November 24, 2004: At its meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) adopted a resolution that recognizes the critically endangered status of the Western Gray Whale population and the surrounding and encroachment onto the whales' feeding grounds of major oil development projects; cautions that any additional negative effect from oil development and other human activities could lead to the whales' extinction; calls on range state governments to develop and implement plans for their conservation; and encourages the oil companies to conduct independent monitoring programs that meet the highest scientific standards and are subjected to independent review by parties with no monetary interests.

November 24, 2004: At its meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) adopted a significant resolution that recognizes noise as a form of pollution; calls on governments to apply the precautionary principle in assessing the impacts of noise generated by commercial, military, and industrial activities; and entreats all governments to avoid the use of powerful noise sources in habitat of vulnerable species and in areas where marine mammals or endangered species may be concentrated.

November 12, 2004: Delegates from 16 nations who are contracting parties to ACCOBAMS (the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area) have adopted a resolution recognizing man-made ocean noise as a dangerous pollutant which can disturb, injure and kill whales and other marine species.

October 28, 2004: By 441 votes in favor, 15 against and with 14 abstentions, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on Member States to adopt a moratorium on the deployment of high-intensity active naval sonars until a global assessment of their cumulative environmental impact on marine mammals, fish and other marine life has been completed.

August 9, 2004: Judge overturns a Commerce Department finding to weaken the US standards for labeling tuna products as "dolphin-safe."