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General News
Humpbacks singing different tunes
(Added: 02 February 2012)
A recently published study in the January edition of Marine Mammal Science reveals that humpback whales on both sides of the southern Indian Ocean are singing different tunes, unusual since humpbacks in the same ocean basin usually all sing very similar songs.
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Dolphins for dinner
(Added: 29 January 2012)
A study recently published in the Biological Conservation states a variety of marine mammal species can be found on the menus of more than 100 countries around the world, including polar bears, sea lions and dolphins.
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Controversial whale tagging project
(Added: 22 January 2012)
Approval has been given for a controversial plan to satellite tag an endangered species of killer whale that frequent the waters off the Pacific Coast.
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Whalers defy complaints
(Added: 12 January 2012)
A Japanese whaling ship has defied high-level Australian complaints to stay in the waters of World Heritage-listed Macquarie Island.
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A possible offspring for Migaloo
(Added: 12 January 2012)
A young albino humpback calf has been seen in Australia, looking pretty much like Migaloo - the famous all white humpback whale.
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Good news for Irrawaddy dolphins
(Added: 08 January 2012)
Marine Connection was delighted to receive the news that thousands of rare dolphins have been found in Bangladeshi waters, giving great hope for the future for this specific species.
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Taiji - the slaughter continues
(Added: 05 January 2012)
Colleagues from Save Japan Dolphins send an updated report and video with the latest news of continued dolphin suffering in Taiji.
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Gray whale migration
(Added: 01 January 2012)
Gray whales are making their way past the Southern California coast now as they make one of the longest mammalian migrations known to man.
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Whalers attempt to stop acivists
(Added: 28 December 2011)
Japanese whalers have asked a U.S. federal court judge in Seattle to order Sea Shepherd to stop disrupting its whaling activities in the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica.
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Orca found on West Marin beach identified in Canada
(Added: 10 December 2011)
The orca (killer whale) that washed ashore on a West Marin beach recently had been seen swimming off the coast of Vancouver Island in September.
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Japan's whaling fleet leave for Antarctica
(Added: 06 December 2011)
Three ships from Japan's whaling fleet, led by the 720 ton Yushin Muru, have set sail from Shimonoseki Western Japan for the countrys' annual hunt in Antarctica.
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Unusual sightings in UK waters
(Added: 06 December 2011)
Sightings appear to indicate that South-West seas seem to be attracting more unusual varieties of cetacean species, possibly hunting for new territories as global warming impacts on sea temperatures.
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Albino dolphin in South American waters
(Added: 04 December 2011)
Brazilian biologists have found an extremely rare example of an albino dolphin among an endangered species that lives off the southern coast of South America. It's the first recorded instance of an albino in the pontoporia blainvillei species, a very shy type of dolphin, known in Brazil as Toninha and in Argentina and Uruguay as the La Plata or Franciscana dolphin. It's a young dolphin, still seen with, and dependant on its mother, therefore the rarity of the baby only highlights the need to preserve the Bay of Babitonga in the southern Brazil state of Santa Catarina.
Narwhal transmitters
(Added: 06 November 2011)
Worldwide there are only about 50,000 to 80,000 narwhals, with about two-thirds of these whales summering in the fjords and inlets of Nunavut in northern Canada.
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Britons urged not to buy whalemeat
(Added: 03 November 2011)
Up to 70,000 Britons who visit Iceland each year have been given a stiff warning by the Foreign Office not to bring home any whale meat, which is currently on sale at Keflavik airport. To do so they will be in breach of international law protecting endangered species, facing penalties of imprisonment or fines up to £5,000.
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Killer whales' salmon diet studied
(Added: 03 November 2011)
Huge chinook salmon are a favourite for the Pacific coast fishermen on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border, but this may change if a scientific panel links chinook and the survival of endangered southern resident killer whales.
