From left to right: Walrus; pod of common dolphins; seal haul-out site. Photo credits: Claudia Afeltra, Peter GH Evans, Richard Bointon.
Increasingly, cetaceans (whales & dolphins) and pinnipeds (seals) around the world are facing modern pressures upon their environment – pollution, accidental capture in fishing nets, and disturbance from vessels, particularly high-speed craft.
Recreational activities in inshore waters have burgeoned recently, and can pose a major threat to whales, dolphins, porpoises and seals either by direct injury when animals are accidentally rammed or cut by the boat’s propeller, or by interference or stress caused from the noise made by the vessel’s motor or from its propeller when at speed.
