You're Invited: Join Us in D.C. to Deliver 1 Million Petition Signatures to the White House Thanks to your continuous support and focus on saving dolphins in Taiji’s cove, Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project petition has collected more than 1 million signatures. Now we’re taking your signatures to our Nation's Capital! On Friday, April 17, Ric O’Barry's Dolphin Project and TakePart will host an evening under the stars in Washington, D.C. The event will feature guest speakers, including activist and dolphin advocate Ric O’Barry, and a state-of-the-art video projection—displayed on a high-tech, eco-friendly Tesla—representing the over 1 million people who signed the petition in support of the dolphins shown in the Academy Award–winning documentary The Cove. Want to attend? R.S.V.P. on Facebook and join us. Can't make it to the event? Watch a livestream by following TakePart on Periscope and Twitter using #DolphinsInDC. Together we can demand an end to the violence in Taiji! |
Have you ever seen a pod of dolphins leap playfully through the air or gracefully surf the rolling swell? It’s hard not to fall in love after such an encounter. So why would we subject thousands of these creatures to serious injury or even death?
Companies are lining up to begin seismic blasting in the Atlantic. This precursor to offshore oil drilling subjects the marine environment to dynamite-like sound blasts that can go on for weeks on end. The result? As many as 138,000 dolphins and whales could suffer injury or possibly even death.
Right now, state officials are deciding whether to permit seismic blasting in their waters. Thanks to support from Wavemakers like you, we’re waging an all-hands-on-deck grassroots campaign to prevent the blasting. Can you support our efforts to save dolphins and whales?
Donate to Oceana right now and help us protect dolphins and whales from dynamite-like blasts. Even $10 will help. If we reach 1,000 donors, we can release an extra $10,000!
To help jumpstart our campaign, a generous donor has challenged all of Oceana. If we get 1,000 Oceana supporters to donate, we’re going to be able to release an extra $10,000. Otherwise, we’ll leave all that money on that table.
We need all the help we can get. Seismic blasting’s terrifying effects are just the beginning – offshore oil drilling and spilling are the end. President Obama recently proposed opening huge swaths of the Atlantic to offshore drilling.
With you by our side, Oceana is fighting back -- HARD. 41,849 ocean-lovers like you have already spoken out against East Coast oil drilling. Since mid-January, about 25,000 of you have participated in 15 grassroots events in seven East Coast states to show that destroying our coast is not an option. And we’re making progress: Already, 46 coastal communities have passed resolutions opposing or expressing concern with oil exploration and/or development.
Give today. Even $10 makes a difference. Remember, if we reach 1,000 donors, Oceana will get an extra $10,000!
Even if you can only chip in a few dollars, it helps. When each of us does a little, together we make a huge impact. It’s only when we act together as a community that we can accomplish what we need to for our oceans.
Save Whales and Dolphins From Reckless Navy Warfare Training
Sign the Petition - we've got 40,478 signatures, help us get to 41,000
It boggles the mind. Over the next four years, the US Navy plans to conduct training exercises — including surface-to-air gunnery, missiles, underwater explosions, and mid-frequency sonar activities — in sensitive marine habitat from Hawai'i to California.
Speak out for whales, dolphins, and other marine wildlife. Tell President Obama to order a more responsible plan from the Navy — one that doesn't needlessly endanger the wildlife we all love.
The Navy and National Marine Fisheries Service estimate that, over the course of the Navy's plan, training and testing activities will cause nearly 9.6 million instances of harm to whales, dolphins and other marine mammals. The operations will include active sonar and explosives, which are known to cause permanent injuries and deaths to marine mammals.
These unique and beautiful ocean creatures have done nothing to deserve such violence.
Naval readiness shouldn't be contingent on bombing sensitive marine habitat. National security shouldn't be dependent on explosions that could deafen dolphins and whales and cause these sonar-sensitive marine mammals to lose their way, beach themselves, or drown.
President Obama can ensure that naval training does not come at the expense of marine wildlife. But he needs to hear from you today.
Please send your message for whales, dolphins, and other marine wildlife right now.
Sign the Petition
Victory: Ruling Protects Whales, Dolphins From Navy's War
Games
Whales, dolphins and other marine mammals in
the Pacific just caught an important break: A Hawaii district court judge has
ruled that the National Marine Fisheries Service wrongly approved U.S. Navy
testing and training activities that posed serious harm to sea
animals.The Navy's use of explosives and sonar, along with vessel strikes, could result in thousands of animals suffering death or injuries over a five-year period -- potentially causing an estimated 9.6 million instances of harm.
The decision results from a December 2013 lawsuit brought by a coalition including the Center for Biological Diversity. Noting the "stunning number of marine mammals" the Navy's activities could hurt, the judge said: "Searching the administrative record's reams of pages for some explanation as to why the Navy's activities were authorized ... this court feels like the sailor in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' who, trapped for days on a ship becalmed in the middle of the ocean, laments, 'Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink.' "
"The Navy shouldn't play war games in the most sensitive waters animals use for feeding and breeding," said Miyoko Sakashita, the Center's oceans director.
Read more from Miyo in The Huffington Post.
Taiji Museum Commemorates 40% Dolphin Death Rate.
Last week, at the Taiji Whale Museum, a ceremony was held to pay respects to all animals who died in their care during the previous year. Not the thousands that were slaughtered in the famous cove, but the ones that died at the museum.
The ceremony is held on April 2nd every year to commemorate the Whale Museum's opening on April 2nd, 1969. 30 museum employees attended the ceremony. Among the animals to have died this past year were 16 dolphins. 12 of the 16 dolphins who died were Pantropical Spotted dolphins. The reason cited is that the temperature of the water was too cold. 
Photo by Dolphin Project; Taiji Museum, Japan.
The article states that the Whale Museum currently has 51 dolphins. Not stated in this article is that 5 died the year previous, meaning 21 dolphin deaths over a 24-month period. That's more than 40% of their current population.
The article states that the Whale Museum currently has 51 dolphins. Not stated in this article is that 5 died the year previous, meaning 21 dolphin deaths over a 24-month period. That's more than 40% of their current population.
A Message From Dolphin Activist Satoshi Komiyama Dear friends from all over the world, I am so grateful for your support. Thank you so much. I have founded the dolphin conservation group Flipper's Japan to work toward coexisting with dolphins without killing them. Flipper's Japan has been trying to figure out the most effective and most efficient way to protect dolphins in Japan. We’re also working on sharing dolphin-related information and educating the public about dolphins in Japan. Thank you very much for your long-lasting support. It has been a great motivation for me. —Satoshi Komiyama Thank you for supporting Komiyama in his fight to stop the slaughter of these precious dolphins! Help encourage another wildlife activist, Assemblyman Richard Bloom.  | ||||