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Whalers get $28m boost
(Added: 28 October 2011)
The Japanese cabinet has dramatically increased its subsidy for Antarctic whaling by $28.5 million. The Fisheries Agency of Japan was given the money on top of its usual $10 million allocation following the government's decision to send its whalers south to the Antarctic with additional security this summer after being forced out of the Southern Ocean last season by activists. Senior vice-minister Nobutaka Tsutsui said they told are determined to continue the program until it leads to the resumption of commercial whaling. The Institute of Cetacean Research, which manages the Antarctic program, is offering 1214 tonnes of whale meat for sale from its recent North Pacific hunt. Most of the meat is from sei whales, which are listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
Customs ship on possible whaling mission
(Added: 24 October 2011)
An Australian Customs ship docked in Hobart is believed to be preparing to head to the Southern Ocean for the whaling season. Ocean Protector arrived last week and is docked at Macquarie Wharf. A customs spokeswoman says the ship is undergoing routine maintenance but cannot discuss operational activities including what the ship is used for or how long it is likely to be in the state. It is understood however the ship will travel to the Southern Ocean later this year to monitor the whaling season.
White whale calf
(Added: 02 October 2011)
An extremely rare white humpback whale calf has been spotted near Australia's Great Barrier Reef, believed to be just a few weeks old, the baby humpback was seen at Cid Harbour in the famous reef's Whitsunday Islands area.
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Whale quotas up for review
(Added: 28 September 2011)
Federal scientists plan to evaluate the number of bowhead whales Alaska Eskimos can harvest in future annual subsistence hunts.
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Whale baby boom
(Added: 25 September 2011)
More baby whales are expected to migrate down Australia's east coast than have been seen in 50 years after indications of a bumper birthing season.
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Fin whale meat exported
(Added: 08 September 2011)
Iceland's commercial whaling operation recently exported a further 133 metric tons of whale products from endangered fin whales in July despite the pending threat of U.S. trade sanctions for violating conservation agreements that protect the endangered fin whales.
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Protecting crucial habitats
(Added: 30 August 2011)
According to new research carried out by scientists at Stanford University and the National Autonomous University of Mexico, preserving just 4 percent of the ocean could protect crucial habitat for the vast majority of marine mammal species, from sea otters to blue whales.
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Shark Bay dolphins astound researchers
(Added: 27 August 2011)
A recently documented method of fishing maybe spreading throughout a population of Western Australia's dolphins.
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Fin whaling postponed
(Added: 23 August 2011)
It has been confirmed that no fin whales will be caught in Icelandic waters this year despite a quota for 150 whales having been issued.
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Call to defer beached sperm whale carcass destruction
(Added: 23 August 2011)
The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) says 'valuable scientific and educational opportunities' will be lost if the sperm whale which died on a beach in County Waterford recently is incinerated.
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Springer still going strong
(Added: 18 August 2011)
Marine Connection has received the news from colleagues - Michael Harris and Paul Spong - that Springer the orphaned orca found many years ago and miles away from home in busy ferry lanes around Seattle has been sighted once again in Johnstone Strait - her 10th summer back with family in the wild.
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'The Whale' - a move remembering Luna
(Added: 16 August 2011)
In a surprising turn in the global fight over the killing of whales, THE WHALE, a new Ryan Reynolds-narrated documentary about the friendship between humans and a wild orca, had its world premiere in one of the oldest active whaling communities on the planet, the Faroe Islands, on August 20th in the Islands capital city of Trshavn.
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Bowhead hunt underway
(Added: 16 August 2011)
Hunters in Iqaluit recently embarked on a bowhead whale hunt, the first in recent history for Inuit in Nunavut's capital city. Six boats departed from Frobisher Bay. It has been more than 100 years since hunters in Iqaluit have harvested a bowhead due to the whales being completely off-limits to hunting for decades. Today, a licence is needed to hunt them, similar hunts are also taking place this year in the Nunavut communities of Kugaaruk and Coral Harbour.
Orcas spotted off Kauai
(Added: 31 July 2011)
A small pod of orcas was recently spotted off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii, surprising a team of marine researchers as this particular species is rarely seen in the area.
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IWC meeting ends
(Added: 17 July 2011)
The recent International Whaling Commission, held in Jersey ended its four day session with a walkout by pro-whaling nations in order to block a vote on the creation of a new sanctuary.
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Antarctic whaling may continue
(Added: 13 July 2011)
Contrary to reports that Japan may discontinue Antarctic whaling, at the current annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Jersey, Joji Morishita said Japan plans to send its whaling fleet back to the Southern Ocean to conduct "research" whaling. The IWC allows scientific research but not commercial whaling, which has been banned worldwide since 1986.
