Tuesday 22 May 2007

The report, Whales in Hot Water?, has been published ahead of the 59th meeting of the International Whaling Commission. It outlines the threats, including changes in sea temperature, sea level rise and, critically, the loss of icy polar habitats and the decline in key populations of krill - tiny shrimp-like marine animals that are the main food source for many great whales.

Cetaceans identified as particularly vulnerable to climate change include:

• North Atlantic right whale;
• beluga or white whale;
• Ganges and pink river dolphin;
• white-beaked dolphin;
• Yangtze river dolphin; and
• vaquita porpoise.

"Climate change compounds the threats whales, dolphins and porpoises already face, such as entanglement in fishing nets, collisions with ships, and chemical and noise pollution," said Emily Lewis-Brown, Marine and Climate Change Officer at WWF.

The impacts of climate change are currently greatest in the Arctic and Antarctic. In addition, the Arctic is further threatened because human activities such as commercial shipping and oil, gas and mining exploration and development will expand into previously untouched areas as sea ice melts.

The report outlines other projected impacts of climate change, including: a reduction of available habitat for cetacean species unable to move into colder waters (such as river dolphins); an increased susceptibility of cetaceans to diseases; and an impact on the food chain of cetaceans as carbon dioxide dissolves into the oceans and makes them more acidic.

WWF and WDCS are urging governments to cut global CO₂ emissions by at least 50% by 2050. We are calling on the International Whaling Commission to facilitate research on future impacts of climate change on cetaceans, and to develop conservation and management plans that address the threat posed by climate change.