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WDCS and Captain John Boats launch recycling initiative
The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) and Captain John Boats are pleased to announce a collaborative recycling program aboard all the Captain John whale watching and fishing vessels.
Environmental changes to marine habitats, such as decreases in salinity and increases in water temperature, not only impact our weather patterns, but they disrupt how whales navigate, find food, and the types and amounts of food available to them. Trash that ends up in the sea can cause issues for all marine life. Approximately 14 billion pounds of trash are dumped into the world's oceans each year resulting in the deaths of an estimated 100,000 marine animals and two million sea birds from eating or becoming entangled in marine debris.
Each Captain John vessel is now equipped with specific recycling bins to collect plastic, glass and aluminum materials. All materials are counted and graphed as well as converted into actual energy savings. So far, since their introduction in April 07, more than 3,732 items have been recycled translating into the equivalent energy to run a television for more than 8,207 hours, just short of a calendar year.
To learn more about this effort, and other simple ways to make a difference, please visit www.wdcsgoesgreen.org. |
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Trash Pick Up
An part of the above recycling initiative, during dedicated WDCS research trips, and select whale watch trips aboard Captain John Boats, we continue to monitor and where possible retrieved trash from the ocean. The graph below was prepared by the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (with grateful thanks) based on data we have provided. We use this information, and the trash retrieved, to support our education campaign to promote awareness of healthy oceans. To enable our work to develop we are seeking further funding from interested people and organizations to supplement and complement our work. The aim is to support more time on the water to retrieve debris in and round the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Most important of all it will help sponsor an education campaign as means to reduce the amount of trash that ends up in the ocean. |
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Intern Program
WDCS has introduced its residential program in April 2007 first with an intern for 3 months from the UK followed by an intern from Nebraska. The program has been very successful to date with the interns carrying our valuable work on the whale watch boats going out of Plymouth, capturing data and photographs to help with the WDCS curated humpback catalogue.
They have also been instrumental in processing the recycling from the Captain John Boats and taking the cans and plastic bottles to the local recycling center.
We have two interns lined up for the Fall season and will be recruiting for Winter 2008 season shortly. The opportunity is advertised on the WDCS web-site at http://www.whales.org/news/internProgram.asp. |
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Cape Cod Stranding Network
WDCS would like to congratulate the Cape Cod Stranding Network on reaching the major milestone of handling their 2000th stranded animal. The following extract from a recent e-newsletter from Sarah Herzig the network Stranding Coordinator to CCSN volunteers puts things in perspective –
We wanted to share a major milestone with you! Together, we just handled our 2,000th stranded marine mammal since November of 1998! This number seems almost unbelievable, and to put it in perspective, other agencies have been operating for nearly 30 years before reaching their 2000th animal! This is a testament to how busy Cape Cod is with marine mammal strandings and how phenomenal our volunteers are who make it possible for us to keep up! Even more incredible is that of these animals, nearly 800 have been found alive and CCSN staff and volunteers have been able to help them in some way. Because of our joint efforts, 114 animals have been released back to the wild and 121 were transferred to rehabilitation facilities for longer-term care. This is just a little reminder that all your hours of hard work in rain and sleet and cold really do make a difference to these animals.
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WDCS and Dolphin Fleet Join to Promote Sister Whale Sanctuaries and Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Exhibit Moves
The official celebration of the Sister Sanctuary partnership between the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS) in Massachusetts and the Santuario de Mamiferos Marinos de la República Dominicana (SMMRD—Marine Mammal Sanctuary of the Dominican Republic) took place in the Dominican Republic during the last week of June.
As part of the sister sanctuary initiative, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) and the Dolphin Fleet whale watch company are commemorating the event throughout this summer in Provincetown, MA. In December 2006, the SBNMS, and SMMRD entered a formal partnership marking an unprecedented sister sanctuary agreement, which will provide protection for endangered humpback whales at both ends of their migratory range. SBNMS, which is located just six miles north of Cape Cod and headquartered in Situate, is the principal feeding ground of the US managed Gulf of Maine stock of humpbacks and the SMMRD is the principal mating and breeding ground of this stock.
"The humpbacks that we see feeding here, such as Reflection, migrate 1500 miles south to the warm waters off the Dominican Republic each winter to mate and calve. In fact, it is likely that is where Reflection's new calf was born, sometime between January and March of this year" said Regina Asmutis-Silvia, WDCS Senior Biologist. "The calf then had to migrate back north with Reflection to learn where to feed while her mother gained weight after giving birth in waters where little food is available." While in the Stellwagen Sanctuary, Reflection gorges on up to a ton of food per day, while her calf daily nurses 40-60 gallons of milk.
The preoccupation of feeding, nursing, migrating, mating, calving and surviving often leave these animals vulnerable to interactions with vessels, fishing gear and pollution at both ends of their journey as well as during their journey up the US east coast. Just this season, two endangered humpbacks and an endangered sei whale were found in, or near the Stellwagen Bank Sanctuary—all had signs of blunt trauma suggesting vessel strike. A protected minke whale was also found dead in the Sanctuary with fishing gear entangling it.
To help promote the Sanctuary Partnership, WDCS is sponsoring the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary's interactive educational exhibit. The exhibit will be displayed in the Dolphin Fleet gift shop through October 2007. The exhibit will be staffed by Dolphin Fleet interns, two of whom are from the Dominican Republic. The DR intern program (sponsored by Cetacean Society International) is a very important part of the research, conservation, and cultural exchange program the Dolphin Fleet has put in place to support the Sister Sanctuary initiative.
According to Dr. Carole Carlson, Director of Research and Education for the Dolphin Fleet, "Education is the most important way we have to protect these animals. If we can teach people about them, and about each other, we will have succeeded on multiple levels."
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Whale Sightings
The humpback whales have been plentiful in Massachusetts Bay and Cape Cod Bay. The latest sighting information and pictures on the Whale Adoption Project humpbacks seen can be found at http://whales.org/ws.asp. |
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Diving for Dolphins
Following the involvement of Nick Carter in the Year of the Dolphin campaign (see story here) we are working to put together a fund raiser called Dive for Dolphins. This is where people will sign up to the fund raiser and sky dive at a Drop-zone in Arizona, initially, to raise for WDC S’ dolphin work. If the fund raiser is successful we will be planning similar events elsewhere in the US. More information will be posted on the www.whales.org web-site in due course but if you would like to be early advised please email contact@whales.org and put Diving for Dolphins in the message title and your contact details. |
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If you would like to make a Donation
If you would like to make a donation to help support the work of WDCS, please donate online at https://whales.org/donate.aspx.
Alternatively click here to download a donation form and return it to the office at 7 Nelson Street, Plymouth, MA 02360. |
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Regards
Michael Waterson
Treasurer
WDCS (NA)
http://www.whales.org
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WDCS is the global voice for the protection of whales, dolphins and their environment.
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