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The Dolphin News
Dolphins, like humans, recognize names By Deborah Zabarenko, Mon May 8, 2006 5:04 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bottlenose dolphins can call each other by name when they whistle, making them the only animals besides humans known to recognize such identity information, scientists reported on Monday.
Taiji Dolphin Slaughters Continue One Voice, December 2004
In the Japanese fishing village of Taiji, fishermen are rounding up and slaughtering hundreds and even thousands of dolphins right now.
Between October 1st - December 13th 2004 the fishermen of Taiji reported the capture 609 dolphins (389 bottlenose dolphins and 220 Risso's dolphins) to the Fisheries section of Wakayama Prefecture. While most of the 609 dolphins were slaughtered for human consumption, dolphin trainers selected some of the young and unblemished dolphins for use in captive dolphin swim programs and dolphin shows. During the hunting season that began October 1st 2003 and ended March 30th 2004 the fishermen of Taiji killed 1,165 dolphins:
Japanese fishermen kill the largest number of dolphins anywhere in the world and dolphins and porpoises face grave danger in Japan's coastal waters when the annual hunt begins. This year the drive fishery, a method in which dolphins are forced ashore and hacked to death, has taken place in Taiji and Futo. We traveled to both of these fishing villages to document the massacres and expose them to the world. In Taiji the annual dolphin hunt starts October 1st and continues through March 30th. Here, the massacre of dolphins is strongly encouraged by three local dolphinariums that purchase show-quality dolphins at a high cost and ship some of them off to othe facilities in Japan and abroad. The slaughterhouse is covered with blue tarpto prevent us from videotaping the bloody scene. Photo by Helene O'Barry We were able to film the entire capture procedure in January last year when more than 100 bottlenose dolphins were forced ashore and some 20 dolphins selected by dolphinaria. Several dolphins were killed during the selection process and our powerful footage was recently aired by the BBC in a documentary entitled "Dolphin Hunters" and has been viewed by more than 300 million people worldwide. This kind of major international exposure is the last thing the fishermen and the dolphin captivity industry want, and it came as no surprise to us that they were fuming with anger upon our return to Taiji in October. Since the beginning of our campaign to expose the barbaric methods used to capture and kill dolphins, the fishermen have gone to extreme effort and expense to prevent us from carrying out our documentary work. What they are doing to the dolphins is so brutal; they know they have to conceal it from the rest of the world to avoid a huge international outcry.
They used to carry out the massacres in a large lagoon by a public road, but the mounting exposure has forced them into one last hiding place; a small cove hidden between two mountains. The cove is part of a public park and tourists from all of Japan come here to walk the picturesque trails along one of the most spectacular coastlines in the world. During the drive fishery season, which lasts six months out of the year, the fishermen take the area into their possession, employing exceptionally hostile tactics to keep westerners and Japanese tourists away from the cove while dolphins are being killed. In doing so they have created a threatening and sinister atmosphere in an otherwise beautiful and friendly village. Hiding their activities the best they can has been part of the fishermen's policy for years but they have now taken their cover-up to a new, fanatic level. Supported by local authorities they have banned us from climbing the mountain from where we can see the killing cove. They are so scared of our cameras; they have tied barbed wire around the trees we used to climb to photograph the massacres and at the
After the massacre the water remains red with blood for hours and the ludicrous signs warning people of non-existent dangers such as "Falling rocks!" and "Mud-slides!" are not removed until after the sea has washed the blood away and all evidence of the butchery has vanished. The fishermen have even erected a large piece of fabric across the mouth of the cove to prevent us from photographing the bloodbath from a boat and as further proof of their deep-rooted fear of the truth being known to the world have placed a gigantic piece of blue tarp across the entire killing cove so we can't film the massacres, not even from a helicopter. The fishermen have succeeded in hiding the massacres almost to perfection but their strategy is backfiring in a way they probably did not anticipate. The dolphin slaughter is surrounded by so much contemptible deception and is so profoundly guarded; it has raised much curiosity among the visiting Japanese tourists who wonder what the secrecy is all about. We spoke to many of them and the one thing they kept asking was: "What are the fishermen doing behind the blue tarp that's so terrible that no one is allowed to see it?" The extreme cover-up is undermining one of the fishermen's principal justifications for killing dolphins: That it's a tradition they are proud of. If they are truly proud of killing dolphins, then why are they so frantic about hiding it? The fact that they hide the bloodbath behind blue tarp, chains, barbed wire and walls of fabric reveals that they are well aware that the dolphin massacres, once fully exposed, will be viewed as deplorable by the rest of the world, including the Japanese people. The fishermen spend a lot of time waving large signs in front of our camera lenses, yelling, "Don't take photos!" What they are really saying is, "We have something to hide." By acting so hostile and secretive, they involuntarily bring more attention to themselves and the dolphin massacres. As a young girl visiting from Tokyo put it: "I never realized that dolphins are being killed here until I saw that creepy-looking blue plastic covering the lagoon."
© 2004, One Voice, Earth Island Institute, Elsa Nature Conservancy. All Rights Reserved. 
