News

Celebrating the launch of ‘Whales and Dolphins of Fujairah and the Arabian Region’

Robert Baldwin, one of the founding members of the Arabian Sea Whale Network (ASWN), and Balazs Buzas have co-authored the newly launched book titled “Whales and Dolphins of Fujairah and the Arabian Region”. This book, launched by the Fujairah Environment Authority, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin ...

ASWN Newsletter 2024

ASWN Newsletter 2024 We are pleased to present the latest edition of the Arabian Sea Whale Network newsletter, featuring highlights and updates from ASWN and its members over the past year. Explore the newsletter to learn about our latest updates! ASWN Newsletter_2024 ...

Arabian Sea Whales at the 2024 IWC Scientific Committee Meeting

The 2024 IWC Scientific Committee Meeting took place in Bled, Slovenia from April 22nd to May 3rd, 2024. Representatives from ASWN participated in person and virtually to present both regional updates and results of research conducted at national or project levels. As in past years, the ASWN worked collectively to ...

Arabian Sea humpback Whales on the agenda for the CMS COP in February 2024

The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) will hold its 14th Conference of Parties  in Uzbekistan from 12-17 February, 2024 Document UNEP/CMS/COP14/Doc.32.2.3 contains a progress report on the Concerted Action for Arabian Sea humpback whales, and a proposal to extend the Action for the next three years.  Why is this important? ...

Collaboration and innovation for Endangered Arabian Sea humpback whales in Oman

From November 21st-December 11th, 2023, an international team of experts collaborated with the Environment Authority of Oman to conduct one of the most ambitious surveys for Arabian Sea humpback whales (ASHW) to date.  At the height of the survey, which was coordinated by Future Seas, based in Oman, three boats ...

The Environment Society of Oman celebrates the graduates of a year-long Cetacean Research and Conservation Capacity Building programme

On Friday, October 5th, 2023, the Environment Society of Oman celebrated the achievement of four early-career Omani scientists who completed a year-long long capacity building programme on cetacean research and conservation.  The programme, previously funded by HSBC Oman and now by Sohar International Bank, started in September 2022 with a ...

ASWN members participate in a regional meeting showcasing new tools for marine conservation

The Global Biodiversity Initiative Project (GOBI) hosted a meeting in Oman on October 2-4th, 2023 with the theme of ‘New tools to support ocean conservation, planning and sustainable use in the northwest Indian Ocean’.  A number of ASWN members participated, representing organizations from Oman, Pakistan, and India.   The workshop highlighted ...

Iran’s reporting network yields valuable records of Bryde’s whales

Bryde's whales (Balaenoptera edeni) sighting In recent news from the region, two baleen whales were spotted by fishermen; Mr. Meysam Sajadi Far and Amir Jamshidiat from Kangan, at two different locations in the Persian* Gulf on the 20th and 21st of June 2023. The fishermen shared photos and videos of ...
Lake Bled, Slovenia

Arabian Sea Whales at the 2023 IWC Scientific Committee Meeting

This year the annual IWC Scientific Committee (SC) meeting was held in Bled, Slovenia between the 24th April and the 6th May 2023. A few ASWN members had the opportunity to attend the meeting in person or virtually, including Gianna Minton, Andrew Willson, Sal Cerchio, Tim Collins, Aida al Jabri ...

Workshop in Oman brings stakeholders together to discuss conservation management of Endangered Arabian Sea Humpback Whales

Press release issued by the Environment Society of Oman (ESO) Muscat, 28th November 2022 – A workshop focused on the protection of Arabian Sea humpback whales was organized in a collaboration between the Environment Authority (EA) and the Environment Society of Oman (ESO), with funding provided by HSBC Oman. The ...