The Whale Sanctuary Blog Archives
2022

Conference – “Toki: Present and Future” Day of Listening, December 13th

On Tuesday, December 13th, Friends of Toki (formerly known as “Friends of Lolita”) will host the “Toki: Present and Future” ...

Posted December 1, 2022 in News

Orca from 2019 Whale Aid Rescue Spotted with Pod

One of the 97 orcas who were rescued from the infamous "whale jail" in 2019 and returned to their ocean ...

Posted October 3, 2022 in News

Update on Environmental Assessments at the Sanctuary Site

These studies are not only to understand the environment for the whales and the sanctuary infrastructure, but to provide data ...

Posted September 27, 2022 in News

New Legislation Would End Whale Captivity in United States

A bill has been introduced into the United States Congress to prevent the future capture and breeding of whales for ...

Posted July 28, 2022 in News

Independent Veterinarians Complete Their First Assessment of Tokitae (Lolita) at Miami Seaquarium

An update on the progress of the independent assessment of the physical and mental health of the orca Tokitae (generally ...

Posted June 2, 2022 in News

Our Year-End “Ask Us Anything” Webinar

In this webinar, Dr. Lori Marino and Charles Vinick answer a wide range of questions: from when the sanctuary will ...

Posted December 17, 2021 in News

Public Notice re. Canadian Navigable Waters Act

The following is an official public notice regarding our request to the Canadian Minister of Transport for approval of the ...

Posted December 1, 2021 in News

Message from the Sanctuary Site

A brief video message from Charles Vinick, Whale Sanctuary Project executive director, taped at the wharf that overlooks the sanctuary ...

Posted December 8, 2020 in News

Letter to Russian Government re. Ban on Capture of Cetaceans

Letter to the President and Prime Minister of Russia in support of a ban on the capture of cetaceans for ...

Posted May 30, 2020 in For the Media, News

Statement on Russia’s Efforts to Release All Whales from “Whale Jail”

The Whale Sanctuary Project has issued the following statement regarding the continuing efforts to return to the ocean all the ...

Posted October 25, 2019 in For the Media, News

Third Group of Orcas Released from Whale Jail

Russian authorities have begun the transport and release of a third group of orcas from the “whale jail.” In response ...

Posted August 2, 2019 in For the Media, News

Salish Sea Orca Sanctuary Project Kicks Off Public Meetings

Starting July 16, the Whale Sanctuary Project will kick off a series of public meetings across the Salish Sea region ...

Posted July 15, 2019 in For the Media, News

Invitation to Meetings in Washington State

The Whale Sanctuary Project is holding a series of town meetings in Washington State to discuss the concept for a ...

Posted June 30, 2019 in For the Media, News

Release of First Orcas and Belugas from “Whale Jail” Raises Growing Concerns

Serious questions are being raised about the care of the orcas and beluga whales who are being returned to the ...

Posted June 27, 2019 in For the Media, News

Jean-Michel Cousteau and Whale Sanctuary Project Team on Returning Whales to Ocean

Russia has begun the process of returning the whales that were illegally captured last year back to the area where ...

Posted June 26, 2019 in For the Media, News

Effects of Chronic Stress on Captive Orcas

A new paper demonstrates that the poor well-being and high mortality rates of orcas (killer whales) in captive facilities can ...

Posted June 25, 2019 in For the Media, News

Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Letter to President Putin

Letter from Jean-Michel Cousteau to President Putin regarding the 97 orcas and beluga whales who were captured in order to ...

Posted June 17, 2019 in For the Media, News

Whale Aid Russia Begins Stage Two

We have completed the first stage of our work on behalf of the 10 orcas and 87 beluga whales who ...

Posted May 17, 2019 in News

Plan to Immediately Release Orcas in Srednyaya Bay Should Not Be Adopted

The Jean-Michel Cousteau / Whale Sanctuary Project team does not support the new plan, announced by Russian authorities on May ...

Posted May 16, 2019 in For the Media, News

Recommendations for Release of Orcas and Belugas from Srednyaya Bay

The Russian government is currently assessing recommendations for rehab and release of the 97 orcas and beluga whales who were ...

Posted May 14, 2019 in For the Media, News

Russian Consilium Mirrors Assessment of Whale Sanctuary Team

Announcement from Russian institute VNIRO mirrors assessment of Whale Sanctuary Project team that all orcas and belugas in captivity at ...

Posted April 25, 2019 in News

Report on Orcas and Belugas Held in Srednyaya Bay

Executive summary of the report to the Russian Government regarding the 10 orcas and 87 belugas being held in sea ...

Posted April 24, 2019 in For the Media, News

“Enthusiasm Abounds” at Nova Scotia Meetings

In Nova Scotia, people are forming local committees to explore how they can collaborate with the Whale Sanctuary Project and ...

Posted March 2, 2019 in News

NPR Interview with Dr. Lori Marino

In this NPR interview on KTEP radio, Dr. Lori Marino, President of The Whale Sanctuary Project, discusses the scientific evidence ...

Posted June 27, 2016 in Learn More

Seaside Sanctuaries – Challenges & Rewards

By Heather Rally Whales and dolphins are perfectly adapted to life in the ocean. Orcas, for example, are far-ranging apex-predators, ...

Posted April 26, 2016 in Learn More

Sanctuary Engineering and Site Selection

The first, and most important, factor in engineering a seaside sanctuary is site location. You need protection from extreme surface ...

Posted April 26, 2016 in Learn More

Orcas and Munchkins

Shortly after The Whale Sanctuary Project was incorporated, we received a donation of $200,000 from Munchkin, Inc, a company well-known ...

Posted April 24, 2016 in News

Founding Donation

In January, 2016, we received a donation of $10,000 from Jan Pettifor, a passionate advocate for the retirement of orcas ...

Posted April 16, 2016 in News