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WHALES AHOY
Mass whale stranding on New Zealand coast
by Staff Writers
Nelson, New Zealand (AFP) Jan 14, 2014


Taiwan seizes seven tonnes of dolphin meat
Taipei (AFP) Jan 14, 2014 - Taiwanese authorities said Tuesday they had confiscated 7.65 tonnes of dolphin meat in one of the largest hauls of its kind.

Officials seized the meat while searching a frozen goods factory in the southern city of Kaohsiung over the weekend.

Tests confirmed the product was dolphin, and it is estimated 150 of the animals were slaughtered to create the stockpile, the Pingtung Forest District Office said.

The factory owner, who said he bought the meat from local fishermen, faces up to five years in jail and a maximum fine of Tw$1.5 million ($50,000) for violating wildlife protection laws, said the agency which organised the search.

An investigation is ongoing and it is not clear where the dolphins were caught and sold.

Eating wild animals, including whales and dolphins, has long been a tradition for residents in some coastal areas of Taiwan, who believe they are good for health.

But all species of whales and dolphins have been protected by Taiwan's conservation law since 1989.

It is illegal to buy protected animals for any purpose.

At least 13 pilot whales were beached Tuesday on a remote New Zealand coastline and conservation officials were desperately battling to prevent another 50 from reaching the shore.

It is the second mass stranding in a week at the remote Farewell Spit, at the top of the South Island, which has become notorious as a whale graveyard.

Department of Conservation officials said they were alerted to the latest stranding late Tuesday morning and were using a boat to try to shepherd the whales still afloat out to sea.

Volunteers were protecting the stranded whales from the sun until an attempt to refloat them at the next high tide.

"We plan to attempt to refloat the stranded whales in the incoming tide tonight," conservation ranger Gregg Knapp said.

"We are hoping we can get them afloat and further out to sea before dark when it would become unsafe for people to work in the sea trying to refloat the whales."

Pilot whales are the most common species of whale seen in New Zealand waters.

Last week, a pod of 39 died after a mass stranding in the same Farewell Spit area, about 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the tourist city of Nelson.

Mass pilot whale strandings are common in New Zealand, particularly at Farewell Spit, with scientists unclear about why the marine mammals swim ashore in large groups.

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Sperm whale body stuns, draws crowd in Uruguay
Montevideo (AFP) Jan 12, 2014
Authorities in Uruguay on Sunday recovered the body of a 16-meter sperm whale, normally at home in deep waters, after it beached near the capital. Using a crane, the authorities moved the animal from the shallow waters onto the beach off Carrasco, an upscale town just next to Montevideo. "The body will remain on the beach until Monday," said navy spokesman Gaston Jaunsolo. Traffic ... read more


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