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Diet saved gray whale
(Added: 7 July 2011)
A new study on the California gray whale reveals that the key to surviving dramatic changes in the ecosystem was for this whale, at least, the right diet. Adding herring and krill to its diet may have been the gray whale's secret to weathering 120,000 years of climate change.
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Unusual dolphin species in Puget Sound
(Added: 26 June 2011)
Two dolphins that are usually seen in warmer waters off southern California or Mexico have once again been spotted around Puget Sound, baffling conservationists to why such species would head north.
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Whale gathering in UK waters
(Added: 11 June 2011)
Scientists have described recent fin whale sightings off the Cornish coast as one of the largest gatherings of the species ever seen in British waters.
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Japans' whaling fleet leaves
(Added: 11 June 2011)
Whaling vessels left the ports of Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and Habu in Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture at the weekend to conduct their "scientific research" in the northwest Pacific Ocean over the next three months through until late August.
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5,400 kilometre trip made by orca
(Added: 07 June 2011)
One of two orcas fitted with a satellite tracker in the Arctic, made a remarkable 5,400-kilometre journey in just a month. The whale swam from northern Baffin Island, down past Greenland, Labrador and Newfoundland, and headed for the Azores in the mid-Atlantic.
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Survey of whale watching vessels
(Added: 30 May 2011)
Australian officials are to carry out secret surveys of Cairns tourist boats by land and sea to ensure they are keeping a good distance from migrating humpback whales.
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Whale meat prices rising
(Added: 21 May 2011)
The price of whale meat, eaten by Koreans residing along the eastern coastal area, is surging due to a shortage following tighter rules on the distribution and consumption of whale meat.
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Bowhead whales killed
(Added: 05 May 2011)
Whalers from the Arctic community of Point Hope landed three bowhead whales landed within a week of starting their whaling season, the meat is divided among residents in the Inupiat Eskimo community. North Slope Alaska Natives are allowed to harvest bowhead whales each year through two whaling seasons in Alaska. In the autumn, whales head toward their winter grounds in the south, returning north in the spring, as the ice breaks up. Many whales have been sighted, along with a polar bear swimming alongside them.
Iceland whaling season starts
(Added: 03 May 2011)
Icelandic Minke Whalers Association has confirmed that one of its whaling boats has sailed out of Hafnarfjor for the start of the minke whaling season, they will be hunting minke whales in Faxafloi Bay.
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New rules to safeguard whales
(Added: 02 May 2011)
NOAA's Fisheries Service recently issued new rules on vessel traffic, aimed at protecting the Southern Resident killer whales in Washington's Puget Sound. These marine mammals were added to the Endangered Species list in late 2005.
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Non migrating humpback whales
(Added: 22 April 2011)
Earlier this year the Environment Society of Oman (ESO) and Marine Expert Robert Baldwin announced that the coast of Oman was a habitat for a genetically unique and isolated population of whales, recently given the official name Arabian Sea humpback whale population by the International Whaling Commission (IWC).
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Protected dolphins continue to be killed
(Added: 17 April 2011)
Despite Gangetic dolphins being an endangered species, they continue being killed at an alarming rate in Bihar, eastern India. Fishermen extract and use their oil to fish for two unique species of fish - "Bachhaba" and "Gheruwa" - sold at premium prices, popular due to their taste and the fact they have very few bones. Experts estimate the current number of Gangetic dolphins to be around 2,000 - in the 1980's there were around 3,500 dolphins in the Ganga delta region alone. Gangetic dolphins, one of the four freshwater dolphins in the world, are protected animals under the Schedule 1 of Wildlife (Protection) Act-1972.
Whales sighted once again in Bermuda's waters
(Added: 11 April 2011)
Two whales that were first recorded in Bermuda waters in 1977 and 1984 respectively, were identified back in the area last week. The footage just off Chubb Head, shows the footage of the two humpback whales in shallow 40 foot deep water scratching their backs, stomachs, chins, and heads by rolling around in a sand hole. One of the whales, catalogued as #6042, was first photographed in Bermuda in 1984 and later seen in 1992 in both the waters of Newfoundland and Strait of Belle Isle, Canada. The second whale, catalogued as #6002 was first photographed in 1977 in Bermuda and was photographed again in Bermuda thirty years later in 2007. It was also seen in Newfoundland, Canada in 1980 and 2001.
