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Science: Top news

Whales Through the Lens of Photo Identification

Scientists have developed new methods of studying dolphins and whales that don't harm the animals. One way to study whale numbers is to identify each individual in a population. Here's where photo identification comes into play.
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Why Whales Disappeared off South Georgia Island

Thousands of whales were wiped out in the Antarctic Ocean. Now, after commercial whaling was brought to an end in the Southern Ocean, whales are making a comeback. But they aren't the same whales off South Georgia Island.
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Declines of Taiji Dolphin Populations Confirmed

A recent analysis by scientists, adopted by the IWC Scientific Committee, shows what many opponents of the Taiji dolphin hunts have feared -- the hunts are depleting several dolphin species along the coast of Japan, leading the dolphin hunters to go after other species, while still killing the depleted species.
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Why Do Whales Strand? Unraveling the Mystery

Sometimes whales and dolphins don't stay in the ocean, but come up on shore. Why do they do this, as individuals and sometimes as whole pods of animals? There are many reasons, but too often such strandings end in tragedy.
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A Tribute to Roger Payne

Few people have had as much impact in protecting and studying whales as Dr. Roger Payne. Roger died last week, and those of us who knew him will miss his support, his counsel, and his zest for life.
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2% of Deadly Fishing Gear is Lost in Our Oceans Each Year

A new study, based on interviews with fishermen, estimates that 2% of plastic fishing gear (nets and lines) is lost every year in our oceans. Some of this gear winds up continuing to entangle fish, marine mammals, and other marine life.
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A Tribute to Whale Researcher and Advocate, Ken Balcomb

No one is better known in the whale research community than Ken Balcomb. He died last December 15th, leaving a lasting legacy of orca and whale research, conservation advocacy, and his many students and friends.
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Ocean of Noise
| By Kayleigh Brookes

Our oceans are being saturated with human-caused noise. There can be great harm to dolphins, whales and other marine life from various sources of intense noise in our oceans from oil exploration and drilling, military sonars, ship traffic, and other sources.
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Topics: Pollution, Science
HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP RELIEF/RESCUE EFFORTS IN AUSTRALIA
| By Mattie Naythons

It’s often difficult to empathize with tragedies that occur far from home. We frequently fall into the bystander role. But as the effects of climate change worsen and become more visible, we cannot afford to continue following a behavior chain of ignorance and disengagement.
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“Anderson v SeaWorld”: Key Quotes from Expert Witnesses #6
| Mark J. Palmer

The International Marine Mammal Project (IMMP) of Earth Island Institute helped develop and is consulting on a lawsuit against SeaWorld (Anderson v SeaWorld), contending that the mega corporation has been deliberately lying to the public about the health and welfare of their orcas in captivity. SeaWorld is being called-out on these lies, as never before, because of the groundbreaking legal battle we’ve been waging on behalf of captive orcas for more than five years! Usually SeaWorld bullies their way through litigation. They’re a multi-billion dollar company and pay multiple aggressive hired-gun attorney teams to do their bidding. But this time, all five of SeaWorld’s attempts to have the case, Anderson v SeaWorld, dismissed have been denied. Their efforts to further delay and drag out the case and keep scientific expert witness reports sealed by the court and kept secret, are crumbling.
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Campaign Top News

International Marine Mammal Project >
  • From the cold reaches of the Russian coast, to Japan's notorious Cove, to global tuna fleets, to Barataria Bay, to the concrete tanks of SeaWorld - the International Marine Mammal Project had key accomplishments for whales and dolphins, thanks to your support!
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    OPS

  • There's a lot of whale and dolphin jargon out there. Here's some explanations about what we know about cetaceans.
  • The damages of global warming are already here, and worse is to come. Can COP28 overcome national resistance and lobbying from the oil industry to adopt real solutions to global warming, including an equitable phase-out of the burning of fossil fuels?
Save Japan Dolphins >
  • The Taiji dolphin slaughter was as horrendous as always, but the numbers of dolphins being killed and captures continues to decline. Can we end the dolphin hunts for good?
  • A recent analysis by scientists, adopted by the IWC Scientific Committee, shows what many opponents of the Taiji dolphin hunts have feared -- the hunts are depleting several dolphin species along the coast of Japan, leading the dolphin hunters to go after other species, while still killing the depleted species.
  • The Taiji dolphin hunts are well underway, with a pod of bottlenose dolphins recently herded into the notorious Cove. The Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission is warning that some dolphin species are declining.
Dolphin + Whale Project >
Keiko Whale Rescue >
  • We are deeply saddened at the death of orca whale Tokitae. Calls for her release were denied for decades and it’s shameful that she never got a chance to go home.
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    Tokitae (also known as Lolita) has died. Photo Credit: Dr. Ingrid Visser, Orca Research Trust

  • 30 years ago, the movie "Free Willy" was a huge hit. The plight of its orca star, Keiko, touched the public along with the moving story. Read how the International Marine Mammal Project took that spark of concern and returned Keiko to his home waters. SeaWorld and other captive dolphin parks would never be the same!
  • The last captive orca in Canada, Kiska, has died, after being kept alone for twelve years at the notorious MarineLand park in Niagara Falls. If Tokitae (Lolita) goes home to a seaside sanctuary, the only North American captive orcas will be those in SeaWorld's three parks.
Dolphin Safe Fishing >
  • For more than 30 years, Trixie Concepcion and her staff have worked to protect dolphins and other marine life in the Philippines, monitoring tuna fishing in the Western and Central Pacific Oceans to ensure the tuna is caught by Dolphin Safe methods, saving the lives of tens of thousands of dolphins annually.
  • The history of the drowning of millions of dolphins by the tuna industry turned a corner in 1990, when US tuna giants agreed to work with the International Marine Mammal Project to establish Dolphin Safe fishing standards that avoid harm to dolphins and other marine life.
  • In order to better monitor tuna vessels to ensure no dolphins are netted or harmed, the International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute is supporting placing closed circuit television (CCTV) aboard tuna vessels.
Freeing Orca Whales from Captivity >

Topics

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