Undercover operation by conservation group reveals whale meat illegally on sale in Denmark Commercial whaling in Greenland -

December 2012. WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation has revealed evidence from a recent undercover operation in Denmark which clearly shows whale meat from Greenland on sale commercially in Denmark. 

A WDC team found Minke whale steaks and blubber openly available to buy at a tourist shop in the Danish capital, Copenhagen, thus putting Denmark in breach of European Union (EU) laws which ban EU Member States from the killing and commercial sale of whales. Ironically, the revelations by WDC also come in the week when Greenland has threatened to impose its own quotas regarding the number of whales that it will hunt for ‘local nutritional needs' in 2013.

Contravenes International Whaling Commission regulations
The sale of these whale products in Denmark also contravenes International Whaling Commission (IWC - the body that regulates whaling) regulations, and also those of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

Earlier in the year, a separate undercover investigation by WDC revealed that Greenland (a Danish overseas territory) had been actively undermining the IWC ban on commercial whaling by selling whale meat to tourist visiting Greenland from whales that are allowed to be killed only for the nutritional needs of local aboriginal people.

This latest undercover operation by WDC in Denmark itself clearly shows that this form of illegal commercial whaling has now extended into mainland Europe and makes a mockery of Greenland's requests to hunt more whales to feed native Greenlanders.

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/denmark-whales.html

Largest Network Of Marine Reserves Announced

WDC’s contributions to work helping to secure the world’s largest network of marine reserves in Australia is paying off following the news today (16th November) that a new national network of reserves are to be created by law from midnight.

The law will ensure that more than 2.3 million square kilometres of ocean will now be permanently protected. Work on how the zones within these marine ‘parks’ will be managed will now begin.

"Australia now has, by a long shot, the world's largest network of marine reserves," says Erich Hoyt, WDC Research Fellow who heads its Global Marine Protected Area Programme. "It's a model for every country to emulate. WDC is pleased to have been able to be involved from the early stages, particularly in the Southwest Marine Region in the selection of proposed critical habitats to include whales and dolphins, and in the Coral Sea in terms of driving support for the highest levels of protection. We now look forward to working with our Australian partners on the management plans to make these marine reserve networks effective."

The new marine reserves have been proclaimed in five of Australia’s six large marine regions. These include the South-West Marine Region which extends from South Australia to Shark Bay in Western Australia is of global significance as a breeding and feeding ground for a number of protected marine species such as southern right whales, blue whales and the Australian Sea Lion.  Features in the South-West region include the Perth Canyon – an underwater area bigger than the Grand Canyon -- and the Diamantina Fracture Zone – a large underwater mountain chain which includes Australia’s deepest water. Also protected is the North-west Marine Region which stretches from the Western Australian-Northern Territory border through to Kalbarri and provides protection to the world’s largest population of humpback whales that migrate annually from Antarctica to give birth in the water off the Kimberley.

Other areas protected are:
The Coral Sea Region
The Temperate East Marine Region
The North Marine Region
The South-east Marine Region

Find out more about our campaigns to create homes for whales and dolphins.

http://www.wdcs.org/news.php?select=1351