On November 30, 2024, a five to six meter long beaked whale stranded in the waters of Tai O, Hong Kong SAR, which was initially determined to be a Lang’s Indo-Pacific beaked whale, a rare species in the world. The whale was found with multiple injuries and was rescued by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation…

According to the Associated Press, a massive whale stranding has occurred in Western Australia, Australia, and scientists speculate that the massive stranding may be related to man-made underwater noise that affects the whales’ navigation. In recent years, noise pollution in the oceans has become increasingly serious, interfering with the whales’ ultrasonic localization system and causing…

Whales are important indicators of the marine ecosystem, with their excrement containing high levels of iron and nitrogen, providing nutrients for phytoplankton growth, which produces oxygen vital to the Earth’s ecology. At the same time, whales are sensitive to changes in their surroundings and can serve as an early warning signal. However, because of their…

Southern California encourages cargo ships to slow down in order to protect whales: According to Reuters, in July, Southern California began to implement a program to encourage cargo ships to slow down, on a four-month trial basis, by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District and the Environmental…

New Zealand’s Minister for Natural Resources Conservation, Chris Carter, says a number of countries in the South Pacific will sign an agreement to protect cetaceans and dolphins. The Memorandum of Understanding, based on the International Migratory Species Conservation Regulations (IMSCR), will be signed by at least 11 countries in the South Pacific, and sets out…

On November 14, 2024, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations released a video documenting the rescue of an orca stranded on a beach in the village of Ustivo on the Kamchatka Peninsula. The young female orca was stranded on a beach in the Sea of Okhotsk at low tide, unable to breathe properly and with…

On November 2, 2024, a rare carcass of a Sooty mid-beaked whale was seen on Wyke Regis Beach in Dorset, England. This is the eighth recorded sighting of this deep-sea cetacean in British waters, which is extremely rare. The stranding is of great concern to scientists and marine conservation organizations, as Sooty’s medium-beaked whales typically…

For the sixth year in a row, California officials delayed the Bay Area Dungeness crab season in 2024. The move was made to avoid whales becoming entangled in fishing gear. Although it disrupts fishermen’s plans, it is significant to protect the whales and provides a lesson in ecological conservation for other regions.

The International Maritime Organization has adopted a proposal to protect endangered blue, fin, and humpback whales off the coast of California that goes into effect in the summer of 2023. The proposal expands the area to be avoided by ship traffic to cover an estimated 4,476 square nautical miles of whale feeding habitat, and extends…

November 9, 2024 – South Africa’s Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Barbara Cressy, has said that a moratorium on octopus fishing off the country’s coasts will be in place from November 15 in order to protect large marine mammals such as cetaceans. September 27-29 is the annual “Whale Festival” in the South African coastal…