Program Term Archive
Marine Wildlife
Marine Mammal Protection in a Warming World
Marine WildlifeIn March, Rep. Julia Brownley (D-CA) reintroduced the Marine Mammal Climate Change Protection Act (HR 1383), to protect marine mammals adversely affected by the climate crisis. Since 1972, the Marine...
Treated Like Animals
Animals in Laboratories, Farmed Animals, Marine WildlifeAlick Simmons, former deputy chief veterinary officer for the United Kingdom, acknowledges that he has “actively facilitated exploitative interactions with animals.” But so have the rest of us, he writes...
California Sea Otters Should Not Lose ESA Protections
Marine WildlifeIn August 2022, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) published a positive 90-day finding regarding a petition from the sea urchin fishery in California to remove the southern sea...
Effort to Protect Atlantic Humpback Dolphin Under ESA Advances
Marine WildlifeIn September 2021, AWI, along with the Center for Biological Diversity and VIVA Vaquita, petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to list the Atlantic humpback dolphin as endangered under...
Has a Lifeline Been Thrown to the Vaquita Porpoise?
Marine WildlifeIn May, scientists conducted a survey in the Upper Gulf of California, looking for the world’s most endangered cetacean: the vaquita. Equipped with powerful binoculars and hydrophones, trained observers sought...
IWC Scientific Committee Meets in Slovenia
Marine WildlifeThe Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) met in Bled, Slovenia, in May. At these intense, annual two-week working meetings, up to 200 international cetacean biologists and policy...
US-Funded Experiment Kills Minke Whale in Northern Norway
Press ReleaseJune 7, 2023Marine WildlifeA controversial US-backed research study that aimed to capture whales in northern Norway and test how they would respond to ocean noise has resulted in the death of a minke...
Marine Mammal Bycatch in Ecuador’s Fisheries Threatens Access to US Seafood Market
Press ReleaseMay 10, 2023Marine WildlifeA report released today by conservation and animal protection groups finds that Ecuador’s fishing industry does not meet US standards for limiting whale and dolphin bycatch. As a result, Ecuador may lose...
US to Decide Whether Mexico’s Failure to Protect Vaquita Warrants Embargo
Press ReleaseApril 10, 2023Marine WildlifeIn a settlement filed in court Friday, the US Department of the Interior (DOI) agreed to determine whether Mexico has failed to stop illegal fishing and trade of totoaba that is driving...
Atlantic Humpback Dolphin Recommended for Endangered Species Act Listing
Press ReleaseApril 7, 2023Marine WildlifeThe National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced a proposed rule today to list the Atlantic humpback dolphin under the Endangered Species Act, in response to a 2021 petition filed by the Animal Welfare Institute,...