Category Archives: Marine Mammals

Animal Intelligence, Atlantic Ocean, Biodiversity, Cetaceans, Christopher J. Gervais, conservation, Documentary Films, Dolphins, environment, Film Festival, Marine Conservation, Marine Mammals, Nature Documentary, Nature Films, New York City, Plastic Pollution, Power of Film, Risso's Dolphin, Uncategorized, WCFF, wildlife, Wildlife Conservation, Wildlife Conservation Film Festival, Wildlife Documentary, Wildlife Films, World Premiere Screening

New feature documentary on the Risso’s Dolphin

August 7, 2018 christopherjgervais Leave a comment

“Scars-Politics in the Big Blue” produced by Dr. Karin Hartman screens as a World Premiere in New York City. This is the first feature documentary film made on the Risso’s Dolphin.

The WCFF informs, engage and inspires wildlife conservation through the power of film. Join us for our eight year anniversary in New York, NY, October 18-28, 2018. Ten days of film screenings, panel discussions, receptions, field trips, networking, Virtual Reality and more. Get your 2018 All Access Film Festival pass today: http://www.wcff.org/nyc-festival-2018/

Contact: info@wcff.org to join the planning committee. Advertise & promote your brand on the big screen during the festival. Take a page in the full color program book.

Christopher J. Gervais, FRGS
Twitter: @CJGERVAIS
Christopher@WCFF.org

Wildlife Conservation Film Festival
October 18-28, 2018 | New York, NY
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Antartctic Ocean, Asia, Atlantic Ocean, Biodiversity, Cetaceans, China, Christopher J. Gervais, conservation, Documentary Films, Dolphins, Endangered Species, environment, Film Festival, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Marine Mammals, Micro plastics, Nature Documentary, Nature Films, New York City, Nigeria, Ocean, Ocean Pollution, Oceans, Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch, phytoplankton, Plastic Bags, Plastic Debris, Plastic Pollution, Plastic Sea, Plastic Straws. Micro Plastics, Plastic Trash, Plastic Water Bottles, Power of Film, River, Sea Turtles, Seabirds, Sharks, Single-Use Plastic Straws, Uncategorized, WCFF, Whales, Wildlife Conservation, Wildlife Conservation Film Festival, Wildlife Documentary, Wildlife Films

Five trillion pounds of plastic garbage floats in the seas

May 1, 2018 christopherjgervais Leave a comment

Recent study indicates between 88 to 95% of the plastic polluting the world’s oceans pours in from just ten rivers, eight are in Asia and the remaining two in Africa. These rivers account for about five trillion pounds of plastic garbage that is floating in the seas.

The Ganges River in India is responsible for about 1.2 billion pounds, while the Yangtze has been estimated in previous research to dump some 727 million pounds of plastic into the ocean’s each year.

A combination of the Xi, Dong and Zhujiang Rivers (233 million lbs per year) in China as well as four Indonesian rivers: the Brantas (85 million lbs annually), Solo (71 million pounds per year), Serayu (37 million lbs per year) and Progo (28 million lbs per year), are all large contributors.

It is estimated that over 200 million marine mammals, seabirds and sea turtles are killed each year by ingesting plastic garbage in the ocean.

Christopher J. Gervais, FRGS
Twitter: @CJGERVAIS
Christopher@WCFF.org

Asia, Biodiversity, Cambodia, Cetaceans, Christopher J. Gervais, conservation, Documentary Films, Dolphins, Endangered Species, environment, Extinction, India, Irrawaddy River Dolphins, Mammals, Marine Mammals, Nature Documentary, Nature Films, Ocean, Ocean Pollution, Plastic Pollution, Power of Film, Uncategorized, Vietnam, WCFF, WCFF Education Outreach, wildlife, Wildlife Conservation, Wildlife Conservation Film Festival, Wildlife Documentary, Wildlife Films

Irrawaddy River Dolphins

April 25, 2018 christopherjgervais Leave a comment

Good News – After decades of irreversible decline, results from a Government of Cambodia census show the population of critically endangered Irrawaddy river dolphins in the Mekong has risen from 80 to 92 in the past two years, the first increase in more than twenty years.

Although sometimes called the Irrawaddy river dolphin, it is not a true river dolphin, but an oceanic dolphin that lives in brackish water near coasts, river mouths and in estuaries. It has established subpopulations in freshwater rivers, including the Ganges and the Mekong, as well as the Irrawaddy River from which it takes its name. Its range extends from the Bay of Bengal to New Guinea and the Philippines although they do not appear to venture off shore.

It is often seen in estuaries and bays in Borneo Island, with sightings from Sandakan in Sabah, Malaysia, to most parts of Brunei and Sarawak, Malaysia. A specimen was collected at Mahakam River in East Kalimantan.

