Grassroots removing ghost nets, playful Mocajuba dolphins, and ship speed limits
Big Blue Bulletin #59
Welcome to the latest edition of the Big Blue Bulletin – things have changed just a little bit around here as featured stories will now focus on whales, dolphins, and porpoises, with a little bit of commentary from me thrown in as well. Still, you can expect good news, bad news, and a cute creature in your inbox every Friday.
Let’s dive in 🐬
Ocean news
🗞️ Big news of the week -
👻 The divers risking their lives to save whales from ‘ghost nets’
In Colombia’s Gulf of Tribugá, abandoned fishing gear is putting marine life at serious risk—including whales. Local diver Lloreda is part of Guardianes del Mar, a coastal collective that responds to reports of entanglements across this 600,000-hectare biodiversity hotspot. In one recent rescue, Lloreda freed a young humpback with netting wrapped around its mouth and fin, using calm, deliberate movements to gain the trust of the calf’s watchful mother. Cases like this show both the scale of the ghost gear problem as well as the incredible people working quietly to undo it.
💬 The ethics of listening to whales
Writers, artists and legal scholars came together in a recent panel to explore the ethics of using AI to decode sperm whale communication. The conversation, hosted by Emergence and featuring James Bridle, Rebecca Giggs, César Rodríguez-Garavito and Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee, asked what it might mean—legally, morally and emotionally—if we could break the interspecies language barrier.
🇨🇦 Canada to take steps to protect vanishing North Atlantic right whales from ships
With only around 370 North Atlantic right whales left, Canada is rolling out stricter ship speed limits this summer to help prevent fatal collisions. Vessels over 13 metres must now slow down in key zones as the whales migrate north to Canadian waters, with voluntary slowdowns requested elsewhere. Ship strikes and fishing gear entanglement remain the leading threats to this critically endangered species. But these measures come as right whales make their annual journey from calving grounds off the U.S. to Canadian feeding areas.
💩 Bowhead whale faeces link increasing algal toxins in the Arctic to ocean warming
A 19-year study has used faecal samples from 205 bowhead whales to track harmful algal toxins in the Beaufort Sea, revealing a clear link between toxin levels and ocean warming. The findings offer the first long-term biological evidence that melting sea ice and rising temperatures are driving increases in toxic algal blooms across the Arctic food web.
😞 Orcas off B.C. coast face 'high probability of extinction' if conditions don't change
A new report from over 30 experts warns that southern resident killer whales off British Columbia and Washington state face a “high probability of extinction” if stronger measures aren’t taken. Despite protection efforts in place since 2019, the population—now at just 75 individuals—shows no sign of recovery. These orcas are genetically distinct and rely heavily on dwindling Chinook salmon, while also contending with noise pollution and vessel traffic that disrupt feeding and communication. Scientists say current actions fall far short of what’s needed to prevent their decline.
🏊♀️ Watch river dolphins play with local children
Amazon river dolphins are known to interact with people, but only in Mocajuba have they been observed regularly playing with children without any food or reward.
Have a great weekend! 📸
Cover image by The Associated Press.