Skip to content
All news
  • All news
  • About whales & dolphins
  • Corporates
  • Create healthy seas
  • End captivity
  • Green Whale
  • Prevent deaths in nets
  • Scottish Dolphin Centre
  • Stop whaling
  • Stranding
  • Whale watching

New government marine wildlife code to help reduce dolphin disturbance

The launch today by UK Government of new guidance on how to act responsibly around...

UK government to extend ivory ban to stop the sale of orca teeth

Following the UK ban on the import, export and dealing of elephant ivory in 2022,...

Dead whale beauty products to be sold in Japanese vending machine stores

Antarctic minke whale alongside Japanese whaling ship. Photo © Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert Japanese whale hunting company,...

Arrests made following illegal whale meat smuggling from Japan to South Korea

Customs authorities in Busan, South Korea, have arrested six people for allegedly smuggling at least...

Study suggests whales are ingesting microplastics in alarming quantities

A new study into plastic pollution and its effects on the marine environment has confirmed that whales are ingesting microplastics in alarming quantities. 

A team from the University of Siena’s looked at fin whales and whale sharks in the Mediterranean Sea and Sea of Cortez respectively.  

Unlike toothed whales, filter feeding whales like the fin open their mouths to take in huge volumes of water and prey, such as krill or small fish. The water then floods back out through the whales baleen filters leaving the prey for the whale to then swallow. 

However, this feeding process also means there is the potential for them to take in substantial amounts of microplastic (less than 5mm wide) floating in the water.

Exposure to these plastic-associated toxins pose a major threat to the health of these whales since it can alter the hormones, which regulate the body’s growth and development, metabolism, and reproductive functions, among other things,”  said Professor Maria Cristina Fossi of the University of Siena.

For more on plastic pollution and how you can help visit WDC’S NOTWHALEFOOD site. BE A PLASTIC HERO! Plastic is #NotWhaleFood.