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Book Review: “Floating Coast” by Bathsheba Demuth
| Mark J. Palmer

Author Bathsheba Demuth’s new book, “Floating Coast,” draws on the peoples of the Bering Strait and the changes brought to the area by foreign influence: capitalists from America in Alaska and socialists from the Soviet Union on the Chukchi side.
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Russian Whale Jail Defunct At Last

The Russian government announced on Monday that the remaining beluga whales in the notorious Whale Jail near the port of Nakhodka have been released back into the ocean. On November 8, 2019, nineteen beluga whales were released from the Whale Jail from a Russian research vessel, the Professor Kaganovsky. An additional thirteen beluga whales were loaded on a second scientific research vessel, the Zodiac, and then released. The final eighteen beluga whales were loaded onto the Professor Kaganovsky and released on November 10th.
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Russian Whale Jail: Beluga Release Delayed
| Mark J. Palmer

Weather conditions and angry businessmen threaten the final release of the Russian Whale Jail whales. Loading has reportedly halted due to bad weather, but should commence as soon as the weather improves.
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Oppose Mystic Aquarium’s Proposal to Import 5 Belugas
| Mark J. Palmer

The Mystic Aquarium of Connecticut wants to import five beluga whales from the notorious Marineland aquarium in Canada. The stated purpose is to conduct research on the beluga whales, but the real purpose is to bring in captive beluga whales to breed with existing captives.
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The Plight of Gray Whales in Russia
| Mark J. Palmer

The gray whales that migrate today along the coast of North America are one of the bright spots for whales that were severely depleted during the heyday of commercial whaling. The species has the unfortunate distinction of having been repeatedly reduced before protection efforts were put in place by the League of Nations and nations that host the migrations. And still today, every summer, they are hunted in Russia.
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“Spy” Whale Navigates the Fjords of Norway
| Mark J. Palmer

Earlier this year, a lone beluga whale showed up along the Norwegian coast, approaching fishermen and being exceedingly friendly. The local fishermen noticed the beluga was wearing some kind of a harness and were able to remove it.
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House Votes to Block Offshore Oil Drilling in Atlantic & Pacific Oceans
| Mark J. Palmer

The International Marine Mammal Project (IMMP) of Earth Island Institute joined 38 national organizations in supporting legislation to block offshore oil drilling in the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean, and off the Gulf Coast of Florida. These are areas of sensitive wildlife habitat, including the homes of many species of whales and dolphins. Offshore oil drilling is known to cause large and chronic oil spills, as well as the dumping of toxic drilling muck into the sea. Exploring for oil can also precipitate harmful noise pollution (from the air canons that probe the ocean bottom for oil-bearing rock formations). Furthermore, coastal businesses in fishing and tourism are dependent on clean, oil-industry-free oceans. Oil drilling operations can ruin these businesses due to toxic discharge and noise pollution. Organizations supporting the legislation include the Sierra Club, Oceana, IFAW, IMMP, and many others.
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11 Russian Belugas Head Home, 50 To Go
| By Mark J. Palmer, Edited by Mattie Naythons

Last Friday, The Russian Fisheries Agency (VNIRO) announced that eleven beluga whales are being moved hundreds of miles from the Whale Jail, east of Vladivostok, to their home waters in the Sea of Okhotsk. The belugas were reportedly picked up on October 18th and loaded onto a research vessel for transport north.
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Earth Island Philippines Fights SLAPP Suit Over Anti-Captivity
| By Mark J. Palmer, Edited by Mattie Naythons

Trixie Concepcion, Director of the Asia Pacific office of Earth Island Institute’s Dolphin Safe Monitoring Project, and her staff in the Philippines work to ensure that tuna companies adhere to the international standards for Dolphin Safe tuna. As a team, they monitor hundreds of tuna companies every year to verify that the companies are fishing in a Dolphin Safe manner.The Philippines, like other countries, has experimented in keeping dolphins captive to make money from tourists. But one of the companies they challenged is fighting back, with a lawsuit known in environmental circles as a SLAPP lawsuit.
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UC Berkeley Student Club Encourages Eco-Friendly Alternatives to Solo Cups
| Tara Van Hoorn