No range-wide survey has been conducted for this vulnerable species; however, the worldwide population appears to be over 7,000, with over 90% occurring in Bangladesh. Populations outside Bangladesh and India are classified as critically endangered. Known subpopulations of Irrawaddy dolphins are found in eight places, listed here in order of population, including conservation status.

The WCFF mission is to inform, engage and inspire wildlife conservation through the power of film. Join us for our eight year anniversary October 18-28, 2018. Ten days with over 100 documentary films screened, many World and North America premieres. Panel discussions, receptions, field trips, networking, virtual reality/360 and more. All Access Film Festival passes are available now for purchase: www.wcff.org/nyc-festival-2018/

Contact: info@wcff.org to join the planning committee. Sponsor the film festival, advertise on the big screen during the outdoor summer series and the October festival. Take a page in the full color program book to be distributed in USA, China and other countries

Christopher J. Gervais, FRGS
Twitter: @CJGERVAIS
Christopher@WCFF.org

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Single-Use Plastic Straws

April 5, 2018 christopherjgervais Leave a comment

Single-use plastic straws typically cannot be recycled. Instead, they often end up in our oceans, a big part of our growing plastic pollution crisis. At present humans are unloading the equivalent of a dump truck full of plastic into the world’s oceans every minute. One pile of garbage in the Pacific Ocean has reached at least 87,000 tons and covers an area roughly four times the size of California.

Christopher J. Gervais, FRGS
Twitter: @CJGERVAIS
Christopher@WCFF.org

Animal Intelligence, Animal Rights, Atlantic Ocean, Biodiversity, Canada, Cetaceans, Christopher J. Gervais, conservation, Documentary Films, Endangered Species, Endangered Species Act, environment, Extinction, Film Festival, Marine Mammals, Marine Protected Area, Nature Documentary, Nature Films, New York City, North America, North Atlantic Right Whales, Ocean, Ocean Pollution, Oceans, phytoplankton, Plastic Debris, Plastic Pollution, Power of Film, Uncategorized, Vaquita, WCFF, WCFF Education Outreach, Whales, wildlife, Wildlife Conservation, Wildlife Conservation Film Festival, Wildlife Documentary

North Atlantic Right Whale Population is Crashing

March 27, 2018 christopherjgervais Leave a comment

The North Atlantic Right Whale is one of the most endangered of all the large cetaceans. Fewer than 450 remain and this year18 deaths have been recorded off the coasts of USA & Canada by ship strikes. There could be more we are not aware. To make matters worse, no calves have been sighted in 2018 where they and their mothers are found off the coast of southern Georgia and northern Florida. At this current rate of death and lack of newborns, the species will be extinct by 2040.

We will lose the Vaquita this year and have recently lost the Yangtze river Dolphin. When will the world wake up from ignorance.

Christopher J. Gervais, FRGS
Twitter: @CJGERVAIS
Christopher@WCFF.org

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Seeking Sanctuary – Official WCFF Selection

March 13, 2018 christopherjgervais Leave a comment

“Seeking Sanctuary” directed by Nick Jones, produced by Louise Heren and Simon Blakeney is an official selection for 2018.

Christopher J. Gervais, FRGS
Twitter: @CJGERVAIS
Christopher@WCFF.org

Antartctic Ocean, Biodiversity, Bycatch, Cetaceans, Christopher J. Gervais, conservation, Documentary Films, Dolphins, Endangered Species, environment, Film Festival, Fish, Humpback Whales, Marine Mammals, Marine Protected Area, Micro plastics, Minke Whales, Nature Documentary, Nature Films, Ocean, Ocean Pollution, Oceans, phytoplankton, Plastic Bags, Plastic Debris, Plastic Pollution, Plastic Sea, Plastic Trash, Power of Film, Seabirds, Sharks, Southern Ocean, Uncategorized, Water, WCFF, WCFF Education Outreach, Whales, wildlife, Wildlife Conservation, Wildlife Conservation Film Festival, Wildlife Documentary, Wildlife Films

Plastic Pollution Facts

March 6, 2018 christopherjgervais Leave a comment

Some facts about Plastic Pollution in the Ocean

The average American throws away approximately 185 pounds of plastic per year.
The USA throws away 35 billion plastic water bottles every year. Annually approximately 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide.
More than one million bags are used every minute.
It takes 500-1,000 years for plastic to degrade.
Plastic constitutes approximately 90 percent of all trash floating on the ocean’s surface, with 46,000 pieces of plastic per square mile.
One million sea birds and 100,000 marine mammals are killed annually from plastic in our oceans.
New study finds 73% of deep water fish in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean have ingested micro plastics.
Some 45% of all seabird species, 25% of cetaceans, all sea turtle species and a growing list of fish species have been documented with plastic in or around their bodies.

