July 10, 2001
Pollution could endanger the survival of the world's great whales according to a report from WWF - the global environmental network. The document, Wanted Alive! Whales in the Wild, said seven of the 13 great whale species remain endangered or vulnerable, despite decades of protection.
Alarm is now growing over other, sometimes hidden, hazards that could put more species of whales on the endangered list. Stuart Chapman, head of WWF's Species Unit, said: "Whales are falling prey to new and ever-increasing dangers. "They are killed or maimed during ship collisions and menaced by toxic contamination, entanglement in fishing gear, intensive oil and gas development in feeding grounds as well as the effects of climate change and habitat degradation."
There is growing evidence that industrial chemicals and pesticide run-offs are potentially one of the gravest threats to the survival of whales. According to the latest study whales feeding on small crustaceans are increasingly affected by chemicals accumulating in their blubber, which are slowly released into their milk when they migrate to winter calving grounds.
These often invisible risks are becoming apparent at a time when whales are still struggling to recover from the years of overhunting that drove many species to the brink of extinction. Other cetaceans, including dolphins and porpoises have also dropped to critically low levels.
Whale hunting is continuing, despite the declaration of a moratorium on commercial whaling by the International Whaling Commission in 1985-86.
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