Horticulture journal
To Study and Protect Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins
Initiated in 1995, the Spinner Study is a long-term science and conservation study monitoring the habits and populations of the societies of wild spinner dolphins, Stenella longirostris, that swim in the shallow coastal waters around the Hawaiian islands. Earthtrust is conducting this study of wild dolphin behavior with the aim of establishing their important habitats, social structures, and longevity This research will enrich our knowledge of dolphin behavior and heighten awareness of the ways humans impact it. Read the rest of this entry »
MISSION STATEMENT OF DOLPHIN
Earthtrust is an international nonprofit organization which holds funds in trust for the earth, adhering to high standards of accountability and donor-direction of assets. It works in partnership with sophisticated donors such as foundations and disciplined individuals to change the world.Earthtrust preferentially takes on the “impossible missions” which the conventional wisdom says cannot be solved, and solves them. It does independent analyses of crisis situations and crafts novel legal, political, media, and high-tech solutions to leave the issue in a new stable state. It demonstrates these solutions and facilitates handing them off to mainstream groups and agencies. Read the rest of this entry »
EarthTrust’s “DriftNetwork” Program
What are Driftnets?
Driftnets are 8-15 meter deep nets made of fine nylon mesh used to fish for stocks of tuna, salmon, and squid. The nets are nearly transparent and are set below the surface to drift overnight. Between 2-90 kms in length, driftnets function as hanging “walls of death” for nearly everything they encounter. Fleets from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan formerly deployed some 50,000 kms of gillnet on a daily basis until the United Nations moratorium which began in 1993 (and which Earthtrust heavily lobbied for at the United Nations). These fleets operated in the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans. Larger mesh nets were also used extensively by these fleets to target billfish and albacore on a worldwide basis. Read the rest of this entry »
Dolphin Cognition Research
Each year hundreds of thousands of dolphins die from driftnet and purse seine fishing, from being harpooned, from being shot as crab bait, and from pollution. Although it is already known that dolphins are large-brained, intelligent, social creatures, humans continue to slaughter these amazing mammals at an enormous rate.Don White, President of Earthtrust, has long seen the need to establish scientific evidence that would shed light on the issue of dolphin intelligence. Read the rest of this entry »
Small Cetaceans – Special Considerations
The fact that dolphins are increasingly being sold as whalemeat in Japan is noteworthy for both conservation and strategic reasons. Based on the prices recently paid by Earthtrust investigators for dolphin-sold-as-whale, the going retail rate for a dolphin sold on such a market is about $2800. This is enough to create problems for dolphins not only in Japan, but potentially around the world.While all dolphins have been added to CITES Appendix 2, small cetaceans are not actively protected or otherwise managed by the IWC or any other body. There are many places around the world where dolphins may be caught easily en masse. If it remains easy to substitute dolphin for whale on Japan’s market, there is no reason to think that market forces will not create a flow of dolphin meat into Japan from other areas of the world. Read the rest of this entry »
SAVING WHALES WITH DNA
Earthtrust’s Saving Whales With DNA Project is a strategy for ending the global black market in whale meat through the use of DNA analysis. DNA technology is currently revolutionizing many fields and it is poised to have a huge impact on the illegal trade in endangered and protected species of whales. DNA analysis is the only practical way to verify if a product in the marketplace is a “legitimate” whale species (under IWC regulations) or if it is from a highly endangered species. Read the rest of this entry »
Sounds of whales and dolphins
Dolphins and whales have voices, but it’s a lot different from most other mammals. The limited visibility under water made sounds and hearing very important for them. The sounds of the whales are not produced with their mouth/beak but only inside their blow-hole. They also use frequencies that reach far beyond our hearing capabilities. Of course they can also hear these higher frequencies. Just as we, whales use sound to communicate. Large whales can communicate over very large distances (several hundred kilometers!) using very low frequencies. Read the rest of this entry »
Swim with the Dolphins
Dolphins Plus offers a variety of marine mammal interaction programs, including Natural Dolphin Swims, Structured Dolphin Swims, and Sea Lion Encounters. These programs are designed for individuals interested in learning more about dolphins and sea lions in a safe, natural seawater environment. In addition to swimming with dolphins and sea lions, each visitor will participate in an educational briefing about dolphin and sea lion natural history. Read the rest of this entry »
Welcome to Dolphins Plus !
Dolphins Plus is committed to the conservation and protection of marine mammals worldwide through education, research, experiential learning, and environmental awareness. Our facility is a short drive south of Miami, in sunny Key Largo, Florida (Florida Keys). We are located on a canal, adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean, thus creating natural seawater homes for our Atlantic bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions. Read the rest of this entry »
Journal of Applied Horticulture
The Journal of Applied Horticulture (JAH) is an official publication of the Society for the Advancement of Horticulture, founded in 1999. JAH is a biannual publication, publishes papers of original work (or results), rapid communications and reviews on all aspects Horticultural Science in English which can contribute to fundamental and applied research on horticultural plants and their related products. Read the rest of this entry »