Dolphin + Whale Project: Top news
EII Pacific Island Director Lawrence Makili reports on new efforts to support dolphin eco-tourism in the Solomon Islands. This is an exciting joint effort with the villagers, some funding from the government, and expertise and involvement from Earth Island Institute.
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A group of scientists has come together to propose that the Commission add a condition to the permit approval in which SeaWorld would no longer breed orcas in captivity in San Diego. The condition would further restrict SeaWorld from bringing in or removing any captive orcas from their San Diego facility, with exceptions for retirement of captive orcas to a sea pen and for bringing in stranded and sick individuals for rehabilitation and return to the ocean.
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We at Earth Island and activists dedicated to ending the captivity of cetaceans are celebrating the victory in federal court in Atlanta. In a huge win, Judge Amy Totenberg denied the Georgia Aquarium the permit they sought in order to import 18 wild-caught beluga whales from a population in Russia that is sorely depleted.
"This federal court ruling is a stunning rebuke to every captive whale facility that tries to profit off ripping belugas, orcas and other marine mammals from the wild, despite cruel capture methods and damage to their populations,” stated David Phillips, Director of the International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute.
The court victory has many ramifications. Russia, along with Taiji, Japan, and Cuba, is becoming a major source of captive marine mammals, as other sources around the world have either been depleted or closed to the dolphin trade by activists and governments.
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Save Japan Dolphins staff member Mark Palmer goes to Nassau, Bahamas to deliver a joint scientific and conservation community letter calling for the IMATA to stop its certified trainers from playing any role in the Taiji dolphin captures.
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Keiko was the whale featured in the hit movie Free Willy. This film chronicles Keiko's history and his amazing odyssey from a cramped pool in Mexico City, to a new rescue/rehab facility in Newport, Oregon to his return to a sea pen in his native waters in Iceland.
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In a surprising reversal, SeaWorld has now announced on their website that they will NOT accept any of the 18 wild-caught beluga whales that the Georgia Aquarium is attempting to import into the US from Russia.
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Bestselling author Susan Casey, flanked by Earth Island Institute activists Mark Berman, Mark Palmer, and David Phillips, presented her new book "Voices in the Ocean" to an audience at the Earth Island Institute in Berkeley, California. It was an inspirational night about the amazing dolphins.
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The youth of Japan bring hope that the protection of dolphins is coming. This amazing Japanese Kids Camp is bringing kids from the Fukushima area where high radioactivity limits their playing outdoors to the beautiful Mikura Island where dolphins are protected and revered. What happens is magical.
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Shipping lines have been ignoring the impact of its ship strikes on whales. Friend of the Sea is urging the World Shipping Council to prevent ship strikes in Sri Lanka and worldwide.
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18 wild-caught beluga whales from the Sea of Okhotsk may be imported into the United States to be kept in small concrete tanks. Over the past two years, eleven orcas were caught in the wild in the Sea of Okhotsk. Seven are believed to have been exported to a Chinese aquarium, while three others are now at the Moscow aquarium, the first orcas ever put on display in Russia. Take action with us now.
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Campaign Top News
- International Marine Mammal Project >
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From pushing for sanctuaries for Wikie & Keijo and 30 beluga whales, to opposing attempts to gut the Endangered Species and Marine Mammal Protection Acts, to protecting wetlands in the Barataria basin, the International Marine Mammal Project has accomplished a great deal in 2025 for whales and dolphins.
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What is it like being a student intern at the International Marine Mammal Project? An internship can be life-changing for a student. Our intern Jillian talks about her experience with IMMP.
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From battling the whaling industry in Japan and Iceland, to exposing the continued slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Japan, to saving the lives of tens of thousands of dolphins annually through Dolphin Safe tuna, the International Marine Mammal Project has accomplished a lot in 2024.
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- Save Japan Dolphins >
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The Taiji dolphin drive hunts have again ended, killing hundreds of dolphins for meat after removing "show quality" animals for a miserable life in captivity. Numbers were slightly higher this year for slaughter, although historically low compared to recent years.
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Three species of dolphins have been captured and slaughtered over the past month as the bloody Taiji dolphin drive hunts continue. Most of the dolphins you see in these photos are now dead. The hunts end on March 1st, but six months later, they will begin again.
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A former dolphin trainer explains the damage done by dolphin and small whale captures in Taiji, Japan. Learn the facts about how the aquarium industry sources wild dolphins for a lifetime of misery in small concrete tanks.
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- Dolphin + Whale Project >
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With only 380 individual whales remaining, the North Atlantic right whale population will decline if the killing of whales continues. Here's the story of two right whales, Division and Porcia's calf, both victims of our modern society, too much in a hurry.
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Congress is considering passing HR 1897, legislation to comprehensively gut the federal Endangered Species Act, our most important wildlife law. You can help by urging your members of the House to vote NO on HR 1897.
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In 2024, 95 large whales were reported entangled during the year. As many as 10 to 20 times as many whales may have been entangled and sunk, never to be recorded. Here is the story of these tragic entanglements in plastic fishing gear.
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- Keiko Whale Rescue >
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Like most cetaceans, beluga whales do poorly in captivity. Many are now kept in aquariums around the world -- some get stranded once the aquarium or park goes broke and shuts down. Learn about the beluga whale, and why it is a bad idea to keep them in small concrete tanks.
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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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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!
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- Dolphin Safe Fishing >
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Every year, we estimate that the Dolphin Safe label on tuna cans saves the lives of 90,000 dolphins annually in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean, and many more in other oceans of the world. You, as a consumer, should know how the Dolphin Safe label works to protect dolphins in global tuna fisheries.
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A new Marine Mammal Protection Act has been proposed for the Philippines, with strong support from our IMMP Philippines office, with the support of Representative Co. Read about this new legislation to protect endangered species like the Irrawaddy dolphin and other Filipino whales and dolphins.
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Trixie Concepcion heads up our active office for dolphins in the Philippines. A major tuna fishing nation, plus an island nation with many local cetaceans, provides opportunities for Trixie and her staff to tackle major environmental issues in that country and the Western Pacific Ocean.
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- Freeing Orca Whales from Captivity >
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The orcas Wikie and her son Keijo are still trapped in Marineland in France. Marineland wants the orcas to go to Loro Parque Zoo, an aquarium in Spain with one of the worst records of captive orca deaths. IMMP is urging the French government to instead retire Wikie and Keijo to a seaside sanctuary in Nova Scotia.
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Captivity in small concrete aquarium tanks is hard and often fatal for whales and dolphins. Dr. Lori Marino and her colleagues have laid out the issues for cetaceans in captivity in a new scientific article, building a powerful scientific case for ending captivity for whales and dolphins.
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Four captive orcas died in their concrete tanks in 2025, never to see or feel the ocean ever again. This tragic death march will continue until all captive cetaceans are retired to seaside sanctuaries. Learn about Katina, Kshamenk, Earth, and Kamea -- all dead.
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- Freeing Wikie & Keijo >