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.
CNN Philippines highlighted the fact that they’re amongst the top 5 polluters, referring to the striking example of a young goosed beaked whale that died in the Davao Gulf as researchers pulled out approximately 90 pounds of plastic from inside it.
Transport Canada has implemented new seasonal speed restriction zones that ships must follow in the western Gulf of St. Lawrence. Canada has put these zones in place to reduce the risk of fatal strikes to North Atlantic right whales by transiting vessels. Vessels must proceed at a speed of not more than 10 knots over the ground in the speed restriction zones.
The University of Rhode Island (URI) developed and used an acoustic device to detect whales near the Block Island offshore wind farm. Specifically, MARIMBA (Marine Mammal Monitoring at Block Island Using Acoustics) was developed by six ocean engineering students who deployed it in close vicinity of the 30MW offshore wind project.
A joint project between Equinor Wind US, the Wildlife Conservation Society’s New York Aquarium, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution was launched, aiming to expand the detection and monitoring of whale species found in the waters of New York Bight.
The Japanese fleet that fishes whales returned after killing 333 minke whales in the Southern Ocean. According to the Japanese Institute of Cetacean Research from the 333 killed whales, 186 were male and 181 female. Over 50% of the females were adult and preliminary analysis, such as pregnancy rates, suggest healthy fertility of the species.
