Dear Friend

More news and information from WDCS in our series of E-Newsletters.

In this edition –

Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary’s “Aukuthon”

Iceland turn-around on commercial whaling?

Japan Dolphin Day

Maui’s and Hector’ Dolphins (New Zealand)

Other News

Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary’s “Aukuthon”

WDCS (NA) is proud to have provided one of the safety boats for the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary’s “Aukuthon”. The Aukuthon was a three-day kayaking trip circumnavigating the Sanctuary to raise awareness about the Sanctuary and the newly formed “Friends Group” for Stellwagen, Stellwagen Alive. Kayaker and Educator extraordinaire, Dick Wheeler, member of the Sanctuary Advisory Council and on the Board of the Stellwagen Alive, along with Ben Haskell, Assistant Sanctuary Superintendent, made the symbolic trip.

“It was an honor to be part of this adventure and to be in the company of people like Dick Wheeler and Ben Haskell” said David Silvia, WDCS Volunteer and Safety Boat Captain. WDCS provided a safety boat for days two and three of the event, as a safeguard, in the event there was trouble with the kayaks, or a change in the weather. Fortunately, all went well.

WDCS (NA) extends their deepest gratitude to David Silvia, Ken Medeiros, and Al O’Connor for volunteering their time as Captain and Crew on board the M/V Easterly. “This was a success on many levels” according to Regina Asmutis-Silvia, WDCS Senior Biologist, “Not only was the trip successful, but the collaboration of all the different groups and organizations supporting a common goal of raising awareness of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary was inspiring”.

For more information, please go to http://stellwagenalive.org/aukathon.shtml

Iceland turn-around on commercial whaling?

Despite the Fisheries Minister’s announcement in August that “There is no reason to continue commercial whaling if there is no demand for the product”, more whales are destined to die in Iceland’s controversial commercial hunt. Via an amendment to the regulation - new regulation, nr. 822 issued on the 14th of September 2007 - the Minister, Einar K. Gudfinnsson, extended the commercial hunting season until 1st November 2007.

“In this bizarre turn around, the Minister has sanctioned the extension of the commercial whaling season into the start of winter, when weather condition for hunting may further reduce the probability of whales being killed humanely. Now 23 minke whales and 2 fin whales which were left untaken from the 2006/07 commercial quota are once again available for the whalers to hunt. The question is what has prompted this u-turn? It seems unlikely that market has miraculously improved overnight. It is unclear what this may mean for the long term future of commercial whaling in Iceland” said Philippa Brakes, of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.

According to the Minke Whalers Association, the whaling vessel the Halldor Sigurdsson is readying itself and will go out at the first opportunity to continue the commercial minke whale hunt.

Source:
http://www.sjavarutvegsraduneyti.is/log-og-reglugerdir/reglugerdir/Breytingar/nr/1471

Japan Dolphin Day

WDCS joined WSPA (World Society for the Protection of Animals), CSI (Cetacean Society International) and MARC (Massachusetts Animal Rights Coalition) on September 25th for international Japan Dolphin Day in front of the Japan Consulate in Boston. Over two dozen dedicated individuals showed their support and joined us to peacefully voice our opposition to the brutal drive hunts in Japan. WDCS’s inflatable dolphins definitely made an impact and hundreds of flyers were handed out to the public. Thank you to all of you that showed up!

The hunts commenced in Taiji, Japan on September 1st, and since then over one hundred Risso’s and bottlenose dolphins have been slaughtered. The drive hunt season extends through April, and we need your continued support to end these hunts. Over 2,000 dolphins will be killed this season. Please contact the Japan Embassy in Washington, DC – for further information visit http://whales.org/eCampaignDH.asp to continue sending our voice of concern and opposition to the authorities in Japan! See also http://www.drivenbydemand.org for more ways that you can help save dolphins.

Diving for Dolphins

This is something we highlighted in an earlier e-Newsletter and the idea is still developing. Kris Hjalmarsson stitched the WDCS website (www.whales.org) onto his parachute canopy, and will be advertising WDCS throughout the States as he conducts his dives, whether part of events or demonstrations, or just on his own. This is a fantastic initiative by Kris in helping to raise the profile of WDCS in the US.

By promoting the website, and for all to see when he makes his jumps, he hopefully will drive some traffic and interest to our website and organization. We are hoping to develop a longer term fundraising program for WDCS called ‘Diving for Dolphins’, where we can help orchestrate dives in Arizona initially, and maybe further afield across the States. We really want to extend a ‘thanks’ to Kris, and we all think he deserves it. Kris and ourselves believe there is great potential with his involvement and commitment to WDCS here in the US.

If you would like more information on the Diving for Dolphins initiative please email contact@whales.org and put Diving for Dolphins in the subject line of your message.

Maui’s and Hector’ Dolphins (New Zealand)

Hector’s dolphin is a small, coastal dolphin found only in New Zealand. The species is endangered. The North Island population (also known as Maui’s dolphin of which there were only 111 at the last count) is critically endangered, the same status as the North Atlantic right whale we in WDCS (NA) work to protect thanks to your generous support.

The New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC) and Ministry of Fisheries (MFish) have recently released for public consultation a draft Threat Management Plan for the species. The public has been invited to comment on the plan by 24 October 2007.

The Draft Threat Management Plan is the result of more than two years of discussion and planning on how to better protect Hector’s dolphin, including North and South Island populations. About two years ago, DOC and MFish set up an Advisory Group and an Expert Panel. Both groups included representatives from the fishing industry, recreational fishers, tourism industry, conservation groups and independent scientists. These groups agreed that the most serious threat to the species is dolphin deaths in gillnet and trawl fisheries.

Details on the options can be found on http://www.whales.org/news/hectorDolphin9-27-07.asp. You can also sign an on-line petition, before October 22nd, at http://www.stoptheirextinction.org.nz.

Other News

Regina Asmutis-Silvia, WDCS’ Senior Biologist has been officially invited by the National Marin Fisheries Service to have a conservation seat on the Harbor Porpoise Take Reduction Team. This is the third federally mandated Take Reduction Team on which WDCS is represented by Regina.

A followup from the Mother Ocean article in the September 20th Newsletter, we were contacted by a supporter wanting to help raise awareness of Tom Jones, who is paddling the 1,250 mile coast of California. He is seeking world-wide attention to the problem of plastic pollution in our oceans. Much more information can be found at http://www.californiapaddle.com. We know from our own research trips from Plymouth, MA, there are considerable quantities of plastic that end up in the water off MA and we do our best to log it and retrieve it. This information forms the basis for applying for funds to develop our Trash Retrieval program and associated outreach work.

As promised in our September 20, 2007 eNewsletter, Ask The Expert is ready to go! Marine mammal experts from WDCS are ready to answer your questions regarding whales, dolphins, porpoises and any general question you might have. Click the graphic on the left or click here to submit a question.

Kind Regards,

Michael Waterson
Treasurer
WDCS (NA)
http://www.whales.org

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