Skip to content
All articles
  • All articles
  • About whales & dolphins
  • Create healthy seas
  • End captivity
  • Fundraising
  • Green Whale
  • Prevent bycatch
  • Prevent deaths in nets
  • Stop whaling
IMG_6030

Meet the 2023 Interns: Thomas Zoutis

I'm happy to introduce WDC's first Marine Mammal Conservation Intern of the year, Thomas Zoutis!...
MicrosoftTeams-image (9)

Double Your Impact for Marine Animal Rescue & Response

On a chilly day this past December, the WDC North America team celebrated the first...
20230126_091707

WDC’s Education Wishlist = Cleared!

To the WDC Community, I want to thank you so much for your support of...
Hysazu Photography

Looking forward for Southern Resident orcas in 2023

Hysazu Photography 2022 was a big year for Southern Resident orcas - 2022 brought the...
Credit: Seacoast Science Center

The Unlikely Adventure of Shoebert, a Young Grey Seal Who Visited an Industrial Park Pond

Credit: Seacoast Science Center In mid-September, our stranding partners in northern Massachusetts were inundated with...
Leaping harbour porpoise

The power of harbour porpoise poo

We know we need to save the whale to save the world. Now we are...
Right whale - Regina WDC

Whale and Dolphin Conservation: Change Through Policy.

WDC focuses on education, research, conservation projects, and policy work to create a sustainable future...
Clear the list graphic

Clear WDC’s Amazon Wishlist for Giving Tuesday

UPDATE: We are thrilled to report that everything was donated off of our Amazon Wishlist...

The Blackfish Effect

Many presentations this week have focused on orca captivity and the overall Blackfish effect – the name that has been given to the growing interest in ending captivity and the “turning of the tide” against SeaWorld and other captive facilities.  There is general agreement among the presenters and attendees at Superpod that the documentary came along at just the right time to bring awareness to the issue and catch the public’s attention in a way that advocates have struggled to do ever since the first orca was brought into captivity.

So now the question is: Where do we go from here? How do we continue the momentum and keep up the fight to end captivity?  I am asking myself these questions quite often as we focus on how far we’ve come in just a few years with this fight, and the advocates at Superpod have no shortage of answers.  Even those who have been working to end captivity for years say that they are inspired anew by the Blackfish effect and are all aglow with excitement at the possibilities and potential for continuing the fight.

The movement has even reached as far as Capitol Hill, with the introduction of bills to ban orca captivity in California and New York.  Representative Adam Schiff, who introduced the bill in California, made this speech yesterday (coincidentally right in the middle of Superpod week!) addressing the Blackfish effect and his support for ending captive display of orcas.  Political action is one of the best avenues for ending captivity – changing the laws will create progressive solutions and make it illegal to hold intelligent whales and dolphins in captive facilities.

Demonstrations and direct actions are also great ways to maintain the momentum and spread awareness of the reality of captivity.  Empty the Tanks Worldwide is an amazing movement that organizes protests at Oceanariums all over the world on a single day, bringing global attention to the cause.  I had the pleasure of meeting the founder of the movement here at Superpod, and she is gearing up for adding even more countries in 2015.

Superpod is all about sharing knowledge, ideas, and inspiration, and there is no shortage of ideas here this week, on how to continue to fight captivity, how to further protections in the wild, and how to keep orcas wild and free for the next generation of activists!