Cetacean Culture Should Be Consideration in Conservation, Say Researchers "There is increasing evidence that culture is an important determinant of behavior in some non-human species including great apes and cetaceans (whales and dolphins). In some cases, there may be repercussions for population biology and conservation. Rapidly evolving ‘horizontal’ cultures, transmitted largely within generations, may help animals deal with anthropogenic change and even allow them to exploit it, sometimes with negative consequences for both the animals and humans. In contrast, stable ‘vertical’ or ‘oblique’ cultures, transmitted principally between generations, may impede adaptation to environmental change, and confound range recovery, reintroductions and translocations …We suggest that non-human culture should be integrated into conservation biology when considering populations with such attributes, and also more generally by refining definitions of evolutionarily significant units and considering how cultural attributes may change our perspectives of non-humans." So argues a paper by Hal Whitehead, Luke Rendell, Richard W. Osborne, and Bernd Wursig, in the journal Biological Conservation. Whitehead and colleagues note that, among the great apes and cetaceans, and perhaps some other species such as other primates and elephants, “social learning likely determines a large proportion of behavior, including functionally important behavior such as foraging. In these species, culture can affect fitness and population biology in important ways, and so … have a potential bearing on conservation biology. This is especially the case when the form that culture takes leads to discrete, behaviorally differentiated population segments that can possess quite distinct ecological roles.” The authors argue that whereas cultural adaptation can allow some species to exploit anthropogenic changes—for example, cetaceans which learn to take fish from long lines—stable vertical cultures can have the opposite effect. For example, although robust, and sometimes growing, cetacean population densities are found in some areas following those populations’ decimation by whaling, other traditionally important habitat remains deserted. Right whales, for example, “are currently almost entirely absent from Labrador waters where Basque whalers caught tens of thousands of animals during the 16th and 17th Centuries. Oceanic climate change may play some role in this lack of recovery, but it is perhaps more plausible that the whalers, by killing the Labrador animals, also destroyed the cultural knowledge of how to use Labrador waters. While we can document the end of traditional use of a habitat, whaling probably removed other cultural knowledge from populations, and this loss likely inhibits their recovery.” In addition to such pragmatic concerns, there are also ethical considerations. “It has been suggested that the recognition of culture in other animals should affect our perception of them … [I]n addition to considering culture as a part of the mix of biological attributes that affects how organisms interact with anthropogenic threats, perhaps culture should also be inserted into the roots of our conservation biology: why we wish to conserve organisms, and what we wish to conserve about them. These questions are difficult, and perhaps beyond the scope of most practicing conservation biologists. However, this does not mean that the implications of non-human cultures should just be left to the ethicists: non-human culture is not just ‘‘chimpanzees/dolphins/elephants reading poetry’’, it is the source of survival skills fundamental to the daily lives of these animals.” Source: Whitehead, H., et al. 2004. Culture and conservation of non-humans with reference to whales and dolphins: review and new directions. Biological Conservation 120: 427-437. Contact: Hal Whitehead, Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. E- mail: hwhitehe@dal.ca CAPTIVE ORCA ATTACKS TRAINER from the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, Great Britain, 12/21/04 In July, the world was reminded of the cruelty involved in keeping whales and dolphins captive when a captive orca (killer whale) turned on its trainer in an uncharacteristic display of aggression.The shocked crowd at a Sea World Park in Texas witnessed the orca repeatedly attacking the trainer, hitting him and holding him under water. Neither trainer or orca were seriously injured, but others have not been so lucky. Whilst examples of wild orcas displaying aggression towards people are extremely rare, two people have been killed by captive orcas. These highly intelligent and social animals are known to suffer extreme physical and mental stress in captivity, often shown through aggression between the animals themselves and sometimes, as in this case, between the animals and their trainers. This year alone six orcas have died in captivity, while 46 continue to lead impoverished and shortened lives in a tank. UK Navy launches new sonar 12/06/2004 from the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, Great Britain A recent development in man-made ocean noise, military sonars are designed to track ever more stealthy and silent submarines. They introduce very loud, powerful noise into the ocean, which many people fear may harm whales and dolphins and other marine creatures. There is evidence that loud-man made noise can frighten, hurt and even lead to the deaths of whales and dolphins and indeed some sonars have been linked to certain mass strandings. However the real environmental impact of the many different military sonars remains the cause of much controversy and debate around the world.The launch of Sonar 2087, by the UK Navy, follows an environmental battle in the USA relating to the deployment of what is believed to be a similar system - the US's Low Frequency Active Sonar. A legal challenge by US conservation and animal welfare organizations who were concerned about the impact of this sonar’s global operation lead to restrictions on its operation during peace time. Meanwhile the UK's trials of sonar 2087 are already underway and WDCS is concerned that the environmental impact of this sonar has received little public attention and scrutiny in the UK. Mid frequency active sonar has been used throughout the world’s oceans for decades and has been implicated in a number of cetacean strandings and subsequent deaths around the world. In September 2002, a mass stranding of 15 beaked whales occurred during European naval exercises off the Canary Islands. Following analysis of samples from these animals, the veterinary pathologists involved published an alarming report that identifies unusual internal damage in the dead whales. The damage, appears to be caused by a condition known in human divers as the 'bends', or decompression sickness. It’s not clear whether this happens as a result of the animal surfacing too quickly in fright, or as a direct result of the physical impact of the sonar sound. In addition, a number of beaked whales in the Bahamas, that were subjected to similar sonar stranded and died in 2000. None of the other animals that were known to belong to the same group of whales have been seen in the area since. This suggests that the impact of these sonars may be far wider than the animals that have stranded, we simply do not know how many animals do not strand, but die out at sea never to be discovered. Furthermore, the introduction of loud, man-made noise may affect the ability of whales and dolphins to feed, breed and navigate. For most species, hearing is their most important sense - they use it to navigate, communicate with each other and to locate food. Damage to this sense, or the masking affects caused by loud noise could impact on their ability to survive. It is clear more must be done by governments and industry to investigate and reduce these impacts. Dolphins Save Swimmers From Shark
It emerged yesterday that four swimmers were saved from a great white shark by a pod of altruistic dolphins, who swam in circles around them until the humans could escape.
