Skip to content
All news
  • All news
  • About whales & dolphins
  • Corporates
  • Create healthy seas
  • End captivity
  • Green Whale
  • Prevent bycatch
  • Prevent deaths in nets
  • Science
  • Scottish Dolphin Centre
  • Stop whaling
  • Stranding
© Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, taken under NOAA permit #26919. Funded by United States Army Corps of Engineers

Birth announcement! First right whale calf of the 2024 calving season spotted

November 29, 2023 - On November 28th, researchers from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute...
© Peter Flood

Two New England-based nonprofits awarded nearly $400k federal grant

© Peter Flood November 20, 2023 - Contact: Jake O'Neill, Conservation Law Foundation, (617) 850-1709,...
Right whale - Regina WDC

North Atlantic right whale population has stabilized

WDC attends Ropeless Consortium and North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium WDC was in Canada this...
Moana, Marineland France

Orca Moana dies suddenly at Marineland

Twelve-year old orca, Moana has died suddenly at the Marineland Antibes theme park facility in...

Permanent Protections for Areas of the Arctic and Atlantic Ocean from Offshore Drilling

WDC joins US Secretary of Interior Sally Jewel in applauding President Obama’s announcement to withdraw portions of the Atlantic and Arctic Ocean from oil and gas extraction.   Nearly 4 million acres of water from Massachusetts through Delaware, along with 115 million acres of the US Arctic waters, will be protected.  Working as part of a coalition of groups opposing offshore drilling and exploration, WDC  is celebrating this victory which will protect thousands of whales, dolphins, and porpoises. 

Map from Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Atlantic Canyon Withdrawal

While today’s announcement is welcome, WDC remains concerned about the potential for seismic testing along the southeast US, the only known calving habitat for the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.  Earlier this year, President Obama announced a five year ban on drilling in the southeast Atlantic after receiving significant opposition from environmental groups and coastal communities, but did not prevent companies from using seismic air guns to locate mineral deposits.  The loud pulsing sounds produced 24 hours a day are known to harass, harm, and even kill whales and dolphins. 

Emerging research underscores the critical role whales play in the ecosystem from helping to offset climate change to supplying nutrients to phytoplankton which produces most of the world’s oxygen and is the base on which fish stocks depend. According to Regina Asmutis-Silvia, WDC NA executive director, “President Obama has not only helped to fight climate change by banning drilling in these areas, but also by keeping whales safe and allowing them to do their jobs as ecosystem engineers.  This is a win for whales and for our climate.”