IUCN – SSC Cetacean Specialist Group

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IUCN – SSC Cetacean Specialist Group / Articles posted by admin (Page 4)
08 Feb 2017

Progress protecting Mekong River dolphins undermined by proposed dams

[caption id="attachment_2377" align="alignright" width="229"] Somany Phay, Frances Gulland, and H.E. Srun Limsong, Deputy Director General of the Fisheries Administration, Royal Government of Cambodia. Photo Credit: Peter Thomas[/caption] In January 2017 an international workshop on the Critically Endangered freshwater population of dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris) in the Mekong...

02 Feb 2017

Jan 2017 update on the decline of the Vaquita

As noted in the 16 December 2016 posting on this site, CIRVA (Comité Internacional para la Recuperación de la Vaquita) met in November to update its findings and recommendations concerning vaquita science and conservation. The meeting report, which was officially released today, concludes that the...

23 Jan 2017

Progress on Chinese White Dolphin (CWD) Research and Conservation Initiative

The project previously described (see 29 June 2016 news item) has proceeded as planned over the past half-year. A stakeholder workshop organized by Ocean Park Conservation Foundation Hong Kong (OPCFHK) took place in Hong Kong on 10-13 January 2017. More than 55 participants, including fishermen,...

16 Dec 2016

Update on the Vaquita

In June 2016, we reported that the survey conducted in September–December 2015 had shown that only about 60 vaquitas were left (as detailed in the CIRVA-7 report). Despite valiant efforts by the Mexican government and NGOs, it clear that illegal gillnet fishing for totoaba, the...

15 Dec 2016

Proposed Live Captures of Cetaceans, Seals and Penguins in Namibia

In March 2016 a proposal to capture African penguins, marine mammals (cetaceans and pinnipeds) and sharks was submitted to the Namibian Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) by a partnership of two companies: “Welwitschia Aquatic and Wildlife Scientific Research Pty Ltd” and “Beijing Rare...

13 Oct 2016

Amazon River dolphins in Brazil continue to be killed for fish bait

It has been known for some time that fishermen have been killing freshwater dolphins in the Amazon and using them as bait for catfish (Mintzer et al. 2013; Iriarte & Marmontel 2013; Brum et al. 2015).  A recent report from Brazil found that following the...

22 Sep 2016

Arabian Sea humpback whales are one of only four populations still considered Endangered under the United States revised Endangered Species Act listing.

*This article is a re-post of a recent WWF media release http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?278471/Arabian-Sea-humpback-whales-one-of-only-four-populations-still-considered-endangered-after-lengthy-US-review Following an extensive review process that started in 2009 and was finalized in September 2016, the United States’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has revised the status of humpback whale populations around the world under...

25 Aug 2016

Mass mortality event of Black Sea Harbour Porpoises

The subspecies Phocoena phocoena relicta is endemic to the Black Sea and whilst the total population size and trend are unknown, the subspecies is red-listed as Endangered. In recent months, unusually large numbers of neonates and juveniles have washed up on beaches along the Black...