It emerged yesterday that four swimmers were saved from a great white shark by a pod of altruistic dolphins, who swam in circles around them until the humans could escape. Rob Howes, a British-born lifeguard, had gone swimming with his daughter, Niccy, and two of her friends off Ocean beach near Whangarei on the North Island, when the dolphins suddenly appeared. At first, he thought the mammals were being playful, but he soon realised the danger the swimmers were in. "They started to herd us up, they pushed all four of us together by doing tight circles around us," Mr Howes told the New Zealand Press Association. He tried to drift away from the group, but two of the bigger dolphins herded him back - just as he spotted a three-metre [10ft] great white shark heading towards him. "I just recoiled," he said. "It was only about two metres away from me, the water was crystal clear and it was as clear as the nose on my face. They had corralled us up to protect us." The dolphins kept their vigil for 40 minutes until the shark lost interest, and the group could swim 100m back to the shore. Another lifeguard, Matt Fleet, on patrol in a lifeboat, saw the dolphins circling the swimmers and slapping their tails on the water to keep them in place. He told the Northern Advocate newspaper that he also had a clear sighting of the shark. "Some of the people later on the beach tried to tell me it was just another dolphin; but I knew what I saw," he said. Although the incident happened on October 30, the swimmers have only just spoken of their rescue. Ingrid Visser, of Orca Research, an environmental group, said the dolphins' behaviour was understandable, as they attack sharks to protect themselves and their young, and similar incidents had been reported round the world. "They could have sensed the danger to the swimmers, and taken action to protect them," she said. © Guardian Newspapers Limited Mass strandings in Australia and New Zealand Source: WDCS 11/30/2004 On the 28th November 73 long-finned pilot whales and 25 bottlenose dolphins washed up on a beach on Tasmania's King Island, although a rescue operation was mounted, all of the animals are now dead. The following day, WDCS received reports of a further mass stranding on Tasmania's east coast, at Maria, where 53 long-finned pilot whales were washed up. 18 of these died, 22 were refloated and efforts to save the remainder were underway, including the use of a helicopter to check that the refloated whales had not restranded further along the coast. Sadly, a further mass stranding was reported in New Zealand the same day, with 55 long-finned pilot whales stranded on the Coramandle Peninsular. 18 were refloated that evening and two more on the 30th.A similar spate of strandings occurred in this region at almost exactly the same time last year. On the 25th November,110 pilot whales and 20 bottlenose dolphins were stranded in Strahan, Tasmania and on the 29th, 10 sperm whales washed up on Flinders Island near Tasmania. In the past 9 years, 2768 long finned pilot whales and 146 bottlenose dolphins have stranded in Tasmania, amongst a total of 4661 whales and dolphins overall, with the total number of standings events being 556 over that period of time. Whilst no-one can be sure of the cause, three mass stranding events in the space of 48 hours in Australia and New Zealand is certainly a matter that raises public concern. WDCS notes that such strandings can occur solely from natural causes, but that some strandings of some species have also been correlated with human activities particularly certain powerful military sonars. It is clear that we need more research into strandings patterns and the bodies of animals that come ashore and we are calling on governments to commit more resources to this end. We are also calling for the development of national strandings networks in Australia and elsewhere, which can provide vital equipment and expertise, when and where they are most needed. There are a number of reasons why whales and dolphins strand. For example, features of the sea floor, such as sand bars and gently sloping shelves of sand and mud seem to cause confusion amongst whales. It may be that their echolocation abilities work less well in areas of soft sediments and strandings may therefore result from navigational errors. Many of the species that strand en-mass, such as pilot whales and sperm whales are highly social animals. It may be, for example, that their dependency on the lead animals is so strong that they even follow their leaders when they make a navigational error. Alternatively it is possible that, when one member of their school is sick or wounded all the others become involved in the stranding as they try to help this stricken animal. Live mass strandings of mixed species often point to human activities. A series of highly unusual and fatal strandings seemingly starting in the 1980s in the Canary Islands have been linked to naval exercises in the area and more recently other strandings of beaked whales again in the Canary Islands, and also in Greece and the Bahamas have been linked to the use of powerful military sonars. Naval exercises in the waters of the Canary Islands have recently been banned in response to these events. PROTECTION FOR THE RARE IRRAWADDY DOLPHIN From the Whale and dolphin Conservation Society newsletter, 10/14/04 CITES has given the rare Irrawaddy dolphin protection from international trade. Governments voted overwhelmingly in favour of a proposal to ban international commercial trade by listing the Irrawaddy on Appendix I of CITES. A huge thank you to all those who wrote to EU member states urging them to support the proposal - your efforts have made a real difference.Threatened by accidental killing in fishing nets and habitat destruction, several Irrawaddy dolphin populations are critically endangered, while the rest are almost unknown. WDCS fears that the growing threat of capture and sale to aquariums around the world could wipe out whole populations. With a ban on international trade in place, conservationists will be able to focus their attention on other threats to these dolphins. Competition between Marine Mammals and Fisheries: Food for Thought September, 2004, from SeaSpan, the semi-monthly electronic newsletter of the Pew Fellows Program in Marine Conservation: Daniel Pauly of the Fisheries Centre at the University of British Columbia co-authored a recently released report called "Competition between Marine Mammals and Fisheries: Food for Thought." The booklet, co-written with Kristin Kaschner, was funded by the U.S. Humane Society and was discussed at the International Whaling Commission meeting earlier this year. To download an electronic copy of the report, visit: http://www.seaaroundus.org/BooksReportsF.htmJapan Is More Confident on CITES Whale Vote October 07, 2004 — By Ed Stoddard, Reuters BANGKOK — Japan is confident it can secure the votes needed to resume commercial trade in whale products and that this would be a step toward lifting a ban on hunting the marine giants, a Japanese official said on Wednesday. "It's difficult, but this time we are confident that we have more support than we had at previous meetings," said Joji Morishita, deputy director of the international affairs division of Japan's Fisheries Agency.Japan has proposed that some stocks of minke whales be shifted from a CITES list of most-endangered animals, in which international trade is banned, to a less-endangered category, where trade would be possible. "Biologically it is clear that minke whales should not be in Appendix I" of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), Morishita said on the sidelines of a two-week meeting on the pact. Minke whales are acknowledged as one of the more robust whale populations, numbering perhaps 1 million worldwide. "The question if it