethal whale research.
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Humpback sighted in unusual territory
(Added: 21 March 2009)
A large humpback whale has been spotted swimming close to Hong Kong's famous harbour in what's believed to be the first sighting of the species in the territory's waters. The animal appears healthy and has already drawn a number of whale-watching boat trips since it was first spotted. The bustling harbour's heavy maritime traffic however could pose a risk to the seemingly lost mammal.
Countries unite against whaling
(Added: 09 March 2009)
US President Barack Obama's administration has admitted it would firmly oppose whaling, ahead of a three day key international meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) which opened Monday March 9 in Rome. Various countries will be discussing the future of commercial and scientific whaling.
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Pink dolphin attracts international attention
(Added: 08 March 2009)
A bottlenose dolphin that is frequenting an estuary north of the Gulf of Mexico is creating international attention. The reason being is that the animal is pink in colour. The dolphin, which swims around Louisiana’s Lake Calcasieu gets its colour from albinism and was first spotted and photographed in June 2007.
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Exploring the blue whale
(Added: 04 March 2009)
They are the largest creatures to ever live on our planet, even larger than any of the great dinosaurs, and still few people have seen them. National Geographic Channel will take viewers into the Kingdom of the Blue Whale on March 8. Tracking the scientists' efforts, the two-hour Kingdom of the Blue Whale special offers breathtaking HD footage of these majestic animals. The imagery captured of mother and baby blue whale is stunning and poignant.
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Majority of Icelanders support whaling
(Added: 01 March 2009)
More than two thirds of Icelanders favour the country's return to commercial whaling and more than half would support an increase of its whaling quota, according to a recent poll. Just over 67 percent of the 1,597 people questioned by the Capacent Gallup polling institute said they were either very or rather supportive of Iceland's commercial whaling.
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Whales versus commercial fisheries
(Added: 22 February 2009)
For years, Japan has argued that reducing the number of baleen whales in the oceans would improve fisheries because whales eat fish that are caught for human consumption. However, a new study recently published in the journal Science found that even a complete eradication of whale populations in tropical waters would not lead to any significant increase in fish populations.
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How dolphins prepare their fish
(Added: 01 February 2009)
Despite their lack of limbs, dolphins have developed clever ways to use their snouts. A wild dolphin has been observed following a specific recipe for preparing a mollusk meal, even stripping the animal of its internal shell and beating it free of ink, a new study reports.
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IWC update
(Added: 26 January 2009)
Behind closed doors, members of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) have been discussing a proposal that would give Japan the right to hunt whales in its coastal waters. William Hogarth, the chairperson of the IWC and US delegate to the body, made the proposal in closed-door weekend talks in Hawaii.
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The Cove : Secret dolphin slaughter
(Added: 18 January 2009)
Sure to be one of the most talked-about documentaries at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Louie Psihoyos’s The Cove is part heist movie, part environmental exposé. The cove in question is a secluded and naturally fortified lagoon in the small Japanese town of Taiji, where every year for six months thousands of dolphins are brutally slaughtered.
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Naval Weapons - dolphins & sealions
(Added: 18 January 2009)
To protect its Naval Base Kitsap in Bangor, Washington State from attacking swimmers, the US Navy wants to use sea lions and dolphins. However they have to receive permission first so the Navy is planning to explain itself in public hearings.
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New Jersey dolphins update
(Added: 08 January 2009)
The Marine Connection recently reported about 16 bottlenose dolphins that had set up home in the Shrewsbury-Navesink Rivers, New Jersey. The charity has now heard that only five of the original pod remains, and that more are likely to die. At least six dolphins are unaccounted for since December and some of the remaining animals appear to have lost weight in recent weeks. There are no plans to remove the dolphins from the area. For further information see below (21 December 2008).
New pygmy killer whale study
(Added: 01 January 2009)
A new study of pygmy killer whales recently published in the journal Marine Mammal Science shows that those living off Hawaii tend to stay close to the islands and don't swim out to the open ocean.
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Whale hotspot discovered
(Added: 01 January 2009)
One of the world's highest concentrations of dolphins and whales was recently discovered off the coast of East Timor, Asia. Many of them are already protected and include blue and beaked whales, short-finned pilot whales and melon headed whales as well as six dolphin species.
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