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Japanese whaling ship

Infamous whale slaughter ship docks for the final time

The whaling ship, Nisshin Maru has returned to the port of Shimonoseki for the final...
Sperm whale

Dominica announces new protections for sperm whales

Dominica has placed almost 800 square kilometers of sea off the west coast of the...
Porpoise dies after becoming entangled in fishing net

UK government rejects chance to protect whales and dolphins

The government has formally rejected almost all of the crucial recommendations made in a House...
Common dolphins © Christopher Swann

Ocean areas selected for conservation are now in danger says task force

The international task force celebrating 10 years of work mapping out Important Marine Mammal Areas...

Research suggests up to three million whales were slaughtered in last century

Researchers in the US have released a study that estimates the number of whales killed by industrial hunting in the last century is close to three million. 

This global slaughter is thought to be the largest cull of any creature (total biomass) in human history.

The devastation is still being felt today. Some estimates indicate that the number of sperm whales is down to one-third of their pre-whaling population, and that blue whales have been depleted by up to 90%. Some species populations have begun to recover, but others  – including the North Atlantic right whale (above) – are now staring extinction in the face. 

The researchers could not put an accurate figure on the true scale of the slaughter because they could not trust some of the information provided by the whalers regarding the numbers of whales they killed.  

Find out more about the history of whaling.

About George Berry

George is a member of WDC's Communications team and website coordinator.