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Double Your Impact for Marine Animal Rescue & Response

On a chilly day this past December, the WDC North America team celebrated the first...
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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...
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Clear WDC’s Amazon Wishlist for Giving Tuesday

UPDATE: We are thrilled to report that everything was donated off of our Amazon Wishlist...
Fin whales are targeted by Icelandic whalers

Speaking truth to power – my week giving whales a voice

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting is where governments come together to make decisions about whaling...

Effort to Gain Stronger Protection for Russian Belugas Moves Forward

Today the National Marine Fisheries Service announced a positive 60-day finding on a petition to designate the Sakhalin Bay-Amur River beluga whale population in the Sea of Okhotsk, Russia, as depleted under the US Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The petition was submitted by the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC), Cetacean Society International (CSI), and the International Marine Mammal Project (IMMP) of the Earth Island Institute, on April 23rd, 2014. The petition was submitted to seek additional protections for this beluga population, which is the principal target of an ongoing global trade in live whales for the captive display industry.Beluga whale

A growing number of belugas are captured every year from this population for sale to countries such as China. Currently this population is the only source of whales for the international live trade. In 2013, over 100 belugas were removed from this single population, a number well in excess of what scientists believe would jeopardize its long-term survival. A depleted designation under the MMPA will stimulate research and conservation efforts by the United States and foreign governments, conservation organizations, the scientific community, and funding institutions to help recover these belugas and protect their habitat.

With this positive 60-day finding, the National Marine Fisheries Service must begin a status review, due in mid-November, of the Sakhalin-Amur population of belugas. A public comment period is now open until September 2, 2014, during which the public can submit information the agency should consider in its status review. AWI, WDC, CSI, and IMMP will be submitting additional scientific and trade information to inform this process.