Program Term Archive

Marine Wildlife

Texas Storms Bring Misery to Humans and Animals

Marine Wildlife

February saw a rare winter storm hit southern US states, including an unprecedented blackout that caused multiple human and animal deaths. In Texas, the storm affected natural gas plants and...

NOAA Proposes Rule to Curb Right Whale Deaths

Marine Wildlife

After years of delay, NOAA Fisheries released a proposed rule in December 2020 to reduce the number of North Atlantic right whales killed by gear in northeast lobster and Jonah...

Norway Continues Whale Slaughter with 2021 Hunting Quota

Press ReleaseFebruary 23, 2021Marine Wildlife

In defiance of a global moratorium on commercial whaling, Norway has again issued an annual kill quota of 1,278 minke whales for the 2021 whaling season. On Friday, Odd Emil...

In Waning Days, Trump Administration Releases Another Rule Undermining ESA

Press ReleaseDecember 17, 2020Marine Wildlife, Terrestrial Wildlife

Only two days after finalizing a rule undermining the protection of critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has published another final rule further weakening implementation...

Trump Administration Finalizes New Rule that Weakens Endangered Species Act

Press ReleaseDecember 15, 2020Marine Wildlife, Terrestrial Wildlife

Tomorrow, the Trump administration is slated to finalize a rule that further erodes the Endangered Species Act (ESA), one of the nation’s most effective and most popular laws. Under the new rule,...

Aquarium’s Beluga Acquisition Comes with Restrictions

Marine Wildlife

In October 2019, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) indicated it had received a permit application from Mystic Aquarium to import five captive-born beluga whales from MarineLand in Canada, for...

Belugas Prosper in Pioneering Cetacean Sanctuary

Marine Wildlife

Little White and Little Grey, two young belugas originally captured from Russia’s Okhotsk Sea and held in a dolphinarium in Shanghai, China, for a decade, are now the first residents...

Death at SeaWorld Book Slated for Small Screen Series

Marine Wildlife

Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity, by journalist David Kirby, is a 2012 book that examines the killing of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau...

Ill-Conceived Columbia River Sea Lion Cull Commences

Marine Wildlife

On August 14, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued a permit to Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, as well as several tribal entities, to kill up to 540 California sea...

IWC Conservation Committee’s Virtual Meeting Produces Positive Outcomes

Marine Wildlife

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the meeting schedules of many international conventions, with most in-person meetings canceled or postponed (see AWI Quarterly, fall 2020). The biennial meeting of the International Whaling...