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Our climate report highlights dramatic impacts on whales and dolphins

A new WDC report highlights the dramatic effect on whales and dolphins from climate change,...
© New England Aquarium and Canadian Whale Institute under DFO Canada SARA permit

Scientists unveil new names for 19 North Atlantic right whales

December 6, 2023 - Contact: Regina Asmutis-Silvia, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, (508) 451-3853, [email protected] Pam...
© 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,...

Orcas and belugas held in Russian 'whale prison'

Reports from Russia’s Pacific Coast suggest that 11 orcas and up to 90 beluga whales have been taken from the wild and placed in tiny holding pens in a bay near the city of Nakhodka.

According to local independent newspaper, Novaya Gazeta it is the largest number of marine mammals to be held in this way, and prosecutors are said to be investigating whether the orcas and belugas are being kept in the tiny enclosures illegally.

The orcas and belugas may have been captured for sale to Chinese aquariums, despite the fact that permits for capture are only issued for scientific and educational reasons.


The Novaya Gazeta report also reveals that the four companies renting the small enclosures where these whales are being kept also exported 13 orcas to China between 2013 and 2016.

Recently, Russian authorities made several arrests following an illegal whale trafficking scandal involving the capture of several orcas for educational purposes that were then sold for display in countries like China where the captivity show industry in growing.

WDC is working to establish a sanctuary for beluga whales held in captivity – read more.

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