Bans, Legislation: Top news
A roundup of news about whaling by Iceland and Norway, Tokitae's health, and IMMP's efforts in Washington DC for whales and dolphins.
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New legislation introduced into Congress would phase out the captivity of orcas, beluga whales, pilot whales, and false killer whales, all species that do poorly in small concrete tanks. If passed the SWIMS Act would prohibit breeding in captivity, importing and exporting these species, with an exception for moving the animals to seaside sanctuaries.
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For 50 years, the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) has been a powerful tool to protect whales, dolphins, seals & sea lions, sea otters, and manatees in the US. But, the MMPA has been weakened by both Congress and dubious administrative action. The MMPA is to be celebrated, but also strengthened!
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For 40 years, the International Marine Mammal Project has been working to protect whales, dolphins, and their ocean homes.
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Along the California coast, Indigenous tribes hunted abalone, a resource providing them with food and beautiful shells. But overharvesting of abalone along with the killing of sea otters for fur have led to increased sea urchin populations, destroying kelp beds and harming the once rich ocean ecosystem.
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On August 19, 2021, the International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute sent the following letter to the US National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) and the US Coast Guard, urging these agencies to put in place mandatory speed limits for large commercial vessels that threaten whales with ship strikes along the coast of California. Currently, ships speeds are voluntary, and as many as half of the commercial vessels ignore the limits.
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US Congress has introduced two new bills that would ban offshore oil drilling in two major areas off our coastline.
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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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As we enter a new year, the International Marine Mammal Project is still hard at work laying out our plans and hopes to help save whales, dolphins, and their ocean homes.
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SeaWorld is a global kingpin in promoting cetacean captivity, instructing many overseas facilities in capture and training techniques, and providing the captivity industry’s major talking points. We encourage you to send a message to SeaWorld’s Interim CEO, Marc Swanson.
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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 >