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Bottlenose dolphins breaching

Landmark report reveals UK wildlife’s devastating decline

With whales and dolphins already facing many threats, a landmark report released this week reveals...
Dolphins with oil rig

Go ahead for new UK oil and gas exploration threatens whales and dolphins

Permission has been granted for the development of the UK's biggest untapped oilfield off Shetland,...
Icelandic hunting vessels in port

Whaling boat kept in port after more hunt cruelty exposed

Icelandic whale hunting fleet One of the whaling boats involved in the latest hunts in...
Commerson's dolphin

New Important Marine Mammal Areas added to global ocean conservation list

Commerson's dolphin Experts from a number of countries have mapped out a new set of...

Could British navy hunt for Russian sub be linked to whale deaths?

The mass stranding of rare, deep-diving whales along the coast of Ireland last December could be linked to a reported search by British navy warships for a suspected Russian submarine.

Eight rarely sighted Cuvier’s beaked whales have been found off the Irish coast in recent weeks together with a number of  common dolphins, a minke whale, a sperm whale, pilot whales, a fin whale, and harbour porpoises.

The total of 33 whales and dolphins washed up dead on Irish shores so far this year is a record.

Cuvier’s beaked whales are the deepest diving of all whales and dolphins and usually hunt for food many miles off shore. Last year a number of Cuvier’s beaked whale deaths in Crete were thought to be due to military exercises in the area.

Investigations following Britain’s largest mass dolphin stranding in 2008 concluded that the only realistic cause was military exercises taking place in the area at the time.

Noise pollution threatens whale and dolphin populations, interrupting their normal behaviour, driving them away from areas important to their survival, and at worst injuring or sometimes even causing their deaths. For whales and dolphins, ‘listening’ is as important as ‘seeing’ is for humans, yet there are still no international regulations regarding noise pollution in the world’s seas.