During the 67th annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission, in Florianopolis, Brazil, three resolutions were agreed on to protect the whales. The first resolution recognizes the important role of whales to the ecosystem, while the other two are tackling the dangers among cetaceans of both noise pollution and getting entangled in ghost gear.
IWC also passed a new bycatch initiative, which aims to mitigate a threat to whales and dolphins that are accidentally caught and drowned in fishing nets.
[smlsubform prepend=”GET THE SAFETY4SEA IN YOUR INBOX!” showname=false emailtxt=”” emailholder=”Enter your email address” showsubmit=true submittxt=”Submit” jsthanks=false thankyou=”Thank you for subscribing to our mailing list”]
In the past, the IWC has considered whales as resources to be used. However, now these animals are considered crucial links of the ecosystem, as they move nutrients into the sunlight where their faecal plumes fertilise the waters, helping the productivity of ecosystems.
In addition, the measures to tackle noise pollution are important because whales use sound to navigate through the oceans. Noise pollution, disrupts their system, obstructing their ability to navigate an communicate with other whales, Alexia Wellbelove, senior program manager at Humane Society International in Australia, explained.
Regarding the bycatch problem, Rebecca Regnery, senior director of wildlife at Humane Society International, mentioned that its mitigation is very important, in order to protect whales and their health. Namely, every year thousands of whales, dolphins and porpoises are accidentally caught and drowned in fishing nets, Ms. Regnery noted.
In addition, earlier this week, a proposal to create a whale sanctuary in the North Atlantic was made, but it was declined.
