Bans, Legislation: Top news
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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The United Nations, in an extensive recent report, warned that globally more than 1 million species of wildlife are likely to go extinct. Trump's new ESA regulations will help speed extinction for many US species.
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Campaign Top News
- International Marine Mammal Project >
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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.
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What is it like being a student intern at the International Marine Mammal Project? An internship can be life-changing for a student. Our intern Jillian talks about her experience with IMMP.
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From battling the whaling industry in Japan and Iceland, to exposing the continued slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Japan, to saving the lives of tens of thousands of dolphins annually through Dolphin Safe tuna, the International Marine Mammal Project has accomplished a lot in 2024.
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- Save Japan Dolphins >
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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.
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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.
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A former dolphin trainer explains the damage done by dolphin and small whale captures in Taiji, Japan. Learn the facts about how the aquarium industry sources wild dolphins for a lifetime of misery in small concrete tanks.
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- Dolphin + Whale Project >
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With only 380 individual whales remaining, the North Atlantic right whale population will decline if the killing of whales continues. Here's the story of two right whales, Division and Porcia's calf, both victims of our modern society, too much in a hurry.
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Congress is considering passing HR 1897, legislation to comprehensively gut the federal Endangered Species Act, our most important wildlife law. You can help by urging your members of the House to vote NO on HR 1897.
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In 2024, 95 large whales were reported entangled during the year. As many as 10 to 20 times as many whales may have been entangled and sunk, never to be recorded. Here is the story of these tragic entanglements in plastic fishing gear.
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- Keiko Whale Rescue >
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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.
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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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- Dolphin Safe Fishing >
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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.
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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.
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Trixie Concepcion heads up our active office for dolphins in the Philippines. A major tuna fishing nation, plus an island nation with many local cetaceans, provides opportunities for Trixie and her staff to tackle major environmental issues in that country and the Western Pacific Ocean.
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- Freeing Orca Whales from Captivity >
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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.
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Captivity in small concrete aquarium tanks is hard and often fatal for whales and dolphins. Dr. Lori Marino and her colleagues have laid out the issues for cetaceans in captivity in a new scientific article, building a powerful scientific case for ending captivity for whales and dolphins.
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Four captive orcas died in their concrete tanks in 2025, never to see or feel the ocean ever again. This tragic death march will continue until all captive cetaceans are retired to seaside sanctuaries. Learn about Katina, Kshamenk, Earth, and Kamea -- all dead.
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- Freeing Wikie & Keijo >