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Whale and Dolphin Conservation partners with local artist for art auction

PLYMOUTH, MA - Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) has partnered with local artist Erik Simmons...
dolphin FB Fundraiser

e.l.f. Cosmetics announces new “porpoise-ful” initiative to benefit Whale and Dolphin Conservation

For Immediate Release, March 16, 2023 OAKLAND, CA - On the fins of its first...

Kiska the ‘world’s loneliest whale’ dies at Canadian theme park

Kiska, dubbed the loneliest whale in the world, has died at Marineland, a zoo and...
Grey seal is released from the kennel on the ocean side of Duxbury Beach

Why did the seal cross the road? WDC responds to a grey seal near Gurnet Point in Plymouth, MA

Grey seal is released from the kennel on the ocean side of Duxbury Beach For...

Georgia Aquarium to fight for permit to import 18 wild beluga whales

The Georgia Aquarium in the US is to seek to overturn a recent US government agency decision preventing the import of 18 wild-caught beluga whales from Russia.  

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the US federal body that oversees the country’s marine resources refused to grant a permit to the aquarium in August that would have allowed the belugas to be brought in the US for display to the public. WDC strongly supported this decision and we are disappointed that Georgia Aquarium has now chosen to fight against it.

NMFS turned down the permit because of a failure to demonstrate that the import would not have a significant adverse impact on belugas in the wild. In addition, at the time five of the belugas proposed for import were likely still nursing young dependent upon their mothers, a direct violation of the US Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Georgia Aquarium’s decision to challenge this reflects a disregard for the integrity of the Act and the vulnerability of this population of wild belugas. Public opposition to this proposed import was overwhelming and, in combination with the strong science and evidence supporting a negative impact on the future of the affected population that underpinned the agency’s decision, calls into question Georgia Aquarium’s commitment to conservation.