Green Options

According to a new study, climate change could drastically alter 88% of the waters where dolphins, whales and porpoises are found. While some species may stand to benefit from the changes, the research concluded that one fifth of cetacean species could be lost forever.

The cetaceans most at risk are colder water species and species with restricted ranges in shallower waters. All in all, as many as half of cetacean species should experience a shrinking of their habitat as the oceans warm.

Nearly 6,000 Irawaddy freshwater dolphins were discovered in areas near the Bay of Bengal and the Sundarbans mangrove forests in Bangladesh.

Previously it was assumed there only tiny populations numbering in the low 100s, and the species could go extinct almost at any moment. In 2008 the Irawaddy was listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.

World Species Survey details gloomy outlook for many animal species.In early October of 2008, the results of a global species  survey, conducted by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, were released.  The numbers are startling:

• At least a quarter of mammal species are headed toward extinction in the near future.
• Nearly 80 percent of the primate species in southern and southeastern Asia are immediately threatened.
• At least 22 percent of reptile species are at risk of extinction.
• Perhaps 40 percent of North American freshwater fish are threatened.
• In Europe, 45 percent of the most common bird species are rapidly declining, and so are the most common bird species in North America.

But perhaps these figures are a bit too abstract. Here’s a more precise way to look at the present state of bio-diversity on Earth.

23,000 Dolphins are slaughtered each year in a hidden cove in Taiji, Japan. The Japanese government covers it up. No one could get in.

Until now.

The Cove exposes an atrocity of unimaginable brutality. The dolphin slaughter depicted here is committed yearly and without knowledge of the general Japanese public, even though they could be buying highly-toxic mercury-laden dolphin meat disguised as fish from their local supermarkets.

The Brazilian government has today signed a federal decree establishing the Brazilian Whale and Dolphin Sanctuary, which will drastically increase protection for all cetacean species along the country’s entire 5,000 mile long coast.

According to José Truda Palazzo, Jr., Brazilian Commissioner to the International Whaling Commission, “the initiative sends a clear and powerful message to the international community in relation to Brazil’s commitment towards whale conservation, and also reinforces our campaign for a South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary to be established in the entire oceanic basin.”

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), just released a report showing that in recent decades, the noise created in the ocean by human activities has risen significantly, which poses a major threat to marine mammals.

Commercial shipping noise, seismic exploration, sonar, and off-shore construction and recreational activities are all contributing to an increasingly more disorientating environment for mammals in the ocean.

Under-water sounds for communication, navigation and food locating are key for whales, dolphins, porpoises and other cetaceans. Man-made noise pollution can cause behavioral changes such as abandoning breeding and feeding areas, and in some cases lead to mass stranding and even death.

“Protecting marine species from ocean noise is critical to their survival. Ocean noise can travel over vast distances and affect marine species across many national sea boundaries. Therefore it is vital that countries work together to build strong agreements to prevent marine species being drowned out by disruptive, man-made noise.” - Veronica Frank, IFAW Campaign Officer

Japanese schools are serving whaleburgers and whale nuggets dipped in sweet and sour sauce. Some schools take children on field trips to view whale slaughtering. Although whale meat can have toxic levels of mercury and many believe whaling is inhumane, the Japanese government contends that it is part of their culinary cultural tradition.

An International Whaling Commission’s moratorium on commercial whaling has in place since 1986, but has not stopped this practice. The Japanese government states that thousands of whales are hunted each year for scientific research, totaling 23,000 dolphins and small whales.

Many environmental groups believe it isn’t necessary to kill the whales to obtain scientific data. “There is no need to kill whales to study them. ‘Research’ whaling is just commercial whaling under another name,” said John Hocevar, oceans specialist for Greenpeace.

Meanwhile, the majority of whale meat finds its way to supermarkets, restaurants and even school lunches. The health risks are very high as this meat can have up to 16 times the mercury levels advised by the health ministry.

This makes me sad, dolphins are disappearing in large numbers.

Sightings by marine scientists of dolphins in the north Atlantic’s Bay of Biscay have dropped off by 80 percent compared to the same period in 2006, a wildlife conservation group said Wednesday.

The alarming drop in numbers of the Bay’s three most common species of dolphin — the striped, bottlenose and common — can be attributed to one or both of two causes, Clive Martin, senior wildlife officer for the Biscay Dolphin Research Programme, told AFP.

“We know for a fact that by-catch is killing thousands of dolphins every year,” he said, referring to commercial fishing operations in the bay, which is formed by the northern coast of Spain and the eastern French seaboard up to the tip of Brittany.

Martin singled out French “pair trawlers” that sweep the ocean with huge nets twice the size of a football pitch strung out between them as being especially lethal to the marine mammals.

“Dolphins are sometimes trapped hundreds at a time, and are asphyxiated” when they cannot come up for air, he said. Most dolphins typically replenish their lungs with fresh air every five minutes or so, he explained.

In my first exploration of the issue of by-catch in commercial fishing, I looked at the devastating effects of fishing not simply for the "target" species, but on those animals who are unlucky enough to be caught in the lines, traps, hooks, and nets not meant for them. In this second part, I further explore this issue and take a look at how the dolphins, sea turtles, and seals - animals for whom

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