Articles About Marine Life

Since 2021, AWI and colleagues have called on the governments of Norway and the United States to withdraw permits and funding for a controversial research study that involves the capture of minke whales in Norwegian...

The Arctic is warming faster than anywhere on Earth, and polar bears—listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act—are at risk due to decreasing sea ice habitat. Monitoring polar bear populations is important for their...

After four decades in the fight to end commercial whaling worldwide, Kate O’Connell, senior policy consultant for AWI’s Marine Life program, is on a first-name basis with virtually every major player impacting the cetacean protection...

After peaking at nearly 27,000 whales in 2016, the population of eastern North Pacific gray whales has plummeted to around 14,500 in 2023—a startling 46 percent decline and nearly 7,000 fewer animals than when the...

Since 2014, AWI has supported the work of Dolphinaria-Free Europe (DFE), a coalition of European NGOs who work to help the approximately 300 whales, dolphins, and porpoises held for display and research in the European...

The 6 th edition of The Case Against Marine Mammals in Captivity (CAMMIC), published by the Animal Welfare Institute and World Animal Protection, was unveiled in July. Since its 1 st edition in 1995, this...

In May, scientists conducted a survey in the Upper Gulf of California, looking for the world’s most endangered cetacean: the vaquita. Equipped with powerful binoculars and hydrophones, trained observers sought to detect the elusive species...

In September 2021, AWI, along with the Center for Biological Diversity and VIVA Vaquita, petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to list the Atlantic humpback dolphin as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA)...

In August 2022, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) published a positive 90-day finding regarding a petition from the sea urchin fishery in California to remove the southern sea otter subspecies (also known as...

The Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) met in Bled, Slovenia, in May. At these intense, annual two-week working meetings, up to 200 international cetacean biologists and policy experts discuss a broad range...