Currents keep dolphins apart
(Added: 03 April 2011)
A recent study has shown that groups of dolphins in the western Indian Ocean do not mix freely with one another and that dolphin populations are kept separate by currents and other unseen factors. Researchers have found that genetically distinct populations of the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin may be formed in part by currents, surface temperature differences, and other environmental barriers.
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Moko - one of history's most heroic animals
(Added: 02 April 2011)
Moko the friendly bottlenose dolphin that frequented the shores of New Zealand between 2007 and 2010 has been named on Time magazine's website as one of history's most heroic animals.
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Oldest southern resident male orca dies
(Added: 26 March 2011)
The oldest male killer whale in the three southern resident pods, known as J1 but nicknamed Ruffles is believed to have died. A member of J-Pod, he has not been seen since November and thought to be about 60 years old.
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Whale wintering grounds found
(Added: 12 March 2011)
U.S. scientists using sound have made a significant discovery that sheds new light on the wintering grounds of the Pacific humpback whale.
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Arctic food chain faces disruption
(Added: 06 March 2011)
Warming temperatures and melting ice in the Arctic may be causing a progressively earlier bloom of tiny ocean plants in the spring, which could hold consequences for the entire Arctic food chain, including the large whales.
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Dolphin survey underway
(Added: 01 March 2011)
A three-year study has been launched into bottlenose dolphins off the coast of Normandy, thought to be as many as 600 from Cap Frehel in Brittany to the Manche and up to the Channel Islands, little is known about them. Half of the population stay permanently in the area, making it one of the largest populations in France. Skin samples will be taken to improve understanding of the animals' diet and levels of contaminants in their bodies. The ultimate goal is the preservation of the species at a time when offshore activities are increasing: wind and marine current turbines and extraction of aggregate.
Japanese wholesalers discuss whaling culture
(Added:28 February 2011)
A group of seafood wholesalers in Tsukiji Market in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, will host a meeting this coming weekend to raise awareness among themselves and the public about Japan's whaling history and its whale-eating culture.
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Puget Sound killer whales
(Added: 03 February 2011)
Southern Resident killer whales are listed as endangered under both the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Canada's Species at Risk Act (SARA).
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Good news for Scotlands' seals
(Added: 02 February 2011)
Although Marine Connection are specifically a charity involved in dolphin and whale protection and conservation, we are obviously concerned with all aspects of threats to the marine environment and the creatures that call it home.
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Bumper gray whale season
(Added: 29 January 2011)
Marine Connection is delighted to report that gray whales are being seen in good numbers as the females head south from Alaska to give birth in the warm waters of Mexico. The mammals named after their colour were first classified by 19th-century British zoologist John Edward Gray.
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Annual whale meat sale
(Added: 20 January 2011)
Hankyu Hanshin Department Stores recently started its annual whale meat sale in central Osaka. 3 tons of the controversial meat is from fin, minke, sei and sperm whales taken from the North-western Atlantic. This year's annual event had a display promoting 15 whale parts ranging from tongue to the intestines and tail, all of which are prepared as sashimi delicacies.
Killer whales preying on sleeper sharks
(Added: 18 January 2011)
A new study, published in the journal Aquatic Biology has found that British Columbia's (B.C.) offshore killer whales also prey on large Pacific sleeper sharks. Until now their diet has remained quite a mystery due to their wide-ranging and distant movements.
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Whale heads across Bering Sea
(Added: 15 January 2011)
A grey whale usually seen more towards Russian shores is taking a swim across the Bering Sea towards Alaska.
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Man deported for selling whale teeth
(Added: 11 January 2011)
A judge in Boston, USA has ordered a 39-year-old man from Ukraine to be deported after he admitted to selling sperm whale teeth to a scrimshaw artist in Nantucket.
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Dolphin spotted in Puget Sound
(Added: 09 January 2011)
Marine biologists have confirmed an unusual sighting of a bottlenose dolphin in Puget Sound, an area in the U.S. state of Washington.
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