May
22

Scientists hope OSU whale-tracking data can reduce accidental deaths (phys.org)

From: Phys.org

(Phys.org) — A multi-agency team of scientists has launched a project to reduce the number of whales killed from ship strikes and entanglement in fishing nets by identifying high-risk areas along the West Coast of the United States.

The WhaleWatch project will use data from the tagging and satellite monitoring of more than 300 , conducted by researchers at Oregon State University’s Marine Mammal Institute, and combine it with environmental data and human activities to look for areas where whales and ships are most likely to intersect – and when it is most likely to occur.

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May
18

NOAA Visits Brazil

CRE Brasil on Training to Save Marine Mammals:
Members of the U.S. government organization National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) gave a training course on rescuing whales and dolphins. The course was located at the Theme Park Aquatic Mammals in Itamaracá, on the coast of Pernambuco.

Promoted by the National Center for Research and Conservation of Aquatic Mammals, a federal agency linked to the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation, the initiative aimed to train personnel in rescuing animals caught in nets used for overfishing.

The research center is a reference in Brazil in studies and management programs for the conservation of cetaceans. The focus is on endangered and migratory species.

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May
18

Brazil Wants to Increase Protected Area for Humpback Whales

 
The Brazilian government wants to increase the area for protecting humpback whales, an endangered species, which spends much of the year in the region of the Abrolhos Archipelago, off the coast of Bahia. The location is the first marine national park in Brazil and the largest coral reef in the south Atlantic. In a public consultation, the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation – a Ministry of the Environment agency – proposed the expansion of the marine park and the creation of the Humpback Whale Wildlife Refuge.

New meetings will be held with residents in four cities in the region to discuss the proposal of increasing the area ten times the original area of the Park of Abrolhos, i.e. from the current 87,943 hectares to 891,872 hectares. The Wildlife Refuge will cover a total of 765,261 hectares. Each year the humpbacks leave Antarctica to breed in the warm waters of the Abrolhos. With the expansion, the marine protected area in Brazil, which is only about 0.5% will be increase to 3% will.

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