The 2025 #SaveTheIberianOrca campaign has been launched.
The associations WeWhale and Sea Shepherd France say ‘the urgency couldn’t be clearer’.
They state that only 35 to 40 Iberian orcas remain; while the Iberian Orca Protection and Conservation association estimate the population has now dwindled to around 30 individuals.
Campaign founder Janek Andre said: “We cannot stand by and do nothing while this population is increasingly under threat. The time to act is now.”
Launching the campaign, ‘with our new boat not even fully ready’, they encountered a pod of Iberian orcas close to the Strait of Gibraltar.
“Among them was an entangled individual we later identified as Onyx, also known as Gladis Gris,” they revealed this week.
“Her right pectoral fin was wrapped in fishing gear: a buoy, a plastic pail, and what appears to be a piece of drift net.”
Despite the circumstances, Onyx appeared in good condition, swimming strongly and actively hunting with the group.
“That’s an encouraging sign of resilience, but it also means she is mobile and harder to approach for a safe disentanglement,” they revealed.
The evaluation of how to proceed is now being coordinated by the Spanish ministry for the ecological transition (Miteco).
They also found that a young male orca named Atlas now has deep propeller wounds, ‘clear evidence of a recent boat strike’.
“These are not isolated cases. They are symptoms of a wider crisis,” they noted.
The associations added: “We are working in close coordination with all relevant authorities and local partners — on both the Spanish and Moroccan sides — to assess how to help Onyx, monitor Atlas, and push for stronger orca surveillance among the relevant entities to prevent further suffering.”
The Iberian orcas are on the brink of extinction, and ‘what we’ve witnessed in just the first few days of this campaign proves that their survival depends on coordinated, urgent action from organisations willing to act’.
“That’s what the Save The Iberian Orca campaign is all about — helping to secure a future for these animals, who face multiple threats in the Strait of Gibraltar: human retaliation, illegal fishing practices, maritime traffic, and habitat degradation,” they concluded.
Iberian Orca Protection & Conservation commented this week: “It is important to remember that this population is on the brink.
“If the orcas continue to endure such traumas and disappearances increase, it will become extremely difficult, if not impossible, to restore balance to this already critically endangered subpopulation.”
Find out more about the Save the Iberian Orca campaign via the website https://save-the-iberian-orca.org/
Photos by Sea Shepherd France
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