Starting from 1st August and until 30 November 2019, the Panama Canal will implement speed limits aimed at protecting cetaceans, including whales, dolphins and other large aquatic mammals, during their nearby seasonal migration. As such, ships should proceed at a speed of not more than 10 knots in specified areas.
In this video, Long Gone Wild focuses on the plight of captive orcas, picking up where the acclaimed documentary Blackfish left off while telling a new and different story. The film was released on July 17, depicting the trade in wild-caught orcas, and focuses on the controversy regarding confining cetaceans in concrete tanks in marine theme parks.
The Government of Canada has introduced several measures to address risks endangered whales face by marine shipping and fishing activity. For this reason, Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport, fined one vessel $6000 alleged non-compliance of a temporary mandatory speed restriction.
As part of its efforts to protect North Atlantic right whales, Canada announced further measures to protect these iconic creatures, from 9 July. These measures include slowing down more ships in areas, increasing speed restrictions zones, increasing aerial surveillance, and funding initiatives to enhance marine mammal response.
According to the Canadian Government, the Minister of Transport, Marc Garneau, issued a statement based on unfortunate deaths of many North Atlantic right whales in Canadian waters; Because of this, he implemented a precautionary speed restriction of 10 knots, for vessels of 20 metres and more, that sail in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in the two designated shipping lanes north and south of Anticosti Island.
Iceland has not issued a permit on time to allow Hvalur Hf to hunt fin whales this year. Namely, the Government published regulations establishing whaling quotas in February, but the timing of the permit means that Hvalur will not be able to use the quota. Hvalur hf. is the last company in Iceland to hunt endangered fin whales.
WWF Norway collaborated with the scientific whale project ‘Arctic Whale’, aiming to share knowledge on plastic pollution in the Arctic with the public. Arctic Whale will conduct an Arctic roundtrip from May to July 2019, with WWF contributing with their expertise on plastic pollution and the Arctic area.
As CBC Canada reports, dozens of grey whales have been found dead along the West Coast in recent weeks, while some scientists believe the cause lies in the heated-up Arctic waters off Alaska. According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 58 grey whales have been found dead so far for 2019, in sites stretching from California to Alaska
On 10 May 2019, the Government of Canada issued an Interim Order announcing a suite of new measures to be implemented this summer to protect the endangered Southern Resident killer whales from vessel disturbance.
On May 3 the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) voted measures into effect in order to reduce the incidence of tourist ships striking whales around the Antarctic Peninsula. These measures will apply from July 1, before the start of the 2019-20 Antarctic travel season, which starts in October.
