We work to make oceans safe for marine mammals worldwide. We strive to eliminate dolphin mortality caused by the international tuna fishing industry, to end the use of driftnets, and to stop tuna purse-seine fishers from encircling dolphins in their nets. In addition, we aim to stop the resumption of commercial whaling worldwide, to promote sustainable fishing, and to protect the habitat of whales, dolphins, and other marine species.
ECO, The Environmental Voice at the IWC
ECO is published by Earth Island Institute’s International Marine Mammal Project at the Annuall meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Madeira, Portugal, on behalf of environmental and animal welfare organizations around the globe. HTML verison here, Acrobat .pdf versions of each issue available from that page.
Let your elected representatives and business leaders know how you feel. Select one of our letters or let them inspire you to write your own!
Preserve the Commercial Whaling Ban!
Stop the Sell-out by the US Delegation to the Government of Japan and International Whaling Commission! Write the new President.
Want to know what's going on? Sign up for our bi-annual newletter and high-priority action alerts.
Be part of the solution and join our team!
The German Dolphin Conservation Society based in Munich has been instrumental since 1990 in the issue of Dolphin Safe tuna monitoring and education. This was the first non-governmental organization to assist Earth Island Institute by working with the German canned tuna industry to verify the Dolphin Safe status of tuna supplies. We thank Rollo Gebhard and his staff for their tireless work for dolphins.
References, research, history and more!
Want more? Here are some good places to start.
2150 Allston Way, Suite 460
Berkeley, CA 94704
510/859-9100 or fax 510/859-9093
marinemammal@earthisland.org
Press Release:
Bush Administration Holdovers Release Secret Deal with Japan to End Ban on Whaling
William Hogarth, an appointee of former President George Bush and Chairman of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), has released details of a new deal, negotiated in closed meetings for almost two years, to allow Japan to continue their illegal whaling for five more years in Antarctica and the North Pacific Oceans, essentially overturning the ban on commercial whaling that went into effect in 1985-86. More…
The Cove at Sundance Film Festival
The Save Japan Dolphins coalition and IMMP's Ric O’Barry are featured in the film The Cove, which opened at Sundance.
"Now, after sparking widespread outrage over the annual slaughter of some 2,500 dolphins in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, a graphic film made there in secret has been selected as one of 16 finalists ˜ from 879 submissions ˜ in the Documentaries Competition at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival.
Titled "The Cove," the full-length film directed by former National Geographic photographer Louie Psihoyos and featuring former "Flipper" trainer Ric O'Barry of the Save Japan Dolphins coalition, will have its premiere at the festival before entering worldwide distribution.
In addition to showing the savage, government-sanctioned killing of dolphins herded into a small cove via cameras and underwater microphones, the film highlights the dangers facing those who eat the mammals' meat."
Dolphin export from Taiji, Japan, to the Dominican Republic is cancelled!
The Save Japan Dolphins Coalition announced today that the proposed export of twelve live dolphins ("the Taiji Twelve") from Taiji, Japan to Ocean World theme park in the Dominican Republic has been cancelled. More…
Help Stop the Slaughter of dolphins in Japan!!
In several fishing villages in Japan, dolphins are herded in drive fisheries into shallow water and butchered for meat. But the dirty secret is that the dolphin drive fishery is subsidized by the aquarium and swim-with-dolphins trade around the world – the representatives of the captivity industry get to take their pick of healthy dolphins in the drive nets at thousands of dollars; the rest are slaughtered. Find out how you can help end this barbarous slaughter.
Press Release: Major Japanese Supermarket Chain Permanently Bans All Sale Of Dolphin Meat
Also available in Japanese (.pdf, ~100k). From The Save Japan Dolphins Coalition.
Our campaign for "dolphin safe" tuna has prevented the drowning in tuna nets of hundreds of thousands of dolphins. Dolphin deaths have decreased 97% in the past decade.
