A Whale of a Week, Ocean Friends, Tahlequah, Endangered Species Act, Center for Biological Diversity, Sustainable Action Network (SAN)

Whales are beautiful and majestic creatures who are meant to spend their lives in the open ocean. Yet unfortunately, some people don’t seem to understand that. Motivated by the opportunity to turn a profit by putting these amazing cetaceans on display, commercial whale hunters in Russia are capturing and selling dozens of whales to China each year.

Since this barbaric practice is illegal, they are taking whales out of their native habitats under the guise of “scientific and educational purposes.” In reality, this is just a cover-up. Over the last five years, it is estimated that at least 15 orcas and more than 200 beluga whales have been captured in Russia and sold to Chinese oceanariums that use them for human entertainment.

Just last month, the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation launched a criminal investigation into the operation(s) responsible for illegally catching seven killer whales from Russian waters and selling them to marine parks in China. Even so, the Russian government is still giving out new permits for capture and plans to allow a total of 26 orcas and 225 belugas to be taken from the sea in the next two years.

At present, there is no official data on the number of wild whales living in Russian waters. This makes the practice of capturing these aquatic creatures and putting them in captivity especially irresponsible, as it could very well decimate their populations and lead to their extinction in the near future.

At the very least, taking whales out of the water will surely interfere with their ability to reproduce as usual and make it more difficult for the animals to survive. Who in the world decided it would be acceptable to approve a quota for the capture of hundreds of whales when no one even knows how many there are?!

Determined to put a stop to this reckless and unnecessary practice, a team of selfless volunteers from the Russian organization Ocean Friends have made it their mission to monitor whale hunting vessels so that they can find out how many of the creatures are being caught and try to intervene.
Along the way, the team has been taking photos and video footage and sharing it on social media to raise public awareness about the senseless capture of orcas, belugas, and other whales.
Unfortunately, the team has been met with great resistance from whale hunters, who have behaved aggressively towards the crew and even stolen their equipment. Still, the brave Ocean Friends volunteers aren’t giving up on the fight to save the whales! They are continuing on with their important mission, and they need help covering their travel expenses and the tools needed to track the whale hunting operations, such as satellite and photo equipment.

If you are able, please consider donating to Ocean Friends so that they can continue performing their animal-saving work! Plus, don’t forget to share this story with everyone in your network so that they are in the know about what’s happening to innocent whales! All Image Source: Oxana Fedorova/Facebook

After 17 painful days, a Southern Resident orca named Tahlequah has rejoined her pod. It's a sign of hope for her survival after she spent more than two weeks using her diminishing strength to hold her dead calf above water.

It's for Tahlequah and the other 74 West Coast orcas that we just sued the Trump administration.

Please be a part of the Trump Resistance Fund so we have the funds needed to see this fight through. All gifts till the end of August will be matched.

It's impossible to imagine the cool waters of the Pacific Northwest without these beautiful, social whales. But that reality could be just years away if we don't act swiftly — they're among the most gravely imperiled animals on the planet. Because of a lack of food, no new calves from Tahlequah's pod have survived since 2015.

That's why the Center's new lawsuit targets the Trump administration for dragging its feet on protecting the critical habitat West Coast orcas need to survive.

And it's why we launched another legal action earlier this month to give these imperiled whales safe harbor from underwater noise that muffles the sonar they use to communicate and find food.

Support these lifesaving actions and secure a future for West Coast orcas

Just as the news broke about Tahlequah's devastating loss late last month, Trump and congressional Republicans launched an unprecedented attack on the Endangered Species Act.

Trump and other far-right politicians are determined to make it harder to designate critical habitat for endangered creatures like these magnificent orcas. Without protected habitat, without enough food to eat, these whales could be extinct in a matter of years.

Humpback whale
Finally, Humpback Habitat to Be Protected
Humpback whales are facing dire threats from fisheries, ship strikes and oil spills — so the Center and allies have made an agreement with the Trump administration to protect their habitat in the Pacific Ocean.

The settlement requires the feds to propose critical habitat by summer 2019 and finalize it a year later.

"While delaying habitat protections, the Trump administration proposed opening the Pacific up to offshore oil drilling and watched as fishing gear entangled dozens of humpbacks," said Center attorney Catherine Kilduff. "This victory means the whales will be safer in their ocean home."

Read more in the San Francisco Chronicle.