Link: Tom Ash, Senior Policy Officer
Update from the Group
The Marine Mammals Group is one of the longest standing Groups at Link.
Marine Mammals Group members have successfully campaigned for a moratorium on commercial whaling and supported the UK Government to establish and maintain a strong stance focused on cetacean welfare at the International Whaling Commission. The Group also works on the issue of bycatch of endangered, threatened and protected species.
The Group has a strong relationship with the UK delegation to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and meets regularly with Defra officials and the IWC Commissioner. The Group raised the financial difficulties currently facing the IWC and urged the Government to contribute to the office costs of the IWC in our briefing for the new Government.
The Group is working closely with Defra officials to support the implementation of the recommendations outlined in the Efra Committee Marine Mammal Report. Our priorities in this space can be found in this briefing. We are continuing to explore options for policy and legislative reform through our Marine Mammal Protection Act Sub-Group which is assessing policy and advocacy routes to post change.
The Bycatch Group (Chairs: Jean Duggan, RSPB; Bianca Cisternino, WDC) are working to ensure the accidental capture of protected species such as dolphins, porpoises, seabirds and sharks, is minimised in UK waters. We are working with Defra to accelerate their ambitions for Remote Electronic Monitoring and the Bycatch Mitigation Initiative, and are part of the Government's Clean Catch 2 programme.
For further information about the Marine Mammals Working Group, please contact Link's Senior Policy Officer, Tom Ash, at tom@wcl.org.uk
Last updated: January 2025
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