Turn e d i t ing the We could have an important message in here!
ISSUE 1 Summer 2009
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Japan education programme WDCS has supported a number of public education campaigns through local Japanese NGOs (non-governmental organizations), which has included the distribution of information about the mercury and other heavy-metal contamination of whale and dolphin meat.
WDCS has visited Taiji and Futo in Japan, to witness and document the annual dolphin drive hunts which commence in September and continue through to April. During these hunts, over 2,000 small whales and dolphins, including pilot whales and Risso’s, striped and bottlenose dolphins, are corralled into small coves where they are subsequently slaughtered for their meat, or taken alive for the international aquarium industry. Working with WDCS, the Elsa Nature Conservancy, a Japanese conservation organization, has developed an educational road show that is traveling throughout Japan to educate and raise awareness amongst students and the general public about dolphins and the threats that they face, including the dolphin drive hunts, whaling and captivity. This educational exhibit will travel to various universities in Tokyo and through the coastal villages where the hunts occur, providing an opportunity to contrast the beautiful images of cetaceans in the wild with images of drive, harpoon and other hunts. WDCS will continue to foster the love and appreciation for cetaceans that can be found within Japan, and hopes to shape that into a public sentiment that
Letter from the Editor Hello and welcome to the first of your new look Turning the Tide newsletter. Our Turning the Tide members are some of our most committed supporters, raising over £100,000 a year to help protect whales and dolphins from the many threats they face. In recognition of your invaluable commitment to the safety and welfare of whales and dolphins, we wanted to make sure that your updates included the very latest from our campaigners and field researchers including comment and photographs from some of our less well known projects. I really hope you enjoy this newsletter, and I’d love to hear your comments and questions, maybe we could feature them in the next issue. Drop me a line on turningthetide@wdcs.org. Thank you Sign off
Factfiner Scottish fieldwork
UK conservation Alice Pope is the new Scottish Conservation Officer for WDCS. We asked her for the latest update from our Scottish Wildlife Centre. “We have live underwater sound in the exhibition room at Spey Bay again! Our sonobuoy was redeployed with the help of its creator, Tim Barton from the University of Aberdeen Lighthouse Field Station. A sonobouy is essentially an underwater sound recorder which is played back through speakers in the Wildlife Centre. The sonobouy lets us listen in to the sounds made by dolphins as they pass nearby. As well as being be both thought provoking and popular with visitors, the sonobouy forms the basis of our acoustic education work and helps visitors learn more about the wonderful dolphins of the Moray Firth. Now we’re just waiting to hear our first dolphins of 2009…”
Focus on Laura Anti captivity officer
Have you ever seen dolphins in captivity? Blah blah blah What made you want to work in this area? Blah blah blah What are you working on right now? Blah blah blah Is the situation for dolphins in captivity improving around the world? Blah blah blah Is there any advice you can give to people who want to get involved in the campaign to stop dolphins being kept in captivity? Blah blah blah
WDCS is researching whale and dolphin populations of the West coast of Scotland. Lead researcher Blah blah blah Location Blah blah blah Species Blah blah blah Threats Blah blah blah Research goals Blah blah blah Contact info@ for more on this project
Old camera equipment appeal Please send us old binoculars, cameras or camera equipment lying around that you no longer use. Please get in touch: turningthetide@wdcs.org
Update on International research Ecuador project – non-invasive sampling of humpback whales utilising local whale watch operators to collect the samples. WDCS funds international researchers in some of the worlds poorest regions. In this update, we look at research in Equador which is using non invasive sampling to study humpback whales. Location Southeastern Brazil Species tucuxi Researcher Prof Dr Marcos Santos – Projeto Atlantis/Instituto de Biologia da Conservação, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Campus Rio Claro.
Research Activity Can the marine tucuxi dolphin (Sotalia guianensis) population of the Cananéia estuary, Southeastern Brazil, face the advances of progress?
Background The marine tucuxi dolphin, Sotalia guianensis (Ván Benéden, 1864), is one of the
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