is endangered or not is not a question anymore," said Morishita. Japan's CITES proposal wants to move three minke stocks from Appendix I, which allows trade only in exceptional circumstances, to Appendix II, which allows controlled trade. There are three populations of minke whales: one near Japan, one in the central North Atlantic, and another in the eastern North Atlantic — the last two of interest to Iceland and Norway. "If the minke is downlisted, there will be no expanded international trade. The only real market is Japan," Morishita said. "It's more an issue of principle for us." Japan says eating whale meat is a cultural tradition. Whale was a key source of protein in the dark days after World War II but has now become a gourmet food due to sparse supplies. Step Toward Lifting Hunting Ban But he acknowledged that it would help Japan's battle to get the International Whaling Commission to lift a ban on whaling which has been in place since 1986. "I think this would be indirect pressure on the IWC," Morishita said of a success for Japan's proposal. "There is a misunderstanding that if/when the moratorium is lifted, Japan will hunt everything in the ocean. We will only hunt abundant species," he said. Many conservationists oppose whale hunting on the grounds that harpooning is cruel. Some also say that whale number estimates are not known accurately. Those views carry political weight in the European Union, which has signaled that it will not support Japan's proposal. Japan will need a two-thirds vote to pass its proposal. About 150 of CITES's 166 member states are present at the meeting with more expected to trickle in. Only one of the E.U.'s 25 members, Cyprus, is not present yet, so the E.U.'s block vote could prove decisive. But Morishita said Japan was counting on support from many developing countries, including those in West Africa and the Caribbean whose fishing stocks he said were adversely affected by whale numbers. Japan says it hunts whales for scientific research, but the meat often ends up on store shelves and in gourmet restaurants. Research whaling takes place in two regions: the Antarctic, where Japan plans to take up to 440 minke this year, and the Northwest Pacific, where it plans to take around 220 minke, 50 Bryde's whales, 100 sei whales, and 10 sperm whales. Perceptions of Dolphins and Whales September 2004, American Cetacean Society website This quote was found in an artist profile of Pieter Folkens. “The burgeoning affection for whales has transmogrified into curious belief systems intolerant of question or critique. Such things run a gamut from "dolphin channellers" to self-aggrandizing heroes of the oceans - each with their own cadre of enthusiastic devotees. Has respect, integrity, and effective protection of endangered whales been compromised by the presence of fatuous persuasions, faux conservation organizations, plagiarists, and outright mountebanks? Is there a responsibility of reputable organizations such as ACS and Cetacea aficionados of good character to question, explore, and even ridicule the dubious elements have become a part of marine mammal circles? Or has the altruistic mythological character of dolphins and social correctness so imbued our world that we must be completely tolerant, even accepting, of that which we know to be wrong?”Dolphin Calves Use "Drafting" To Keep Up With Mothers; By Separating Adults and Young, Tuna Fishing May Add to Mortality From SeaWeb Ocean Update, September, 2004 Researchers have long speculated as to how dolphin calves are able to keep up with their fast-swimming mothers. One favored theory has been that they employ "drafting," defined as "the transfer of forces between individuals without actual physical contact between them." Through theoretical analysis and observations of free-swimming dolphins, a new study in the Journal of Biology has demonstrated the existence and importance of drafting.The study shows that two major effects are involved. "First, the so-called Bernoulli suction, which stems from the fact that the local pressure drops in areas of high speed, results in an attractive force between mother and calf. Second is the displacement effect, in which the motion of the mother causes the water in front to move forwards and radially outwards, and water behind the body to move forwards to replace the animal's mass. Thus, the calf can gain a 'free ride' in the forward-moving areas." In theory, the study notes, a calf can gain up to 90% of the thrust needed to keep up with its mother; in practice, the gain is something like 60%. As an article in the same issue of the Journal of Biology emphasizes, this relationship is placed at severe risk by the practice of yellowfin tuna fleets in the Eastern Pacific of setting purse-seine nets around dolphin schools in order to capture the tuna that swim beneath them. In the process, adult dolphins attempting to flee encirclement frequently become separated from their offspring; it is therefore entirely possible, the author notes, that even the calves which escape being encircled suffer from greater fatigue, and are less able to keep up with their mothers and thus become more susceptible to later mortality. Sources: Moore, P. 2004. Examining dolphin hydrodynamics provides clues to calf-loss during tuna fishing. Journal of Biology 3(2): 6.1-6.5; Weihs, D. 2004. The hydrodynamics of dolphin drafting. Journal of Biology 3(2): 8.1-8.16. US Citizen fined for buying Cuban dolphins, other Americans under investigation Source: One Voice August 28, 2004 Graham Dundas Simpson of Reno, Nevada, was given a $70.000 fine, which was handed down by the Civil Penalties Division of the Office of Foreign Assets and Control, (OFAC) a division of the U.S. Customs and Treasury Department for the illegal purchase of six Cuban dolphins. In January 2000, Mr. Simpson exported the six Cuban dolphins to his newly opened captive dolphin swim program on the Caribbean island of Anguilla. For a US citizen to conduct business with Cuba is a direct violation of the United States Helms-Burton Act. Simpson recently sold his operation to Dolphin Discovery, another captive dolphin swim program based in Cancun Mexico.One Voice, a leading French animal protection organization that is working to stop the capture and traffic of dolphins in the Caribbean, applauded the OFAC decision. Richard O'Barry, Marine Mammal Specialist for One Voice, has asked the US Treasury Department to investigate Mike Wood and other US Citizens who operate Dolphin Discovery. O'Barry has evidence that Dolphin Discovery has purchased at least 33 captured dolphins from Cuba, although the number could go as high as 70. The evidence has been turned over to the US Treasury Department. Dolphin Discovery of Cancun has been in business since 1994 and they are expanding into the Caribbean at an alarming rate. They have captive dolphin facilities in Cancun, Cozumel, Puerto Aventuras Mexico, Tortola BWI, Antigua and Anguilla. “We have reason to believe that all of their facilities are holding Cuban dolphins," O'Barry said Dolphin Discovery is planning to expand their operation into the Cayman Islands Government-owned Cayman Turtle Farm on Grand Cayman. Dolphin Discovery with Cayman Islands citizens are planning to operate the captive dolphin entertainment facility on land leased from the Cayman Turtle Farm. The Cayman Islands government has issued a dolphin importation permit. Dolphin freedom advocates are greatly concerned that the dolphins slated for the Cayman Islands are Cuban dolphins that were purchased illegally by US citizens. One Voice is currently campaigning to stop captive dolphin swim programs in the Cayman Islands, Antigua, and Sint Maarten. "We intend to ensure this illegal trade in Cuban dolphins is stopped," said Muriel Arnal, One Voice President. Miami Herald story