Latest Cetacean bycatch Stories
New study finds 87 marine mammal species consumed by people in 114 countries The fate of the world's great whale species commands global attention as a result of heated debate between pro and anti-whaling advocates, but the fate of smaller marine mammals is less understood, specifically because the deliberate and accidental catching and killing of dolphins, porpoises, manatees, and other warm-blooded aquatic species are rarely studied or monitored. To shed more light on the issue,...
Some 4,600 sea turtles are accidentally caught and killed in U.S. fisheries every year, a 94 percent reduction since 1990, according to a new study published this month in the journal Biological Conservation. However, the progress may not be enough to sustain turtle populations, according to researchers at Duke University's Project Global and Conservation International, who conducted the study. The use of turtle-excluder devices (TEDs), or large holes that allow the sea turtles to...
Small-scale fisheries could pose a more serious threat to marine life than previously thought. Research led by the University of Exeter, published today (19 July) in the British Ecological Society's Journal of Applied Ecology, shows that tens of thousands of turtles from across the Pacific are being captured through the activities of small-scale fisheries.Focusing on fisheries in Peru, the study suggests that thousands of sea turtles originating from nesting beaches as far away as Australia,...
WASHINGTON, April 28, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) today announced the first round of grant awards from its Fisheries Innovation Fund, a program launched in 2010 to support sustainable fisheries in the U.S. The 18 new projects will engage fishermen around the country in the design and implementation of effective catch-share fisheries. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100701/NFWFLOGO) With the goal of rebuilding depleted stocks...
The number of sea turtles inadvertently snared by commercial fishing gear over the past 20 years may reach into the millions, according to the first peer-reviewed study to compile sea turtle bycatch data from gillnet, trawl and longline fisheries worldwide.The study, which was published online April 6 in the journal Conservation Letters, analyzed data compiled from peer-reviewed papers, government reports, technical reports, and symposia proceedings published between 1990 and 2008. All data...
Four weeks on from the shocking incident that led to the death of 26 dolphins near Falmouth, research released Monday sheds new light on the extent of the problems facing Cornwall's marine mammals.A study by the University of Exeter and Cornwall Wildlife Trust, published in the journal Biodiversity and Conservation, has revealed a disturbing rise in the number of whales, dolphins and porpoises found dead on Cornish beaches. The frequency of these mammals, collectively known as cetaceans,...
2 dolphin stocks may be recovering from tuna fishing practicesThe numbers of Northeastern offshore spotted and eastern spinner dolphins in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean are increasing after being severely depleted because of accidental death in the tuna purse-seine fishery between 1960 and 1990, according to biologists from NOAA's Fisheries Service."These estimates are encouraging because they are consistent with what we would expect to see if these stocks are recovering, now that...
An international research team, including biologists from NOAA's Fisheries Service, reported in the scientific journal Conservation Biology, that the estimated population of vaquita, a porpoise found in the Gulf of California, is likely two years away from reaching such low levels that their rate to extinction will increase and possibly be irreversible. Scientists believe only about 150 vaquita remain.The research team, led by Armando Jaramillo, Instituto Nacional de EcologÃa, Mexico,...
LONDON (AP) -- A British university on Tuesday announced plans for what it called the largest international survey of whales, dolphins and porpoises on the European Atlantic continental shelf. Seven ships and three aircraft will be used in the survey by the Sea Mammal Research Unit at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. They will conduct an intensive survey of the European Atlantic continental shelf to map the distribution and estimate the abundance of cetaceans. The survey, involving...
Washington "“ Leading marine scientists for the first time have assessed dolphin and porpoise populations around the world which are severely threatened by entanglement in fishing gear and recommended nine urgent priorities for action in a report commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund. These nine projects highlight species threatened by bycatch that will most likely benefit from immediate action and will continue to languish without intervention. The list of dolphins and porpoises that...
