Types of Marine Mammals

Cetaceans

Dolphins

Whales

Manatees

Sealions

Seals

Walrus

Whales

Threats to Marine Mammals

Many threats to marine mammals overlap, so this top section includes general threats to the group in general, then beneath we've started a list of threats to each type of marine mammal, for example walruses are effected by loss of ice for breeding space, while manatees are affected by sea grass meadow loss.

The two sections are organized alphabetically.

Pollution

Water Pollution

Marine mammals, along with their predators and prey are sensitive to what we dump in our waterways and oceans. Since farming constitutes most of our land use, much of our pollution comes in the form of livestock manure, over-use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides. However factories, roadways and parking lots, mining, oil and gas drilling, plus even our gardening habits can send shocking amounts of toxic chemicals into our waters.

Threats to Dolphins

• Boat Collisions

• Noise Pollution

• Pollution including Ghost Gear

• Starvation

Threats to Manatees

• Boat Collisions

• Noise Pollution

• Pollution including Ghost Gear

• Starvation

Threats to Walrus

• Melting Sea & Coastal Ice

Threats to Whales

• Boat Collisions

• Noise Pollution

• Pollution including Ghost Gear 

• Entanglement in vertical fishing lines and lobster pot equipment.

• Starvation

• Whaling "Despite international opposition to commercial whaling and declining demand for whale meat, Norwegian whalers still brutally killed 575 minke whales during the 2021 season, which is the highest number killed since 2016.
  
  The International Whaling Commission issued a global moratorium on commercial whaling in 1982, which went into effect in 1986, but Norway has formally objected to it and has killed more than 14,000 minke whales since 1993.
  
  For the last three years, it’s issued a self-allocated quota of 1,278 minke whales, although it hasn’t killed as many and the country has continued to face criticism from around the world over concerns that not only is it incredibly cruel, it’s certainly unsustainable — especially considering the fact that many whales who are killed are pregnant females.
  
  Whale hunting is unconscionable for many reasons. Whales are intelligent and lead social and emotional lives. Yet whalers still hunt them with grenade-tipped harpoons, and a significant percentage do not die or fall unconscious immediately, with some experiencing more than 20 minutes of excruciating pain and horror before dying. Whales are keystone species essential to their ecosystems and play a critical role in mitigating the climate crisis. In killing them, humans harm all the other animals who share the ocean with them, and ourselves.
  
  What makes this situation all the more frustrating is that the citizens of Norway do not support whale hunting. The industry remains largely subsidized by the government and is partially propped up by unwitting tourists who consume whale meat. Norwegian whalers have admitted to dumping whale meat overboard, and recently uncovered documents have revealed that whale meat is even sold for dog food."

Solutions

Reduce Noise Pollution

Resources & Guides

• Whale and Dolphin Species Guide "There are around 90 species of whales, dolphins and porpoises, known collectively as "cetaceans". From the enormous blue whale to the tiny vaquita and Hector's dolphin, you will find information and amazing facts about many of these incredible creatures in our species guide."

Tools & Apps

Animals

• Beluga Bits 🐋 📷"Examine underwater photos of wild beluga whales and help us identify the age, sex, and group size. We also need keen eyes to look for identifying marks to recognize beluga that return to this location year after year."

• Dolphin Chat 🐬 🎧 ✏️ "Identification and classification of dolphin vocalizations."

• Manatee Chat 🌊 🎧 "Identification and classification of manatee calls"

• Mapping Change 🌐🌍"Help us use over a century's worth of specimens to map the distribution of animals, plants, and fungi. Your data will let us know where species have been and predict where they may end up in the future!"

• iNaturalist 📱 📷 🌿 🍄 🦌 🐍 🐸 🐟 🦋 🐦 🐝  A great way to learn about the wildlife around us! Help share vital species population information and images with educational institutions, conservancy organizations, etc. This information can help monitor species populations and information can be used to provide species with protection. Please be very careful about giving exact coordinates for animals that in danger from poachers, as this information can be used to track rare/valuable animals.

• Whale Chat 🐋 🎧 ✏️"Identification and classification of humpback whale vocalizations"

Africa

Namibia

• Atlas of Marine Mammals "A new initiative to compile basic distribution data for Namibia's marine mammals. Note that records of seals are not submitted here, but through the Mammal atlas."

Europe

UK

• Mammal Mapper "is a free app where you can record signs and sightings of mammals in the UK. Mammals can be recorded along a route whilst you’re walking, running, cycling or even a passenger in a car, or as one-off sightings, for example a hedgehog in your garden."

Northern Ireland

• Ireland's Citizen Science Portal "The National Biodiversity Data Centre works to make biodiversity data and information more freely available in order to better understand and assist the protection of Ireland’s biodiversity."

North America

• Beluga Bits 🐋 📷 ✏️ "Examine underwater photos of wild beluga whales and help us identify the age, sex, and group size. We also need keen eyes to look for identifying marks to recognize beluga that return to this location year after year."

Organizations

International

• The National Marine Mammal Foundation (NMMF) "is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization recognized globally as a leader in marine mammal science, medicine, and conservation. Our team of experts is answering critical questions about the health of the world’s marine mammals and our shared oceans."

• International Marine Mammal Project "For 40 years, the International Marine Mammal Project has led the fight to protect dolphins, whales and the ocean environment. We have achieved victories for marine mammals around the world and work to make the oceans safe for whales, dolphins and marine life. We are a proud project of the non-profit Earth Island Institute, headquartered in Berkeley, California USA."

• Sea Shepherd their "sole mission is to protect and conserve the world’s oceans and marine wildlife. We work to defend all marine wildlife, from whales and dolphins, to sharks and rays, to fish and krill, without exception."

Europe

• OSPAR "is the mechanism by which 15 Governments & the EU cooperate to protect the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic.
  
  OSPAR started in 1972 with the Oslo Convention against dumping and was broadened to cover land-based sources of marine pollution and the offshore industry by the Paris Convention of 1974. These two conventions were unified, up-dated and extended by the 1992 OSPAR Convention. The new annex on biodiversity and ecosystems was adopted in 1998 to cover non-polluting human activities that can adversely affect the sea.
  
  The fifteen Governments are Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.
  
  OSPAR is so named because of the original Oslo and Paris Conventions ("OS" for Oslo and "PAR" for Paris)."

Maps

Oceana

Australia

• Maps of Mining & Seismic Testing In Australia's Marine Reserves & Whale Habitats