here: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/9519340.htm Socialites unite dolphin groups From BBC News: E-mail, August 12, 2004 A few well-connected dolphins keep pods together. Dolphin groups, or "pods" rely on socialites to keep them together, scientists have claimed. Without these individuals, the cohesion of the dolphin group falls apart, researchers have discovered. The finding may mean that capturing wild dolphins or killer whales for marine parks could have a serious impact on their companions left behind.Details of the study, by a UK and US research team, are outlined in New Scientist magazine. Ecologist David Lusseau, from the University of Aberdeen, UK, studied the social interctions of a community of 62 bottlenose dolphins living in Doubtful Sound, New Zealand. Chance encounters? From 1994 to 2001, he tracked individual animals and worked out which ones appeared together more often than would be expected by chance. His colleague, Mark Newman from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, US, then applied a mathematical technique used for probing complex networks. What emerged were two sizeable sub-communities joined together tenuously by just a few common members. These dolphins occupied central roles in the social network. But without them, the entire network was likely to split into two. "Remarkably this is exactly what happened," Newman told New Scientist magazine. "Some years into the study, two of these keystone individuals did indeed disappear, and the community split into two separate groups that went their own way." When the missing individuals returned, the pod re-formed. The results of the study are to be published in a future issue of the Royal Society journal Biology Letters. U.S. Barred From Weakening Dolphin Rules By LISA LEFF, Associated Press Writer August 10, 2004 SAN FRANCISCO - In a victory for environmentalists, a federal judge ruled Tuesday that the Bush administration cannot change the standards commercial fisheries must meet before the tuna they catch can carry the "dolphin-safe" label.U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson found that Commerce Secretary Donald Evans not only failed to conduct the scientific research required to relax existing tuna-labeling laws, but engaged in "a pattern of delay and inattention" to build support for his position. "The record is replete with evidence that the secretary was influenced by policy concerns nrelated to the best available scientific evidence," Henderson wrote in a strongly worded 51-page opinion. "This court has never, in its 24 years, reviewed a record of agency action that contained such a compelling portrait of political meddling." The Commerce Department (news - web sites) wanted to rewrite the 1990 law to allow tuna caught with nets to be labeled dolphin-safe if observers certified that no dolphins were killed or seriously injured in the process. Dolphins commonly swim with schools of tuna, and fisheries in Mexico and South America encircle the popular mammals with nets to hone in on their prey. Tuesday's ruling makes permanent an injunction Henderson issued last year that barred the Commerce Department from implementing the new rules while the case was pending. "Judge Henderson's ruling exposes the Bush administration's deceit in ignoring its own scientists and caving into Mexican demands to allow dolphin-deadly tuna back into the U.S. with a phony label," said Earth Island Institute director David Phillips, whose group was one of the plaintiffs in the suit against Evans. A U.S. Justice Department (news - web sites) spokesman said government attorneys would have to review the decision and consult with the Commerce Department before deciding whether to appeal. In his opinion, Henderson condemned the process the Commerce Department used to conclude that dolphins would not be harmed if the labeling rules were relaxed. The department never made a serious effort to determine if encircling methods of fishing increased dolphin mortality rates and erroneously concluded based on limited existing research that they didn't pose a significant hazard, the judge said. "Rather than supporting Defendants' position, the record shows an agency that continued to drag its feet, exercised little diligence, and put obstacles in its own road," Henderson wrote, adding that Evans' "arbitrary and capricious" decision was prompted by international trade policy. The case is Earth Island Institute v. Evans, 03-0007. Whale sonar deaths bring threat of U.S. Navy lawsuit From Environmental News Network, by Reuters Friday, July 16, 2004 LOS ANGELES — Animal welfare groups Thursday threatened to sue the U.S. Navy over the use of mid-frequency sonar linked to mass whale strandings, internal bleeding, and death.The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and a coalition of three other environmental groups sent a letter Wednesday to Navy Secretary Gordon England saying they would go to court unless the Navy agreed to curb the practice. The coalition says that mid-frequency, high intensity sonar systems used on 60 percent of Navy ships and submarines to detect enemy submarines interferes with the ability of marine mammals to navigate, find food, avoid predators, and communicate with each other. "Without reasonable limits, the proliferation of high intensity sonar will cause excruciating pain, injury, and death for an increasing number of marine mammals," said Frederick O'Regan, president of the International Fund for Animal Welfare. A Navy spokesman in Washington, D.C., said the letter would be "carefully reviewed and considered" and noted that the Navy already has several programs aimed at protecting marine mammals. The letter was prompted by what the coalition called a stampede of about 200 melon-headed whales during a U.S.-Japanese naval training exercise off the coast of the Hawaiian island of Kauai two weeks ago. The pod of normally deep-water whales crowded into shallow waters near the shore in such chaos that one of the whales was stranded and died. The warships shut off their sonar on learning of the stampede, but the coalition said the exact sequence of events was unclear. The letter cited 10 cases of mass stranding and whale deaths associated with mid-frequency sonar in the last nine years in places ranging from Greece to the Canary Islands. Citing the journal Nature, the coalition said that intense sonar blasts can give marine mammals decompression sickness similar to "the bends" sometimes experienced by surfacing divers. Post-mortem examinations on some whales exposed to sonar showed hemorrhaging around the ears and the larynx. Last year the Navy agreed to scale back the use of a different kind of sonar system using low-frequency waves after losing a lawsuit brought by the coalition under endangered species and marine mammal protection legislation. The coalition said the Navy's use of mid-frequency sonar violated the same laws but on a much larger scale. "We'd rather not resort to litigation, so we are once again asking the Navy to sit down to discuss this in a spirit of co-operation," said NRDC lawyer Joel Reynolds. World's rarest dolphin nears extinction From CNN April 17, 2002
Many conservationists believe that the North Island's Hector's dolphin, with a population of only one hundred or so, is on the brink of extinction. A recently discovered drowned dolphin, as well as the resumption of recreational fishing has fired up the debate over the human threat to New Zealand's only native dolphin. "Clearly, the North Island Hector's dolphin is headed for extinction unless the government does something dramatic to prevent it," said Chris Howe, Director of Conservation at WWF New Zealand in a statement. "Even though the fishers are putting intense pressure on the government to weaken its ban, we are calling on the Fisheries Minister to resist and instead take urgent action to ensure the total protection of North Island's Hector's dolphins." Critically endangered
