Program Term Archive
Marine Wildlife
IWC Governance
Marine WildlifeThe International Whaling Commission (IWC)—created with the 1946 ratification of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling—is one of the earliest international bodies focused on wild species. The IWC...
Commercial Whaling
Marine WildlifeIn 1982, the International Whaling Commission agreed to a global prohibition on commercial whaling, known as the moratorium, but the IWC was unable to prevent Norway, Iceland, and Japan from...
Renewable Offshore Energy
Marine WildlifeClimate change will continue to have profound and existential impacts on marine wildlife and their habitats, and nonrenewable ocean energy extraction, such as offshore drilling for oil and gas, can...
Oil and Gas Drilling
Marine WildlifeOffshore drilling, or the process of extracting oil and natural gas from beneath the ocean floor, threatens our ocean and coastal ecosystems at every stage of development and results in...
Ocean Noise
Marine WildlifeMarine animals use sound to navigate, communicate, find food, locate mates, and avoid predators. Flooding their world with intense sound interferes with these activities and results in serious—sometimes fatal—consequences. Anthropogenic...
Deep Sea Mining
Marine WildlifeWhile commercial deep-sea mining has not yet begun, exploration of numerous potential mining sites is occurring, in both national and international waters. There is concern amongst many experts and entities...
Sharks
Marine WildlifeEach year, approximately 100 million sharks die at the hands of humans, with at least half of that number targeted in fisheries, and the remainder perishing as bycatch. This is...
Seafood Labeling and Certifications
Marine WildlifeThe UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) defines eco-certification as “a procedure by which a third party gives written assurance that a product, process, or service is in conformity with certain...
Fishing Methods
Marine WildlifeMany fishing methods have negative impacts on marine life and ecosystems. Some of the most destructive include the use of gillnets, longlines, trawls, pot and trap gear, purse seines, and explosives. As a...
Bycatch and Entanglement
Marine WildlifeBycatch is one of the greatest conservation threats to marine wildlife populations and ocean ecosystems globally. Bycatch refers to animals that have been unintentionally entangled, entrapped, ensnared, caught, or otherwise...