Whaling

What happened at the International Whaling Commission 2016 meeting

Posted by Willie Mackenzie - 28th October 2016
Image for What happened at the International Whaling Commission 2016 meeting
All rights reserved. Credit: Greenpeace

The International Whaling Commission meeting 2016 has just come to a close. Delegates from 64 countries spent a week discussing and debating whales, in Potoroz, Slovenia.  Greenpeace’s international team was there, and here’s a quick roundup of what happened.  The Good Overall, this was a good meeting for the whales. Read More

Whale Fail – no new sanctuary in the South Atlantic (again).

Posted by Willie Mackenzie - 25th October 2016
Image for Whale Fail – no new sanctuary in the South Atlantic (again).

Bad news from the 2016 International Whaling Commission meeting – as the first significant vote was another disappointment for whales and supporters of conservation. Despite getting a majority of votes in favour, the proposal to create a South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary did not pass, because it… Read More

10 good reasons to protect whales

Posted by Willie Mackenzie - 21st October 2016
Image for 10 good reasons to protect whales
All rights reserved. Credit: Kate Davison

Killing whales for food has been happening for millennia. But it was commercial whaling – turning whales into barrels of oil for profit – that led to the wholesale destruction of most of the world’s populations of big whales.The loss of whales from our oceans is the same story as… Read More

Why is everyone talking about whale poo?

Posted by Willie Mackenzie - 20th October 2016
Image for Why is everyone talking about whale poo?
All rights reserved. Credit: Paul Hilton

Whales are special. No, not for any stereotypical hippy la-la reasons, this is *science*! Healthy oceans need lots of healthy whale populations: they keep things in balance, help disperse and mix nutrients, support entire ecosystems and help fight climate change. Surprised? Read on… Commercial whaling was bad news for whales,… Read More

A brief history of whales and commercial whaling

Posted by Willie Mackenzie - 20th October 2016
Image for A brief history of whales and commercial whaling
All rights reserved. Credit: Paul Hilton

Commercial whaling devastated the world’s biggest whale species, pushing some of them to the very brink of extinction in the early to mid 20th Century. Whaling for meat, oil, or whalebone was not a new idea, but new explosive harpoons and industrialised factory ships plundering the seas for whales had… Read More

Iceland’s fin whale hunt cancelled for 2016

Posted by Willie Mackenzie - 25th February 2016
Image for Iceland’s fin whale hunt cancelled for 2016
All rights reserved. Credit: Modrow/Greenpeace

No endangered fin whales will be hunted in Iceland this year. This is great news. Word today from colleagues in Iceland, and now reports in both Icelandic and English-language media confirm that the planned hunt for fin whales will not happen this summer. The man behind… Read More