- Press Release (5/7/09): Maersk partners with Friend of the Sea and Earth Island’s Dolphin-Safe to ensure chain of custody and
to promote sustainable fishing
“Maersk will discourage and refuse the handling and shipping of tuna from companies declared by the Earth Island Institute as non-Dolphin-Safe. It will also work to provide Friend of the Sea total transparency over the containers carrying sustainable seafood certified by the international scheme.” - Press Release (4/7/09): Dolphin Safe Policy
Now Includes Ban on IUU Vessels
"A major problem in world fisheries is the involvement of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing vessels, essentially pirate fishermen stealing fish from legitimate fishermen…" - News: Soltai concerned about Solomons move to resume dolphin exports
- Press Release (8/2/07): Federal Court Ruling on Dolphin-safe Tuna Becomes Final
Bush Administration Forgoes Supreme Court Appeal - Press Release (3/27/07): Us Court Of Appeals Rejects Bush Administration Bid To Weaken The "Dolphin Safe" Tuna Label
- Press Release (2/1/07): Food Lion Suspends All Purchase of Tuna from Mexican Dolphin-Deadly Brand
Food Lion LLC, based in Salisbury, North Carolina, has agreed to immediately cease all purchases from Dolores Tuna, packed by PINSA of Mexico. The suspension was the result of documentation provided by Earth Island that the tuna is caught by the intentional chasing and capture of dolphins. - Earth Island Exclusive: Secret Dolphin Study Report Released!
- Judge Thelton Henderson's landmark legal order (August 9, 2004) to protect dolphins from tuna nets is online. You can download it as an Adobe Acrobat file and read it here (.pdf ~128 k).
» Find out about Earth Island Institute's International Monitoring Program to ensure the "Dolphin Safe" label on tuna means what it says!
» Check out information about "Dolphin Safe" tuna for consumers: learn of current boycotts and how to report violations at markets,
» Keep the "Dolphin Safe" Tuna Label Honest: NO NETS ON DOLPHINS! Click Here to view Earth Island’s current list of Verified Dolphin Safe fishing and processing companies, and
» Click Here to view Earth Island’s current list of Verified Dolphin Safe importers, brokers, and retailers
The US Navy is prepared to unleash one of the loudest soundblasting sonar devices under the oceans, ostensibly to find "enemy" submarines. But instead of fighting mythical subs, the Navy's Low Frequency Active (LFA) Sonar program is fighting whales and other marine life. Find out what you can do to stop the Navy's soundblasting of our oceans.
» Ocean Noise Coalition — Earth Island has teamed up with the Ocean Mammal Institue and Seaflow to bring you the latest news and alerts on efforts to protect marine life and our oceans from increasing human-generated noise! Click here to learn more about this important coalition effort!
Earth Island Institute is coordinating with local grassroots groups and scientists to protect the declining orca populations in Northwestern Washington state and British Columbia. Click here to learn about our campaign effort.
Despite a worldwide moratorium on commercial whaling, in effect since 1985, Japan and Norway continue to hunt whales, using loopholes in international agreements. There is no justification for killing whales anymore. Find out more about the International Whaling Convention and Earth Island's efforts to stop whaling forever.
Back Issues of ECO - Cutting-Edge Environmental Coverage from the IWC!
- » For issues from the IWC 2009 meeting in Rome, Italy, please click here!
- » For issues from the IWC 2008 meeting in Santiago, Chile, please click here!
- » For issues from the IWC 2007 meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, please click here!
- » For back issues from the IWC 2006 meeting in St. Kitts, please click here!
- » For back issues from the IWC 2005 meeting in Ulsan, Republic of Korea, please click here!
- » For back issues from the IWC 2004 meeting in Italy, please click here!
- » For back issues from the IWC 2003 meeting in Germany, please click here!
- » For back issues from the IWC 2002 meeting in Japan, please click here!
- » For back issues from the IWC 2001 meeting in London, please click here!