Lear more: https://www.ecowatch.com/22-facts-about-plastic-pollution-and-10-things-we-can-do-about-it-1881885971.html

Christopher J. Gervais, FRGS
Twitter: @CJGERVAIS
Christopher@WCFF.org

Animal Intelligence, Animal Rights, Biodiversity, British Columbia, Canada, Canada First Nations, Cetaceans, Christopher J. Gervais, conservation, Documentary Films, Endangered Species, environment, Extinction, Film Festival, Humpback Whales, Killer Whales, Laura Vandervoort, Mammals, Marine Mammals, Marine Protected Area, Nature Documentary, Nature Films, Ocean, Ocean Pollution, Oceans, Orca, Pilot Whales, Plastic Debris, Uncategorized, WCFF, WCFF Education Outreach, Whales, wildlife, Wildlife Conservation, Wildlife Conservation Film Festival, Wildlife Documentary, Wildlife Films, World Orca day

The Hundred-Year-Old Whale

February 28, 2018 christopherjgervais Leave a comment

The Hundred-Year-Old Whale, produced by Tony Wosk of Middle Child Films and narrated by actress Laura Vandervoort screens in New York City.

The WCFF informs, engage and inspires wildlife conservation through the power of film. Join us for our eight year anniversary in New York, NY, October 18-28, 2018. Ten days of film screenings, panel discussions, receptions, field trips, networking, Virtual Reality and more. There is no other film festival on the planet that is dedicated to wildlife conservation

Christopher J. Gervais, FRGS
Twitter: @CJGERVAIS
Christopher@WCFF.org

Wildlife Conservation Film Festival
October 18-28, 2018 | New York, NY
http://www.WCFF.org
Facebook.com/WCFForg
Twitter: @WCFF_org
Instagram: @wcff_org
Vimeo.com/wcff
LinkedIn: Wildlife Conservation Film Festival

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Japan’s “Scientific Whale Hunt”

January 9, 2018 christopherjgervais Leave a comment

The Japanese whaling fleet is currently hunting minke whales in the Antarctic Ocean. This is in violation of a ruling by the International Court of Justice on March 31, 2014 that ordered Japan to stop this practice immediately. The waters around Antarctica are a designated whale sanctuary. Despite this ruling and the protected area, this does not stop Japan’s whalers who kill in the name of “scientific research.” Really? Who actually believes this?

in 2016 the Japanese Whaling Fleet returned home with a reported 333 minke whale carcasses, some where pregnant females. Japan has said it conducts this “scientific whaling” strictly for research; however, the meat is sold commercially and government agencies say the ultimate goal is the resumption of commercial whaling.

Learn more through the power of film and what you can do to stop this. Come to the eight year anniversary of the WCFF this fall. Ten days of film screenings, receptions, panel discussions, field trips, networking, VR & more. Join us October 18-28, 2018. To advertise with, sponsor the film festival, submit a film, or join the planning committee, contact: info@wcff.org

Christopher J. Gervais, F.R.G.S.
Twitter: @CJGERVAIS
Christopher@WCFF.org

Marine Mammals, Marine Protected Area, Obama, Ocean, Oceans, Uncategorized, Whales

Obama announces Atlantic Ocean’s first national monument

October 3, 2016 christopherjgervais Leave a comment

Water in the designated region is projected to warm three times faster than the global average, according to National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) research, changes which will threaten species like salmon, lobster, and scallops. Recreational fishermen will still be permitted in the region, but red crab and lobster fisheries will have to end fishing in the monument area within seven years, and commercial fishermen will have two months to make the switch.

“We’re helping make oceans more resilient to climate change,” President Obama said. “And this will help fishermen better understand the changes that are taking place that will affect their livelihood, and we’re doing it in a way that respects the fishing industry’s unique role in New England’s economy and history.”

Nevertheless, New England fishermen claim the protected region will harm the fishing industry, and they feel Obama was wrong to implement the creation of protected areas under the Antiquities Act. In August, Obama used the authorities given by this act to create the world’s largest marine national monument off the coast of Hawaii.

Said National Coalition for Fishing Communities spokesman Bob Vanasse, “We don’t normally create laws in this country by the stroke of an imperial pen. We anticipate the offshore lobster industry will be affected to the tune of about $10 million per year. On top of that, one of the most affected industries is going to be the Atlantic red crab industry. It is going to be very significantly impacted.”

However, the White House noted that NOAA will work with Congress to help New England fishermen, using programs that provide low-interest loans for ship rehabilitation, new ship acquisitions, aquaculture, shoreside fisheries, and fishing gear repair and upgrades.

Said Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council: “We need sustainable fisheries and economically sustainable communities. This monument can help bring both forward.”

Source: Dasgupta, Shreya. “Obama creates Atlantic Ocean’s first marine national monument.” Mongabay. 19 September 19 2016.

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