Program Term Archive
Marine Wildlife
AWI Is Alarmed by Another Beluga Death at Mystic Aquarium
Press ReleaseFebruary 11, 2022Marine WildlifeThe Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is appalled to learn that another beluga whale has died at Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut. The aquarium announced today on its Facebook page the death of a...
US Launches Trade Complaint Over Mexico’s Failure to Protect Vaquita
Press ReleaseFebruary 10, 2022Marine WildlifeUS Trade Representative Katherine Tai formally requested environmental consultations with Mexico today over its illegal fishing. Aimed at protecting the critically endangered vaquita porpoise, the request is the first step under the...
The America COMPETES Act Passes the House with Big Wins for Animals
Press ReleaseFebruary 4, 2022Marine WildlifeThanks to the efforts of many members of Congress who support animal welfare, the America COMPETES Act (H.R. 4521), a bill aimed at bolstering US innovation, passed the House of...
Greenland Must End Narwhal Hunt to Save Populations from Imminent Extinction
Press ReleaseJanuary 27, 2022Marine WildlifeNaalakkersuisut (Greenland’s government) must immediately cancel narwhal hunting quotas for Southeast Greenland or risk losing three populations of these whales forever, according to a letter delivered today to Prime Minister Múte Bourup...
Beluga Death Calls Aquarium’s Import Permit into Question
Marine WildlifeAWI has previously reported on Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut importing five beluga whales from MarineLand in Canada. (See AWI Quarterly, Winter 2020.) The National Marine Fisheries Service issued a permit in...
Judge Recommends Waiver to Allow Gray Whale Hunt
Marine WildlifeIn September, the administrative law judge who presided over the November 2019 hearing regarding the Makah tribe’s request for a waiver of the Marine Mammal Protection Act gave his formal...
Solitary Orca Endures Elder Abuse at Miami Seaquarium
Marine WildlifeFor over 50 years, Lolita (a.k.a. Tokitae, Toki, and Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut), an orca originally captured from the Southern Resident killer whale population, has been languishing as the only orca in a...
The International Whaling Commission at 75: A Vision for the Future
Marine WildlifeThe International Whaling Commission, established in Washington, DC, and headquartered in the United Kingdom since the 1950s, celebrated its 75th anniversary on December 2, 2021. AWI has participated in almost every...
Using Noninvasive Digital Acoustic Tags to Track Florida Manatees
Marine WildlifeThe Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirsotris) is an endemic subspecies of West Indian manatee that inhabits inland and coastal waters of the southeastern United States. Its population is threatened by...
Warming Oceans Threaten Southern Right Whale Recovery
Marine WildlifeScientists in South America are studying the recovery of southern right whales after many decades of whaling in the past and ongoing human threats, including entanglement in fishing nets, ship...