Bad news for beluga whales, dolphins and some orcas in Russian waters: A Russian government panel has rejected a proposal, prepared by Russian conservationists and endorsed by more than 100,000 Russian citizens, to ban the captures of live cetaceans in Russian waters for captivity.
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The International Marine Mammal Project (IMMP) of Earth Island Institute is one of the lead organizations globally coordinating efforts on behalf of Russian whales and dolphins. We helped to return the Whale Jail whales of Russia to the ocean and are now working to permanently ban such wild captures of whales and dolphins in Russian waters.
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Opportunities for environmental exploitation are arising amidst the pandemic. The Trump administration has loosened the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulations, allowing large industries to pollute at whatever levels they please during the crisis.
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The well-anticipated trial that's been in the making for 5 years finally goes to trial next week.
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The hidden purpose of the import proposal is to breed imported captive whales with existing captive beluga whales.
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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 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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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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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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"Hidden Pacific," a new feature film in IMAX, opening this year in theaters around the world, features spectacular footage of three Marine National Monuments found in the vast Pacific Ocean. Immerse yourself in the rare riches of biological diversity captured magnificently by award-winning conservation photographer and filmmaker Ian Shive.
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