“Look Before You Book”: Pacific Whale Foundation becomes a Dolphin SMART Operator
At Pacific Whale Foundation, we believe in the importance of connecting the public directly to the ocean environment in an educational and interpretive manner. It is this basic principle that has guided our eco-tour operations for the past 35 years. That being said, we pride ourselves on our commitment to responsible and respectful wildlife viewing….
Read More »2014 Australian whale season completed
While Halloween was celebrated in the Northern America, the Pacific Whale Foundation (PWF) research team stationed in Australia had their last day in the field in Eden, New South Wales. The day was made even more special by the presence of the replica of the HMS Endeavour, a British Royal Navy research vessel that Lieutenant James…
Read More »2014 whale season completed
While Halloween was celebrated in the Northern America, the Pacific Whale Foundation (PWF) research team stationed in Australia had their last day in the field in Eden, New South Wales. The day was made even more special by the presence of the replica of the HMS Endeavour, a British Royal Navy research vessel that Lieutenant James Cook commanded on his first voyage of discovery to Australia and New Zealand from 1769 to 1771.
After spending 9 weeks in Hervey Bay, two of our Research Assistants drove the 1,700 km (1,055 miles) south to Eden for an additional 3 weeks to collect more data on the humpback whales as they migrate south to their Antarctic feeding grounds. It was with great pleasure that we met Cat Balou owners, Rosalind and Gordon Butt, and their crew, who have been supporting the PWF research team for decades.
Putting an End to the Taiji Dolphin Slaughter, Right From Your Computer
Every year, thousands of dolphins are slaughtered along the coast of Japan in brutal drive hunts. The majority of dolphins caught in these hunts are butchered and their meat is sold in restaurants and supermarkets throughout the country. To fetch a higher price, and simultaneously tout itself as a more premium product, the meat is oftentimes purposely mislabeled as “whale” meat. A smaller percentage of the animals are spared from death, and instead sold to aquariums and marine parks in countries such as China, Taiwan, Egypt and the Philippines.
Bottlenose dolphins are the most commonly caught dolphin species in the Taiji dolphin drive
Drive hunts, also known as drive fisheries, refer to the practice of herding dolphins and small whales into coves where the animals are subsequently slaughtered or, more rarely, spared alive to be sold into captivity. While these hunts went on for years outside of the public eye, the rise of social media, revealing documentaries, covert video recordings and highly publicized protests have brought international attention and outcry to the issue of drive hunting.
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