Tag: bycatch

The first minke whale in Japan’s controversial new commercial whale hunt has been landed at Kushiro port in northern Japan

The first minke whale in Japan’s controversial new commercial whale hunt has been landed at Kushiro port in northern Japan

After a tense and sometimes turbulent two weeks in Florianopolis, Brazil, Ocean Campaigner Juliet Phillips reflects on the progress made during the 67th meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC67) and lifts the lid on arguments heard in support of the resumption of commercial whaling

During the 20th century, 2.9 million whales were killed by commercial whaling, likely the single largest removal of any animal in terms of total biomass in human history. As global pressure to end the slaughter mounted, the International Whaling Commission agreed a moratorium on commercial whaling from 1986

Some coastal communities view whales as the guardians of the ocean, a special value attached to the marine giants which is not misplaced. Whales provide incredible services for the ocean and coastal communities, playing a role deemed so important that some scientists have coined them “ecosystem engineers”

The vaquita, with fewer than 30 of the tiny porpoises left alive – plummeting from 600 in less than two decades – is the most endangered animal on the planet. Found only in Mexico’s Upper Gulf of California, the vaquita’s survival depends on the urgent removal of all illegal gillnets from their marine habitat