Last week, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), held a session on expanding rights for dolphins and whales. Since cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) are highly intelligent animals and very social, some scientists and ethicists argued cetaceans deserve legal protections as "non-human persons." The panelists outlined a "Declaration of Rights for Cetaceans," which among other rights, would recognize whales and dolphins' right to life, an undisturbed natural environment, and the right to not be held in captivity. So say goodbye to whale sushi and SeaWorld.

SEATTLE (CN) - Animal-rights activists claim an orca is being held in an "inadequate tank" in the Miami Seaquarium. They sued the National Marine Fisheries Service for excluding captive killer whales from listing under the Endangered Species Act.
     The Animal Legal Defense Fund, People for the Ethical Treatment of Individuals and three individuals challenge the NMFS decision "to exclude from the listing of the Southern Resident killer whale population all captive members of that population and their progeny."
     The federal complaint focuses on a whale named Lolita, who was captured more than 40 years ago, and has been held at the Miami Seaquarium. The activists claim Lolita is being "kept in an inadequate tank, without companions of her own species or adequate protection from the sun."

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill will forever be a part of history, and has recently been a major driver for a change of protocol and regulation. One aspect of this disaster that is a direct consequence is how marine life has been impacted since April 20^th, 2010.

 Marine mammals have been greatly affected by the spill and populations may never fully recover. The three main species of marine mammals affected are already vulnerable populations. They are bottlenose dolphins, sperm whales, and Byrd’s whales. The physical damage of these species is critical, as the spill has caused oiling and inhalation of toxic fumes, but there is an equally critical and perhaps less known impact. The spill happened during the reproductive cycle for bottlenose dolphins, which will likely have a significant impact on the population. Many were found dead and many more were stranded and stillborn or neonates. However, this has not been officially linked to the spill even though many were covered in oil. Even a small number of calf deaths has a significant effect on the dolphin population. This holds true because the dolphins have made homes in many isolated areas of the Gulf. The effects on sperm and Byrd’s whales are not as known at this point, but with both species being endangered, the oil and toxics left behind cannot be good for the population.

Visitors to this city’s burial ground learn more from the dead, particularly about the whale shark and other endangered sea creatures.

The 12-year-old “fish cemetery” of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has become a field school all year round, even to the curious, according to Westly Rosario, chief of the agency’s National Integrated Fisheries Technology Development Center here.

Japan plans to go ahead with its Southern Ocean whaling program this year despite threats from activists to disrupt the annual hunt.

ST. HELIER, Jersey, UK, July 12, 2011 (ENS) - The seas around Antarctica will be the scene of confrontations over whaling again this year.

Japan will send its whaling fleet to the Antarctic again, a senior Japanese official has told BBC News, and the Sea Shepherd's anti-whaling vessels will be there to disrupt the hunt.

SAINT HELIER, Jersey (AFP) – Japan and the anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd on Tuesday swapped angry words at the world whaling conference here over the hunting of cetaceans around Antarctica.

In a plenary session of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), Japanese delegation chief Kenji Kagawa blasted Sea Shepherd's pursuit of Japanese whaling ships as "sabotage" and "violent and illegal acts".

A large number of dead whales have been found around Greenland and authorities are scratching their heads as to why. Now it has come to light that such a spate of sudden deaths may not be unprecedented.