Plastic Solo cups, marketed as “The Original Sign of Good Times”, have dominated college culture since their emergence in the 1970s as the “perfect party cup”. However, due to the growing intensity of the global climate crisis, these cups may be reaching their final days, and a group of University of California Berkeley students is leading the charge.
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Campaign Top News

International Marine Mammal Project >
  • Cindy Lowry of IMMP urges the lobstermen of Maine to help right whales by switching to ropeless gear, avoiding entanglements of this endangered whale. Read her OP ED in the Portland Press-Herald.
  • Global warming is helping enhance El Niño, the warming of the Pacific Ocean, to such an extent that it causes global weather changes -- drought in some places; heavy rainfall and flooding in others. Whales will suffer these changes, which weaken oceanic food chains and reduce food production for whales.
  • 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.
Save Japan Dolphins >
  • Dolphin captures in Taiji, Japan, occurred on the first of Sept. Now follows 6 months of slaughter and capture of dolphins in the notorious Cove. Our colleague Kunito Seko documented the opening catch of bottlenose dolphins, all destined for a miserable life in captivity.
  • 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.
  • 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.
Dolphin + Whale Project >
  • Congress is back in session this week, and two terrible bills are up for a vote in the Senate. The Permit Reform S. 5653 would block public and court involvement in decision-making threatening endangered species, while H.R. 9436 delays new protections for the endangered North Atlantic right whale. Urge your Congressmembers to VOTE NO on S. 5653 and H.R. 9436.
  • The Trump administration has weakened the US Endangered Species Act through a series of regulatory changes, many of which are in conflict with the clear language of the ESA. Lawsuits have been filed to counter these regulations, but courts are slow, and the regulations need to be removed.
  • A terrible "permit reform" bill now pending in the US Senate would gut the Endangered Species Act, impact protections for endangered right and gray whales, encourage data centers, and block local action to prevent development projects. Contact your Congressmembers!!
Keiko Whale Rescue >
  • 30 beluga whales were left in Marineland, Canada, and the government allowed them to go to several parks in the US and one in Spain. So far, five of the "rescued" belugas have died, and more are likely to die soon. Captivity for whales and dolphins needs to end!
  • 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.
  • 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

Dolphin Safe Fishing >
  • The US is now the biggest importer of seafood in the world, but the sustainability of many of the fisheries involved is highly questionable. The experience with the Dolphin Safe tuna label can help form better monitoring and protection for fish populations, as well as protect non-target species like marine mammals.
  • 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.
  • 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.
Freeing Orca Whales from Captivity >
  • IMMP opposed the transfer of belugas from Canada's Marineland to US aquariums. This so-called "rescue" has resulted in 30 belugas being moved to marine parks, but one has already died at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. How many more will the captivity industry kill?
  • Thirty belugas in a closed park in Canada are scheduled to be sent to five aquariums in the US and Spain. IMMP is demanding a better review of their health before moving them and a ban on breeding them in captivity. Read our letter.
  • 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.
Freeing Wikie & Keijo >

Topics

Angel - Bans, Legislation - Belugas - Biden Administration - Captivity Industry - Cetacean Habitat - China - Climate Change - Covid-19 - Demonstrations - Dolphin And Whale Trade - Dolphin Safe Tuna - Dolphins - Dugong - Earth Day - Entanglement - Grey Whales - Grindadrap - Iceland - International Whaling Commission - Japan - Keiko - Lawsuit - Marine National Monuments - Navy, Military - Norway - Offshore Oil & Oil Spills - Orcas - Philippines - Pilot Whales - Plastic Pollution - Pollution - Rehabilitation, Release - Russia - Sanctuaries - Science - Seaworld - Slaughter - Solomon Islands - Taiji, Japan - Trump Administration - Tuna Industry - Vaquita - Whales - Whaling - Mystic Aquarium - Marineland - Seals & Sea Lions - Marine Protected Areas - Sperm Whale - Sea Otter - Lolita - Tokitae - Miami Seaquarium - Latin America - Ship Strikes - Ocean Noise - Salmon - Blue Whale - Fin Whale - Right Whale - Us Marine Mammal Protection Act - Environment - Minke Whale - Humpback Whale - Gray Whale - Mexico - Endangered Species Act - Bowhead Whale