More than one human-induced dolphin death every five years, says the WWF, will prevent the species from recovering to viable population levels. Although many conservationists and fishers alike say they are keen to preserve this national icon, a conflict of interests surrounding resource use is still very obvious. The west coast of the North Island is the second-largest area for snapper fishing and accounts for about one-third of New Zealand's total snapper catch. Fishers argue that trawling does not impose a serious threat to the dolphins due to the fact that the activity is banned within one nautical mile of the coast. Although North Island's Hector's dolphins swim relatively close to the shore, its range varies, like any mammal in the wild, and conservationists say it needs more room. But if the fishing limitations are lifted, any dolphin that strays into deep water could end up in the backyard of the nation's fishing industry. Return to netting In August 2001, the Minister of Fisheries banned commercial and recreational set netting within most of the dolphin's range. Yet a recent challenge by fishers, has seen the ban overturned in the High Court and recreational set netting has resumed. Following the High Court's overturning of the ban on netting in the dolphin's range, the New Zealand government has said it will announce new measures within two months. Conservationists want the government to protect the entire marine habitat of the North Island Hector's dolphin and ban commercial and recreational set net fisheries within four nautical miles of the shore, including harbors. Although pro-fishing and pro-dolphin habitat lobbies talk conservation, few measures have been put in place and most agree the key thing is to stop any dolphin dying in fishing nets. A marine mammal sanctuary has been proposed covering the dolphin's entire range, as well as a species recovery plan. Notoriously slow breeders Living close to the shore of the northwest coast of New Zealand's North Island, Hector's dolphins are notoriously slow breeders. Female dolphins only have four calves in their 20-year life span. The dolphins live in small family groups, rarely swimming more than 30 kilometers (19 miles) from their place of birth. Netting, while currently the major threat to these dolphins, is compounded by other human-induced threats such as pollution, collisions with boats and effects on food sources. Taiji Dolphin Slaughters
By Helene O'Barry Located on the southern part of the Japanese archipelago at the tip of the peninsula that extends into the Pacific Ocean, Taiji is one of several Japanese coastal towns that carry out the dolphin drives from October through March each year. This season, the whalers of Taiji were given a permit to kill close to 2400 cetaceans of various species. The dolphin drives are typically carried out this way: The 26 whalers of Taiji operate with 13 motorized boats. The boats are equipped with two 20 ft. stainless steel poles, one on each side. Two men are assigned to each boat. At sunrise they all go out to deep water where the dolphins migrate. The dolphins have been using these migratory paths for thousands, perhaps millions, of years, and the whalers know exactly where to find them. When a pod of dolphins swims by, the boats line up one behind the other, perfectly evenly spaced. The whalers then lower their poles into the water. The poles are flared out at the bottom much like a bell, which amplifies the sound produced when the whalers start hitting the poles with hammers. The whalers are literally creating an underwater wall of sound this way. The wall functions as an acoustic barrier between the dolphins and the open sea: The dolphins all of a sudden find themselves trapped between the shoreline and the wall of sound. They run for their lives to get away from the sound, but this only brings them closer and closer to shore, which enables the whalers to herd them into a designated killing lagoon. The whalers seal the mouth of the lagoon with nets, thereby cutting off the dolphins' escape. At this point, the dolphins are exhausted and terrified after the chase, but their ordeal is far from over. The whalers let them remain trapped in the lagoon for the remainder of the day and the entire night before they kill them. The killing of the dolphins is a scene of tremendous brutality. With the animals trapped in a small area, it is an easy task for the whalers to drive the dolphins into shallow water and kill them with fishermen’s hooks and knives. As the hooks penetrate the dolphins’ skin and continue to cut through the flesh of the still living animals, the water turns red with blood. According to a former Japanese whaler, Mr. Izumi Ishii, the dolphins take up to 6 minutes to die. “They thrash about in pain with their eyes wide open and emit loud whistles and cries,” Mr. Ishii says. In January 2004, One Voice sent a team to Taiji to document the methods used in the dolphin massacres. It turned out, however, that we were going to witness something far more shocking: Members of the dolphin captivity industry work side by side with the Japanese whalers to exploit the dolphins in the most cruel way imaginable. Early in the morning of January 27 Ric O’Barry -- Marine Mammal Specialist with One Voice – and I showed up at the killing lagoon, expecting to witness the slaughter of about 100 bottlenose dolphins that had been chased into the lagoon the day before. To our surprise, there were more than 30 dolphin trainers gathered by the killing lagoon. When the whalers discovered us with our cameras, they became very hostile, and some of the trainers ordered us to stop filming. They were there to select the best-looking dolphins for dolphinariums. Security guards were assigned to block us from getting close to the lagoon. The situation became increasingly dangerous for us, and when whalers began to make throat-cutting gestures we retreated to our car and locked ourselves inside for safety. January 29 the whalers drove another pod of more than 100 bottlenose dolphins into the lagoon. The pod consisted of dolphins of all ages: adults, juveniles, several babies, as well as pregnant and nursing females. They were hyperventilating. Swimming in a tight circle, they collided forcefully in their attempt to find a way out. But there was none. The dolphins were doomed, and the turbulence created by their fear made it look like they were in a giant washing machine. When we arrived at the lagoon on January 30, dozens of divers from the dolphin captivity industry were once again gathered on the beach. The dolphins were staying at the far end of the lagoon, as far away from the divers as possible. At 6:30 AM the whalers began the process of driving the dolphins toward the beach, in order that the trainers could drag them ashore. The whalers did this by pulling one of the nets closer toward the shore. The dolphins' panic increased as the space they were confined in got smaller and smaller. As the dolphins approached the rocky beach, the dolphin trainers got in the water with pieces of rope. They subdued the struggling animals, tied ropes around their tail flukes, and hauled the animals toward the beach. Mothers and babies were separated with extreme brutality, but their calls of distress were met with complete indifference from the trainers. The trainers and whalers helped each other line the dolphins up close to the beach. The dolphins had never experienced gravity before. Helplessly grounded like this, all their body weight put pressure on their internal organs: lungs, liver, and heart. This was no doubt very stressful for them, especially the pregnant females. The dolphin trainers then began the process of selecting the dolphins that