Program Term Archive

Marine Wildlife

AWI Petition Approved: Russian Beluga Whales to Receive US Protection

Marine Wildlife

In early April, the US National Marine Fisheries Service proposed designating the Sakhalin Bay-Amur River population of beluga whales in Russia as “depleted” under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA)....

AWI Responds to Norway’s Whaling Defiance

Marine Wildlife

Norway has seen a continuous drop in demand for whale meat for several years, yet it continues to set quotas and kill whales in defiance of the commercial whaling moratorium...

Groups Call for ESA Listing of Critically Endangered Dolphin

Endangered Species, Marine Wildlife

AWI joined forces in April with Wild Earth Guardians and the Center for Biological Diversity in filing a petition with the National Marine Fisheries Service to list the Taiwanese humpback...

More Retailers Reject Seafood Sources Linked to Whaling

Marine Wildlife

Despite its own large fishing industry, the United States is one of the world’s top seafood importing countries, and imports of Icelandic seafood products have been on the rise. By...

SeaWorld Ends Orca Breeding Program

Marine Wildlife

On March 17, 2016, SeaWorld made a paradigm-shifting announcement. The company will end its captive breeding program for orcas. This policy will extend to all its parks, existing and planned,...

New Report Details Norway’s Efforts to Promote Whaling

Press ReleaseJune 13, 2016Marine Wildlife

Norway is now the world’s leading whaling nation, killing more whales in the past two years than Japan and Iceland combined. A new report released today calls on the international community to...

Vaquita Population Plummets to Just 60 Individuals

Press ReleaseMay 14, 2016Marine Wildlife

Scientists have announced that fewer than 60 vaquita porpoises likely remain on Earth, down from 245 in 2008. The vaquita is the world’s smallest and most endangered porpoise, found only...

Taiwanese Humpback Dolphin Moves Toward Endangered Species Act Protection

Press ReleaseMay 11, 2016Marine Wildlife

The National Marine Fisheries Service today took a step toward protecting rare Taiwanese humpback dolphins, finding that listing the species under the Endangered Species Act may be warranted. The decision comes in...

Groups Welcome Federal Agency’s Decision to Protect Russian Beluga Whales

Press ReleaseApril 4, 2016Marine Wildlife

The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), Cetacean Society International (CSI), Earth Island Institute (EII), and Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) lauded the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for its proposed designation of the Sakhalin Bay-Amur River population of...

Norwegian Whale Meat Linked to Country’s Fur Industry

Press ReleaseMarch 31, 2016Marine Wildlife

As the Norwegian whaling industry prepares for the start of the 2016 whaling season, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) today released a document that indicates Norwegian fur farms have used minke...