Moving of whales opposed by WDCS

The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) said it is 'strongly opposed' to plans to transport wild grey whales from California in a bid to reintroduce the species in UK waters.

Academics of the University of Lancaster's School of Natural Resource put forward the idea of airlifting 50 grey whales from the Pacific at a meeting in Brazil in July.

Grey whales were once a common sight in the seas around northern Europe but have been extinct in our waters for more than 400 years. Andrew Ramsey and Owen Nevin from Lancaster University claimed that the dramatic species reintroduction could 'stimulate a lucrative' whale watching tourist industry.

The pair said cargo aircraft could 'easily accommodate' adult grey whales and that the journey from California to Britain would take less than 12 hours.

"Some people will say it is impossible but we are deadly serious about this," said Nevin. "It's ecologically, logistically and economically feasible and whale watching could regenerate struggling fishing communities around our coasts."

However, the WDCS said that the whales could not be replaced by moving populations from the East Pacific. It said that even disregarding the welfare and logistical issues of moving such large animals, it could not be assumed that Pacific grey whales would be able to navigate successfully and survive in the Atlantic.

"At the WDCS we can well appreciate the enthusiasm for trying to replace the whale species that we have lost here, but the notion of taking whales from one place and reintroducing them somewhere else is far more complex than it might appear," said Mark Simmonds, the UK-based director of science at the WDCS. "They [the whales] are dependant on seasonal migration routes and times to enable them to move between breeding and feeding grounds."

Source: www.divemagazine.co.uk