Posted by Stephanie (in Germany)
We’re at the end of a long road of collecting dead cetaceans around Europe. We’ve met a lot of scientists with grief in their voices from years of dealing with the issue of dolphins as bycatch from fishing. Our demonstration in Berlin – where we displayed 17 dead whales and dolphins – was strong and successful one. Journalists called asking with disbelieving voices: “Every two minute a whale? That can’t be…”
17 whales die as bycatch every half an hour, worldwide. We pointed out the big threats cetaceans face these days. First we were a bit disappointed that the police didn’t allow us to show more, but in the end, each whale told its own story. The little porpoise-calf missing part of his face due to a collision with a ships propeller, the white-sided dolphin with a chopped tail – done by a fisherman to make him sink – the porpoise with bad net marks, but still having a friendly expression in his face, almost amazed.