Further information

Homes for whales

Alboran MPAProtecting the places where whales and dolphins live is vital to ensuring their future. WDCS's goal is to help design and create 12 large ‘safe havens’ or Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) for whales and dolphins by 2012.

Our five-year Global Campaign was launched in 2008 and in just the first week of the campaign, thanks to the support of Team Russia and the Volvo Ocean Race, we gained about 10,000 signatures on our petition calling for MPAs: a fantastic start.

These safe havens would protect critical habitat for vulnerable and endangered populations in all the oceans of the world, from the mangrove forests favoured by tropical dolphins in the Bay of Bengal to the big whale feeding grounds in Antarctica’s Ross Sea.

Scientists Record Birth Of Endangered Right Whale Near Proposed Undersea Warfare Training Range
On March 20th, while conducting surveys of an area the Navy plans to use for Undersea Warfare Training (USWTR) off Florida, scientists documented the birth of a critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.
West Autralia MPA postcardWDCS Pushes For A Network Of Protected Areas In Western Australian Waters
WDCS has been working, as part of the Save Our Marine Life coalition, towards a network of marine protected areas in the west of Australia that will be a safe haven for whales and dolphins and the ecosystems they call home.
AntarcticaFirst High Seas MPA Designated In Antarctica
The first high seas MPA in the Antarctic region has been declared in an area south of the South Orkney Islands. The MPA is situated in the northern Weddell Sea, east of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula - a prime area for feeding humpback whales.
Indo-pacific bottlenose dolphinsWill The Australian Oil Spill Inquiry Investigate Environmental Impacts?
Late last year millions of litres of oil leaked from the Montara oil well into the Timor Sea, off north-west Australia. WDCS, together with other conservation groups, raised the alarm at the probable impacts on wildlife and the environment.