fit the desired criteria. The ones that were so young that they still depended on their mother's milk for survival were rejected, and the trainers didn't care what the whalers did with them. The yelling and commotion was enormous as the whalers and trainers forced the selected dolphins into stretchers and took them to newly erected sea cages in Taiji harbor, two at a time. The stretchers were hanging from the side of a boat, and the dolphins were dragged through the water like this, right next to the deafening sound of the motor. It was shocking to see the dolphin captivity industry treat dolphins in such a crude manner. During the 1960s, Ric made a living capturing and training dolphins, including the five dolphins that were used in the American TV-series Flipper about a dolphin of the same name. As a former dolphin trainer, he has encountered several cases of animal abuse. The dolphin capture in Taiji, however, stands out as the cruelest thing he has witnessed during his more than 40 years of working with dolphins. Just a few examples: A dolphin calf, a few months old at the most, had been separated from its mother in the chaos and was swimming all by itself in a corner close to shore. We had noticed how its mother had tried to remain close to the calf throughout the ordeal, but she couldn't protect herself or her baby from what happened next: Two divers got in the water and subdued her. They tied a piece of rope around her tail flukes and dragged her ashore. The trainers measured her and inspected her overall condition. We could hear the calf let out frantic cries as its mother was forced into a stretcher and taken away. This calf was among the last to be rounded up by the trainers. The dolphin was too young to fit the dolphinarias' criteria and was not among the chosen. Three divers equipped with rope approached a large dolphin. When the dolphin was within their reach, two of them reached out for its dorsal fin and, using their bodyweight, held the dolphin down. At some point it looked as if the dolphin was going to succeed in breaking away, and one of the divers, yelling and screaming hysterically, pulled hard at its pectoral fin while the other positioned his body halfway across the dolphin’s back. The third diver, aided by a whaler, tied a piece of rope around the dolphin’s tail fluke, and the struggling dolphin was successfully dragged to shallow water and grounded. On the mural of the local captive dolphin facility ‘”World Dolphin Resort,” the words “We Love Dolphins!” are prominently displayed in bold colors. Divers from this very same dolphinarium, which claims to “love dolphins,” were among those who mercilessly dragged dolphins out of the water with ropes, separating mothers from their babies. We know this because some of the divers had the logo of World Dolphin Resort on their wetsuits. Other logos we noticed were those of “Marine Park,” “Taiji Whale Museum” and “Dolphin Base.” Which other dolphinariums participated in the capture, we do not know, but one thing is certain: There was no sign of "love" for dolphins on this day where whalers and members of the dolphin captivity industry stranded an entire pod of dolphins and subsequently, in a process that can only be described as a display of horror, dragged more than 20 of them away to be shipped to various dolphinariums. We kept looking at the dolphin trainers, hoping to see a sign of some compassion. But there was none. The trainers that were not chasing after the dolphins with ropes simply stood by and watched as some of the dolphins, in a massive effort to escape, got entangled in the capture nets and, unable to reach the surface to breathe, died a slow and terrifying death of suffocation. During the entire selection process, security guards were waving giant signs at us, banning photography. "No photos! No photos!" was their standard line. But as much as they tried, they couldn't stop us from filming, and the capture footage obtained by One Voice is compelling and irrefutable: In their self-serving endeavor to select dolphins for public display, dolphin trainers exposed an entire pod of dolphins to harassment, trauma, injuries, and death. And this is the dark side of dolphin captivity that the public is not supposed to know about. When the divers had finally selected the dolphins they wanted, the dolphins had been beached in shallow water for more than three hours. The ones that were too old, too young, too big, had the wrong gender, had too many blemishes, or were injured were hauled back into the killing lagoon. According to the official records, four of the dolphins that were not selected were butchered, and the rest were let go. How many of them had been inflicted with life-threatening injuries as a result of the rough treatment, we will never know. Many were hyperventilating and had difficulty swimming. Some showed signs of broken or dislocated pectoral fins. Others -- succumbing to exhaustion, shock, or injuries -- simply sank to the bottom of the sea, never to surface again. While in Taiji, the One Voice team saw two westerners at "Dolphin Base." Dolphin Base is the company that carries out the actual trade in the dolphins from the drives. In fact, a truck with the logo of “Dolphin Base” was parked in the parking lot right next to the killing lagoon while the selection of dolphins took place. The westerners were even more paranoid about being photographed than the whalers, and we have no doubt that they had come to Taiji to buy dolphins for dolphinaria. By trading in dolphins from the drives, they fuel the continued existence of this brutal practice. Ironically, however, if one were to ask them how they justify doing business with the dolphin hunters, they would most likely make the claim that they were saving them from death and slaughter. But it became very clear to us that the dolphin pod had been captured for the sole purpose of supplying dolphinariums with dolphins. In other words: The dolphinariums were the direct reason the dolphins had been captured. Every time we approached the westerners, they ran away from us, and during the violent selection process they were hiding in the shadows. On February 6, 2004, divers from the dolphin captivity industry were once again working side by side with the Taiji whalers. Using a large crane, they hoisted several of the selected dolphins into transport boxes. The dolphins were driven away in two large trucks, to an unknown destination. For members of the dolphin captivity industry to sustain the slaughter of dolphins in Japan by trading in dolphins from the drives is simply deplorable. One Voice is hereby calling on the dolphin captivity industry to finally take a stand on this urgent issue. Dolphinariums that do not support the dolphin massacres have a responsibility to keep watch over their own industry and call upon their colleagues to stop doing business with the Japanese whalers. Rather than remaining silent about the Japanese dolphin blood bath, dolphinariums worldwide should feel compelled and obliged to do all in their power to stop it. Please support the effort of One Voice to stop the dolphin slaughters and the inhumane capture of dolphins for public display. Visit our website at: www.onevoice-ear.org
Dear friends,
Thursday, May 06, 2004 Adapted by Maria Pegoraro and Kathleen M. Wong, California Academy of Sciences Ocean Creatures Growing Sicker 
Marine creatures are succumbing to diseases faster than ever before, a new study finds. In the wake of alarming reports on dying corals, virus-sickened marine mammals, and tumor-laden sea turtles, Jessica Ward of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and Kevin Lafferty of the University of California, Santa Barbara, wanted to determine whether the number of scientifically published reports on ocean ailments showed that diseases really are on the rise.
