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Japan: Top news

Taiji Dolphin Slaughter Cranks Up Again
| By Mark J. Palmer, Associate Director

Once again, the Taiji dolphin drive hunts have begun, for another six month season of terror and bloodshed of dolphins. The hunts show no signs of ending.
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Honey the Dolphin Dies Alone in Japan Park
| By Mark J. Palmer

Are you tired of social isolation? Honey the dolphin spent several years alone in an abandoned water park.
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Whales Get a Break
| By Mark J. Palmer

In his recent story, Joe Roman of the University of Vermont notes that “one of the most important global conservation events of the past year was something that didn’t happen.”
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IMMP 2019 Accomplishments
| Dave Phillips, Mark Palmer, Mary Jo Rice

As 2019 comes to a close, we’re writing to thank you for your ongoing generosity and to share some of IMMP’s key accomplishments this year. 2020 promises to be an especially busy and potentially productive year for whales and dolphins, as our SeaWorld lawsuit finally comes to trial and we organize Olympians and Paralympians to urge Japan to end the killing of dolphins and whales.
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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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New Science Paper Details Harm to Dolphins from Drive Hunts in Taiji, Japan
| Mark J. Palmer

The Taiji dolphin-hunting season is entering its second month, with a series of horrendous dolphin slaughters depicted in many news reports. WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES.
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The Sea of Slaughter: Taiji’s Dolphin Killing Season
| By Mark J. Palmer, International Marine Mammal Project

A New Season of Slaughter Begins in Taiji on Sept. 1st -- More Captives for Life, More Meat on the Market That No One Should Eat, More Bloodshed!
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Norway Now Kills More Whales Than Japan
| Hannah Press

Norway has surpassed Japan and Iceland in its whale hunting quotas (which do not include dolphins), and now officially kills more whales than any country in the world. Iceland actually temporarily stopped whaling this summer due to a lack of market for whale meat and other factors, while Japan has cut back its whaling effort to focus on whaling only within their 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone.
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Japan's "Kagoshima Blue Marine Cab" Passes First Phase of Certification for Sustainable Dolphin and Whale Watching
| By Friend of the Sea

Friend of the Sea, the number one global certification standard for products and services that respect and protect the marine environment, today announced that Japan’s Kagoshima Blue Marine Cab has passed the first phase in becoming certified for Sustainable Dolphin and Whale Watching. The certification ensures that dolphin and whale watching tours conducted by Kagoshima Blue Marine Cab will protect dolphins in their natural habitat while spreading valuable information about the issue of sustainability in marine wildlife.
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Japan Switches Whaling from “Research” to “Commercial”
| By Mark J. Palmer, International Marine Mammal Project

Japan Is Still Slaughtering Whales, Only Calling It "Commercial" Whaling Instead of "Research" Whaling. But the End Result Is Still the Same -- Dead Whales. But There Is Hope That The Industry Will Not Be Viable.
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Campaign Top News

International Marine Mammal Project >
  • 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.
  • 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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    OPS

  • There's a lot of whale and dolphin jargon out there. Here's some explanations about what we know about cetaceans.
Save Japan Dolphins >
  • 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.
  • 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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    The Notorious Cove Fills With Blood During Dolphin Hunts. Photo Copyright: Kunito Seko

  • 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.
Dolphin + Whale Project >
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
Keiko Whale Rescue >
  • 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

  • 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!
  • 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.
Dolphin Safe Fishing >
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
Freeing Orca Whales from Captivity >
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
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