Oceans Initiative

Thank you, SeaLegacy, WaterBear Network, and 100 for the Ocean for spreading the word about the work we do at Oceans Initiative! Science alone will not save critically endangered species like southern resident killer whales. We need gifted artists and storytellers to encourage policy-makers to turn knowledge into action. We are so grateful to our community of supporters who allow us to do the conservation work we do.

Want to help? Please watch the video. Through the "Watch for Impact" program, every minute you watch generates US$1 for ocean conservation. Please share widely! And thank you.

WaterBear: Watch for Impact: Protect Marine Mammals

Looking for a meaningful holiday gift? Symbolically adopt a Pacific white-sided dolphin for yourself or as a gift for someone special! 💙🎁🐬

Our team studies these beautiful dolphins in British Columbia, Canada by photographing unique markings on their dorsal fins. Over time, we are able to detect changes that may occur in the population’s health and in their environment. Each symbolic adoption makes a meaningful difference in our ability to protect the ocean and the animals that call it home. Visit the “Adopt a Dolphin” page on our website (link in bio!) to choose a named dolphin and customize the adoption kit.

Each packet includes:
🐬personalized adoption certificate
🐬Pacific white-sided dolphin factsheet
🐬photo of your dolphin

Thank you for supporting our efforts to keep whale and dolphin habitats clean, quiet, and full of life!

Check out our latest study on , which explores how monitoring the health of wild Pacific white-sided dolphins can help us understand more about the linkages and shared health of wild and farmed salmon, killer whales, the natural marine environment, and ourselves. Led by our co-founder, Dr Erin Ashe, this new study was published with wildlife veterinarians and pathologists from SeaDoc Society and BC's Ministry of Agriculture and Food.

These photos, taken by Erin Ashe and Ryan Tidman Photography (under Oceans Initiative's Fisheries and Oceans Canada Marine Mammal License XMM-03 in the Broughton Archipelago, BC, Canada) give a hint at how logistically challenging it can be to catch the exhaled breath of a wild dolphin on petri dishes attached to a pool net pole. Erin has a knack for it!

The peer-reviewed, open-access study was published today in the prestigious journal, BioScience, published by the American Institute of Biological Sciences.

https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/advance-article/doi/10.1093/biosci/biaf154/8303626

PS Although our dolphin health study was kickstarted by a grant from Lush Cosmetics North America, our long-running, noninvasive dolphin study is funded largely by all of you who have been purchasing symbolic adoptions of Pacific white-sided dolphins for yourselves, or as gifts, or simply making charitable donations. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support. Like this work? Your support is needed now more than ever: https://oceansinitiative.org/adopt-a-dolphin/

Important news out of the United Nations today! The Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction ( ) has been ratified by 61 nations, bringing this monumental agreement into force. This will strengthen conservation and management of 40% of the earth's surface, and 64% of the world ocean, namely the waters that lie beyond the jurisdiction of any one nation state. This has wide-reaching implications for the way we manage on the high seas, , and the creation and management of .

https://lnkd.in/gE476xMN

Happy World Orca Day! Thank you all for supporting our nonprofit mission to keep killer whales habitats clean, quiet, and full of life, in the Pacific Northwest and around the world.