Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) and Deloitte have released a new report that shines a light on the risks and opportunities for four key sectors – shipping, food retail, financial services and tourism – operating in the ocean economy. Launched on World Oceans Day (June 8th), the report highlights the key role that whales and dolphins play in oceanic ecosystems and assesses the multi-billion dollar, and wider non-financial, contributions of these ‘ocean ambassadors’ to businesses, and the environment and society. Businesses are now navigating a landscape where there are ambitious global ..read more

Protests and criticism from outside Japan in response to the slaughter of whales and dolphins have not only failed to stop the killing, but also raised resistance within Japan to ending the slaughter. So at Whale and Dolphin Conservation we're taking a different approach. WDC campaigner Katrin Matthes is on the ground in Japan working alongside Japanese activists and organisations to develop a strategy to stop the hunts from inside the country. I have worked with WDC, for just over a year now and have been responsible for our work to end Japan’s dolphin and whale hunts since August 2022 ..read more

Fishing nets are bad news for dolphins and porpoises, so we're working with local fishers in Hong Kong and Sarawak, Borneo to save lives and make sure they can coexist. The rivers of Sarawak, a state on the northwest tip of the southeast Asian island of Borneo, are home to Irrawaddy dolphins, Indo-Pacific finless porpoises and Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins. They either live here or come into the rivers to feed and are well-practised at grabbing discarded fish while human fishers haul their nets. Fishing activity in this area is intensive and this habit of hanging around hoping for an easy m ..read more

Antarctic minke whale alongside Japanese whaling ship. Photo © Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert Japanese whale hunting company, Kyodo Senpaku, is now promoting the sale of cosmetic products made from slaughtered whales via their vending machine stores. Advertised as luxury items, the company are marketing the grim cosmetics in an attempt to increase interest in and profit from whale meat and products, stating that shoppers can be ‘beautiful’ and ‘do more than just eat whales!’. Customers are being enticed to buy facial soap, beauty essence, aging cream and other products that contain whale at specia ..read more

Fin whale with unexploded grenade harpoon embedded in his or her side. © Hard To Port A new report by the Icelandic government exploring welfare concerns around its own fin whale hunts has revealed that some of those killed can take as long as two hours to die. But the hunts may well be allowed to continue again in just a few weeks. The shocking findings from the Icelandic food and veterinary authority were reached after a number of dead whales shot using grenade tipped harpoons during last year’s hunts were examined. Together with our conservation partner in Iceland, Hard To P ..read more

Guest blog If you've ever seen whales or dolphins in the wild, you'll know that it can be a positive and powerful experience.  In this guest blog, Stanley Clark shares how an encounter with whales brought him calm and explores how whale and dolphin watching can help us destress. Stanley Clark is a community development volunteer and writer. He worked on commercials, events, and campaigns before writing full-time in the area of natural health and wellness. I can’t stress this enough; stress is something you don’t want piling up. We lug around stress daily, which we shouldn’t be doing.&nbs ..read more

In a monumental, jaw-dropping demonstration of global community, the nations of the world made history when they agreed The High Seas Treaty - to protect 95% of the habitable space on Earth. Ed Goodall explores how we got there and what happens next. Last summer I was feeling frustrated when I wrote a blog about the need to agree a High Seas Treaty. It’s commonly understood by leaders that nations need to come together to protect those vast areas of ocean that do not fall under the governance of any country. As I wrote, we were in the middle of the fifth session of negotiations and by the ti ..read more

Supporters of the dolphin slaughter in Japan argue that killing a few hundred dolphins every year pales into insignificance compared with the millions of animals we slaughter for meat. WDC Germany campaigner Katrin Matthes gets under the skin of that argument and explains how we hope to end the hunts forever.      At least 560 dolphins were victims of the drive hunts in Japan between September 2022 and the end of February 2023. I expect you were horrified by the shocking images coming out of Taiji and devastated by the terrible injuries and deaths of juveniles and ba ..read more

The new owner of the Miami Seaquarium in the US has announced that it is exploring plans to release captive orca Tokitae, also known as Lolita, back into a sea sanctuary in her home waters of the Pacific Northwest. Tokitae has been held captive in a tank for over 50 years and kept alone for most of that time. She is the second longest surviving orca in captivity after Corky. Her story is a tragic one and her life far from that which she would have experienced if left free in the ocean. She is included on the endangered species listing for the Southern resident popu ..read more

We are excited to share that the philanthropy cards startup philropy, and environmentalist photographer Prince Hussain Aga Khan have joined forces to create the official collectible card featuring Whale and Dolphin Conservation! Philanthropy cards are a new genre of collectible cards created by Silicon Valley-based startup philropy, that feature nonprofit organisations from all around the world. Through philropy’s growing collection, one can discover and support inspiring organisations working to make our world a better place. What you can see on the card is a wild Spinner dolphin photog ..read more