First, they determined that accounts of raccoon rabies paralleled actual disease increases in the wild, suggesting the technique is valid. The scientists report in the journal PLoS Biology that accounts of marine diseases for creatures ranging from whales to sea grasses and sea urchins were definitely on the rise, implying a real increase in the incidence of disease. Human-transmitted diseases such as distemper and toxoplasma are affecting marine mammals, while accumulated industrial toxins may be weakening immune systems. Warming water may be harming corals and encouraging toxic algal blooms. Yet numbers of disease reports about fish seem to be decreasing, possibly because overfishing has made fish rarer and diseases more difficult to transmit. April 23, 2004 From the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society in Great Britain: In March we told you about a campaign to stop stores owned by Tesco selling dolphin and whale meat. Thank you to all of those who wrote letters of protest to Tesco and signed the online petition. Unfortunately, Tesco ignored you and remains resolved to let C Two-Network stores in Japan, of which it owns 95%, continue to sell whale and dolphin meat. This is amazing in light of the fact that Tesco told WDCS last year, "we do not support the trade of whale products and would not wish to be linked with companies that are involved with this business". Japanese hunters kill tens of thousands of dolphins and whales each year in unsustainable, cruel and wasteful hunts. By continuing to let its Japanese stores buy and sell whale and dolphin meat, Tesco is putting profit above ethics; it is breaking its pledge to WDCS; ignoring the wishes of you, its customers; showing blatant disregard for the fate of whales and dolphins; and supporting Japan's whaling in defiance of the ban on commercial whaling. USA - orca and dolphins transferred across the US Following the sale of the Six Flags park in Ohio to Cedar Fair LP, Six Flags has moved more than 400 animals, including an orca and four dolphins to its Marine World park in Vallejo, California. March 25, 2004 From the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society in Great Britain: DOLPHIN DEATHS CONTINUE IN EUROPE EU Fisheries Ministers fail to introduce appropriate protection measures Earlier this week, WDCS was extremely disappointed to learn that Fisheries Ministers of the European Union have agreed to a weak and ineffective regulation, the original aim of which was to protect dolphins and porpoises from death in fishing nets. Despite pressure from WDCS, other organisations and individuals from across Europe for the proposed Regulation to be strengthened and adopted without delay, it has been drastically watered down from its original version and now falls far short of what is required to protect these animals. Some fishing practices pose such a serious threat to dolphins and porpoises in European waters that they are currently driving populations towards extinction. As a result of ministerial compromises, thousands of dolphins and porpoises will continue to die a cruel and needless death in fishing nets every year. By weakening the Regulation, the EU has thrown away a major opportunity, compromising the survival of our marine wildlife in favour of commercial interests. WDCS will continue to fight to gain protection for the dolphins and porpoises of Europe. We'll keep you up to date with our campaign and how you can help over the coming weeks. HELP STOP DOLPHIN CAPTURES IN GUYANA WDCS is very concerned about the welfare and conservation implications of a proposed dolphin capture in Guyana, South America. The capture is reportedly planned for the export of bottlenose dolphins abroad, for public display in captive facilities. During captures, dolphins can be harmed and even killed and the removal of an individual can have a severe impact on the dolphin population targeted. Confined in captivity, dolphins can suffer extreme mental and physical stress. WDCS is concerned that Guyana's waters could become a regular source of dolphins for the captivity industry, with disastrous consequences for the survival of dolphin populations in the area. WDCS is campaigning to stop these captures. CETACEAN NEWS IN BRIEF Government must meet Committee's marine challenge Committee report issues a stark challenge to the UK government to make real progress on safeguarding our seas, where current laws are out of date and incomplete. USA - Dolphin deaths at Gulf World Two young dolphins died last week at Gulf World in Panama City Beach, USA. Help stop stores owned by Tesco selling whale meat! WDCS supports a campaign by EIA and Greenpeace to end the sale of cetacean products by stores in Japan owned by Tesco. USA - orca and dolphins to be moved in Six Flags park sale 'Shouka', the female orca (killer whale) held at Six Flags' Worlds of Adventure park in Ohio, USA, is on the move again. January 29, 2004 From the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society in Great Britain: WDCS SETS SAIL ONBOARD THE GREENPEACE SHIP, ESPERANZA WDCS scientists made a successful start to a whale and dolphin survey around the coasts of the UK and France, onboard the Greenpeace ship, Esperanza, this weekend. The team have sighted up to a thousand common dolphins off the south coast of Cornwall. The "Esperanza" set sail last week to investigate dolphin deaths in fishing nets in the area, following concerns from the two organisations that dolphins may be wiped out from UK and other European waters. Fears for the safety of the dolphins recently sighted are growing, as UK, Irish, French, Danish, Spanish and Dutch fisheries may be operating in the area. January 26, 2004 First ever dolphin census in Indian Sunderbans India - the first ever dolphin census is to be conducted in the estuarine biosphere of Sunderbans in February, to ascertain the exact number of dolphins that inhabit the waters surrounding the famous land abode of the Royal Bengal Tigers. January 24, 2004 From the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society in Great Britain: Dolphin populations around the UK could be pushed towards extinction by destructive fishing practices, according to a WDCS report written for Greenpeace. The report, called the Net Effect, shows that huge nets used by mid-water trawlers are killing thousands of dolphins in European waters every year. In response, the Greenpeace ship the "Esperanza" sets sail from London today, with WDCS experts onboard, to investigate the fisheries suspected of being responsible for these deaths. The expedition will inlcude a scientific investigation, led by WDCS, into whales, dolphins and porpoises around the UK and French coasts. Very little is known about the abundance of these animals in this area during the winter and the research team will be collecting vital data that will contribute to our understanding of the threat they face from these fisheries and how we can help protect them further. Every winter hundreds of dead dolphins and porpoises wash up on British and French beaches. Many have sustained injuries - broken beaks, mutilated flippers, bruising and other lacerations - which tell the story of a prolonged death in fishing nets. The bodies of thousands of others are claimed by the ocean, sinking without trace. We're stepping up our campaign to gain appropriate legislation within the EU to protect these dolphins and porpoises. YOU CAN HELP In 1998 the UK Government took the lead in Europe to ensure that the EU drifnet ban was adopted, help us to persuade the UK to take a similar lead and press for the swift adoption of a strong new EU regulation on cetacean bycatch. Please write to to the UK Minister for Fisheries, Ben Bradshaw using our new and easy to use campaign e-card. Please also copy this letter to your MEP and remember to send copies of any replies you receive to info@wdcs.org. January 21, 2004 Australia: fishermen accused of eating a whale Allegations have been reported in the media that the crew of an Australian fishing boat caught and ate part of a whale last week, whilst in international waters between Australia and New Zealand. January 19, 2004 Australia - Fisher found guilty of illegally fishing in endangered whale sanctuary A shark fisher has been fined $AUS12,500 in Australia's Federal Court for illegally fishing in the Great Australian Bight Marine Park - a protected area for 350 or so endangered southern right whales that come there to calve every winter. January 19, 2004 Hawaii - questions raised over captive dolphin's death Two dolphins have died in just over two months at the University of Hawaii's Marine Mammal Laboratory at Kewalo Basin. Phoenix, a 27-year old female Atlantic bottlenose dolphin died on Saturday 10th January and another dolphin, the same sex, age and species as Phoenix, Akeakamai, was euthanised last year, when doctors couldn't cure the cancer in her mouth. January 14, 2004 Remaining Asian grey whales under threat - you can help A critically endangered population of grey whales is under threat from expansion of commercial oil production - you can help save these unique animals. |
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