AWI Quarterly Articles | Marine Wildlife

A critically endangered population of orcas, numbering only 40 individuals, inhabits the outer coastal waters of the Iberian Peninsula. Since spring 2020, these whales have been dramatically interacting with boats—mostly sailing yachts. These interactions started...

A recent study published in Cambridge University’s Animal Welfare journal (Mood et al., 2023) estimates the number of farmed fishes slaughtered for food in global aquaculture from 1990 to 2019. The study authors first noted...

Dr. Michael Tillman, a long-time advocate for whales and conservation, died in July at the age of 80. Dr. Tillman was born in Seattle, but his roots extended northward: Through his maternal family, he was...

The Rice’s whale was initially listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 2019 as a subspecies—the Gulf of Mexico Bryde’s whale—but was reclassified as a unique species in 2021. Its primary threats include...

For 53 years, the captive orca Tokitae (a.k.a. Toki, Lolita, and Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut) lived in a tiny tank at Miami Seaquarium. She was a Southern Resident orca, a Pacific Northwest population listed as endangered in 2005...

The 2023 commercial whaling seasons ended with over 800 whales killed, yet fewer than anticipated. Norwegian whalers killed 507 minke whales, falling short of the 1,000 quota. In a shrinking Norwegian fleet, two large vessels...

The global trade in ornamental fish is a multibillion-dollar business involving the annual global export of around 2 billion fish from 2,500 freshwater and marine species. Many are captured from the wild, often via inhumane...

High in the clear blue skies over the Grand Canyon, California condors wheel slowly, searching for their next meal. In the shortgrass prairie of Wyoming, the dark eyes of black-footed ferrets peek out from the...

Over 700 delegates met in Geneva for five days beginning in late November to deliberate over a full slate of issues at the 77 th meeting of the Standing Committee to the Convention on International...

The Endangered Species Act continues to face attacks in Congress. There are bills to prohibit the listing of species not native to the United States, to allow the government to delist species regardless of recovery...