Freeing Orca Whales from Captivity: Top news
Progress is being made shutting down dolphinariums around the world, but too many dolphins and whales remain in concrete coffins, entertaining us and generating obscene profits for facilities that hold these special and fragile animals.
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Whales and dolphins in captivity swim in circles all day long. What is that like? Swimmer Alberto Lorente decided to see by actually jumping in a tank and swimming in circles, over and over again. Hear his story.
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What is the alternative to SeaWorld's remaining captive orcas, languishing in small concrete tanks? Seaside sanctuaries can provide a safe haven for captive orcas as well as other captive cetaceans like beluga whales.
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VIDEO: 30 years ago, Jen MaHarry designed the iconic "Free Willy" movie poster, showing Willy jumping over a breakwater to freedom. Jen recently designed a wonderful new design for our campaign to retire the remaining captive orcas to seaside sanctuaries.
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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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Tokitae (also known as Lolita) is making progress in Miami, while plans proceed for the approval process from government agencies to build her new seaside sanctuary in the Pacific Northwest.
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Want to know more about Keiko and his incredible journey back to his home waters of Iceland?
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Dave Phillips, Executive Director of the International Marine Mammal Project, talks to BBC radio about Keiko and his return to his home waters in Iceland, and his legacy for ending captivity for cetaceans.
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Soon, SeaWorld will have the only captive orcas in small tanks in North America. It is time they began retiring these orcas to seaside sanctuaries.
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Our Spanish version of Hannah Hindley's essay on Keiko, "Free Willy," and the closing chapter of captive orcas in North America.
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Campaign Top News
- International Marine Mammal Project >
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From freeing Keiko to saving millions of dolphins from dying in tuna nets, to closing down marine parks including the notorious Whale Jail in Russia, the International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute has been in the forefront of efforts to end whaling, the killing of dolphins and protecting the ocean homes of these magnificent beings.
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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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There's a lot of whale and dolphin jargon out there. Here's some explanations about what we know about cetaceans.
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- Save Japan Dolphins >
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Sale of live dolphins caught in the bloody Cove of Taiji, Japan, subsidizes the subsequent slaughter of the remaining dolphin pod. So a dolphin is torn from its family, and then will hear its own family die as it is dragged away to a miserable existence in concrete tanks for the rest of its life.
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TAIJI DOLPHIN SLAUGHTER: Police in Taiji like to put on a big show for locals by charging around in zodiacs, pretending to catch "eco-terrorists" who might (but never have) interfered with the dolphin slaughter. To them, the hunts are a big joke. Japanese tax dollars at work!
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Taiji's town government appears to be doubling down on whaling and the slaughter of dolphins. They have a new International Cetacean Center that appears to be dedicated to killing cetaceans. But the $12.2 million Center is virtually empty -- see our photos.
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- Dolphin + Whale Project >
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The recent International Whaling Commission meeting in Lima, Peru, passed an excellent resolution complaining that whaling countries -- Japan, Iceland and Norway -- are using population estimates larger than the IWC Scientific Committee. But a proposal for a South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary fell short by one vote.
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Cetaceans (whales and dolphins) have evolved amazing and complex sensory mechanisms to live in the ocean. But those senses are badly compromised when cetaceans are held in small concrete tanks for entertainment. Learn about why captivity is bad for cetacean senses.
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Josh Floum, attorney and president of Earth Island Institute, has led the legal effort to protect dolphins, sea turtles, and other marine life. In legal victory after victory, he's made our oceans safer for all our lives.
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- Keiko Whale Rescue >
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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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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.
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- Dolphin Safe Fishing >
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Dr. Angel Herrera is the Director of the International Marine Mammal Project’s (IMMP’s) Dolphin Safe (DS) Tuna Monitoring Program in Latin America. As a representative of Earth Island Institute since 1993, his DS monitoring work spans countries including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panamá, Peru, and Uruguay.
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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.
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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.
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- Freeing Orca Whales from Captivity >
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Serial Podcast "The Good Whale" Q+A With Dave Phillips, Executive Director, International Marine Mammal Project. Founder, Free Willy Keiko Foundation. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the new 6-part podcast about Keiko, the good whale.
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Behind the life and hopes with Keiko, the orca star of "Free Willy", was an enormous effort to bring him home. A new Serial podcast features a 6-part series on Keiko and his legacy. First two episodes drop on November 14th and can be found on most podcast sites. It features the role of IMMP in coordinating the Free Willy Keiko Foundation.
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There are just 18 orcas left stranded in concrete tanks in North America. They can continue to languish in small tanks doing tricks each day, or they can be retired to seaside sanctuaries, such as the Whale Sanctuary Project.
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- Freeing Wikie & Keijo >