All articles tagged with #international whaling commission
Scientists believe that orcas ramming boats around the Iberian Peninsula is a playful behavior rather than aggression. The trend, started by curious juvenile orcas, has spread through the population as a form of entertainment due to increased tuna populations reducing their hunting time. Despite the damage, no injuries have been reported.
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) has issued its first-ever extinction alert for the critically endangered vaquita porpoise, warning of its potential extinction due to gillnet entanglement. The vaquita population has dramatically decreased from about 570 to 10 in a decade, and their survival depends on stronger enforcement of the ban on gillnets in their habitat. The use of gillnets, which are illegal but still used to capture shrimp and totoaba fish, poses a significant threat to vaquitas. The IWC is urging immediate action to substitute gillnets with alternative fishing gears to save the vaquita from extinction.