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International Marine Mammal Project: Top news

International Marine Mammal Project Statement on Seaspiracy Film

The recent film Seaspiracy falsely claims that the dolphin-safe tuna program is a conspiracy to benefit the global fisheries industries. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the dolphin-safe tuna program has provided and continues to provide massive benefits to dolphin populations around the world. Despite our efforts to provide documentation of this to the filmmakers, they chose instead to grossly distort and mischaracterize the program.
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The Dolphin Slaughter in Taiji, Japan Continues
| By Mark J. Palmer

The end of February marks the end of the six-month-long Taiji dolphin drive hunts, one of Japan’s most shameful and inhumane practices.
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Oil Drilling in the Bahamas a BUST
| By Mark J. Palmer

The Bahamas Petroleum Company began drilling December 20th in the beautiful blue waters of The Bahamas. But the test well was a bust – on Feb. 7th, the company announced that they had found oil, but not in concentrations necessary to be commercially profitable.
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Fisheries Observers Are in Danger
| By Mark J. Palmer

In fear of penalty for malpractice, fishery workers at sea are retaliating against and endangering dolphin-safe tuna monitors.
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Federal Court Rules Landmark Case Should Proceed in California State Court

The Earth Island Institute made big progress today in our lawsuit against 10 major plastic-polluting companies! The judge ruled in our favor to keep our case in state court.
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Ocean Noise Drowning Out Marine Life
| By Mark J. Palmer

A recent study reports on the analysis of more than 500 studies conducted on the impacts of human-caused noise on oceanic life. 90% of the studies documented significant harm to marine mammals from noise pollution; 80% identified impacts on fish and marine invertebrates.
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A Minke Whale is Brutally Killed in Taiji
| By Mark J. Palmer

On December 24th, a minke whale, the smallest of the baleen whales, became trapped in a series of set nets used by fishermen to catch fish, near the notorious town of Taiji, Japan.
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Saving the Irrawaddy Dolphins of the Philippines
| Trixie Concepcion, Director of Dolphin Safe Monitoring Program, East Asia-Pacific

Trixie Concepcion leads the International Marine Mammal Project (IMMP) dolphin-safe tuna monitoring effort from the Philippines, responsible for reviewing tuna shipments caught in the Asian Pacific Ocean. She is actively involved in many wildlife issues in the Philippines, such as the campaign to help save the Irrawaddy dolphins.
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President Biden's First Environmental Steps
| By Mark J. Palmer

He issued a number of executive orders during his first days in office, working to reverse the damage of the Trump Administration on the environment.
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Sign the Petition to President Biden to Tackle Plastic
| By Mark J. Palmer

IMMP has joined forces with many major environmental organizations in seeking early action by President Biden on an array of issues to protect whales, dolphins, and their ocean homes.
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Campaign Top News

International Marine Mammal Project >
  • 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.
  • 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.
Save Japan Dolphins >
  • 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.
  • 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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    The Notorious Cove Fills With Blood During Dolphin Hunts. Photo Copyright: Kunito Seko

  • 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.
Dolphin + Whale Project >
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
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 >
  • 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.
  • 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.
Freeing Orca Whales from Captivity >
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
Freeing Wikie & Keijo >

Topics

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