Entanglement: Top news
Our colleagues at Friend of the Sea, the international sustainable seafood nonproft that assesses the sustainability of fisheries around the world, explains how the Dolphin Safe program is working in Ecuador to provide tuna without chasing and netting dolphins. The IMMP Dolphin Safe standards protect the lives of 90,000 dolphins annually.
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Fishing takes place, obviously, at sea. Using technology to supplement other monitoring efforts, such as onboard government observers, is of growing interest to address issues such as bycatch of dolphins and other marine life while fishing for tuna. IMMP is working with the tuna industry and management agencies to promote closed circuit TV (CCTV) on board all tunaboats.
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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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The North Atlantic right whale is one of the most endangered whales in the world, with around 360 animals left in the population. Ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear are the main causes of mortality, as conservationists fight to mitigate the drownings of the last few.
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Plastic keeps entering our oceans, harming marine mammals and other marine life and cluttering our beaches and coasts. But Earth Island and the International Marine Mammal Project are suing ten major corporations to end their considerable contributions to trash and pollution. Read the latest!
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The amount of plastic in the ocean is outrageous and over-whelming, but recent negotiations for the UN Plastic Treaty in Toronto were disappointing, to say the least. Will the nations of the world stop the plastic plague?
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Negotiations are going forward with the United Nations in Ottawa this week for a treaty addressing the global wave of plastic pollution. But will it work?
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Our lawsuit against ten major companies, who pollute our oceans with plastics, is taking another step forward. A revised complaint has been filed with the judge, and we await his decision for going forward with a trial.
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Sometimes whales and dolphins don't stay in the ocean, but come up on shore. Why do they do this, as individuals and sometimes as whole pods of animals? There are many reasons, but too often such strandings end in tragedy.
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A new study, based on interviews with fishermen, estimates that 2% of plastic fishing gear (nets and lines) is lost every year in our oceans. Some of this gear winds up continuing to entangle fish, marine mammals, and other marine life.
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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 >