Cet Law

On 19 November 2015, Cet Law Inc. was founded in Florida as a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organisation ⭐ . Today, we celebrate ten years of putting legal work at the service of cetaceans – whales, dolphins, and porpoises – to advance their protection and that of their ocean and freshwater habitats through law, education, and capacity-building 🎂 🐋 🐬 🧑‍⚖️ ✨ .
We are proud to mark a decade of impactful work 🔟🎉 .
To celebrate, we are sharing ten super-cool Cet Law memories from the past decade.
💸 🌊 🐳 If you would like to help us continue this work into the next ten years, please consider donating at https://www.cetaceanlaw.org/donate/ All US donations are tax-deductible

As a women-led organisation, today, we celebrate the incredible women of Cet Law and all the amazing women we are privileged to work alongside. Their dedication, expertise, and unwavering commitment to the protection of marine mammals inspire us every day 🐋💙

Today, on World Whale Day, we at Cet Law celebrate these majestic giants of our oceans.

Established in 1980 by Greg Kaufman of the Pacific Whale Foundation, World Whale Day raises awareness about the vital role whales play in marine ecosystems and the challenges they face.

At Cet Law, we are dedicated to advocating for the legal protection of whales and all marine mammals worldwide in order to ensure that these incredible creatures thrive for generations to come.

Join us in celebrating World Whale Day by:
🐋 Supporting organizations committed to marine conservation, and
🐋 Raising awareness about the importance of protecting our oceans.

Together, we can make a difference. Happy World Whale Day 🐋🐋🐋

🐋 Photo of a humpback whale calf breaching off the coast of Western Australia, taken by Helen Mitcheson of Cet Law

As 2024 comes to a close, we’re proud to celebrate the strides we’ve made in advancing our mission: translating science and knowledge into effective legal protections for marine mammals. This year has been full of impactful projects, meaningful collaborations, and exciting milestones, and we’re incredibly grateful to our partners, collaborators, and supporters for making it all possible.

Highlights from 2024 include -
🐋 Attending our first-ever meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Peru and liasing with NGOs and delegations to defend the moratorium on commercial whaling within and beyond the meeting.
🦭 Developing legislative recommendations to enhance marine mammal protections in the UK as part of the Marine Mammal Working Group of the Wildlife and Countryside Link.
🐬 Hosting the first-ever workshop on marine mammal law at the Society for Marine Mammalogy’s Biennial Conference in Perth, Australia.
🐳 Delivering courses at the University of St Andrews and the University of Edinburgh, and providing bespoke training for Natural England.
🐋 Engaging audiences at events such as WhaleFest, the Marine Alliance of Science and Technology Scotland Annual Meeting, and more.

Our heartfelt thanks go to our brilliant partners, collaborators and supporters, including - Wildlife and Countryside Link, Earthjustice, Blue Marine Foundation, Mammal Society, Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St Andrews, The University of Edinburgh and the Society for Marine Mammalogy.

Here’s to another year of collaboration and progress in 2025! 💙

🌊 Did you know? At Cet Law, every one of us is a volunteer! Each member of our team dedicates their time and energy outside of their primary roles because we are united by a shared passion: protecting marine mammals and the ecosystems they call home.
This past year has been an incredibly busy one, and the momentum continues to build. We need your help to continue to advance our mission of increasing the protections for whales, dolphins, and porpoises. 🐬🐳🐋

As you make your end of the year contributions, please consider donating to Cet Law: https://www.cetaceanlaw.org/donate/

Cet Law is a 501(c)3, so your donation is tax deductible in the US.

What an incredible week at the Society for Marine Mammalogy Biennial Conference in Perth, Australia 🐋🐬🦭

As we wrap up this fabulous and inspirational event, the team at Cet Law is feeling truly energised and grateful.

This past week has been an amazing opportunity to reconnect with wonderful friends and forge new partnerships. We’ve been inspired by thought-provoking plenaries from legends in the marine mammal world, captivated by pioneering research shared by emerging voices, and invigorated by the sheer passion of this inclusive community.

We also acknowledge the deep significance of this conference being held on Whadjuk Nyoongar land. The Nyoongar people remain the spiritual and cultural custodians of this land and continue to practise their values, languages, beliefs, and knowledge. We pay our respects to the Traditional Owners, and to their profound connection with marine mammals, the lands, and the seas we share.

Here’s to continuing the vital work of protecting our oceans and marine life, together! 🌏🐋

We are now heading to the end of conference bbq and to spend some time enjoying this beautiful area

Today was an exciting milestone for Cet Law! We delivered the first ever workshop on marine mammal law at the Society for Marine Mammalogy biennial conference in Perth, Australia. We had the privilege of hosting a room filled with inspiring delegates from a range of disciplines, each eager to explore how legal knowledge can support and amplify their research on marine mammal protection.

A heartfelt thanks to our esteemed panellists - Alexandre Zerbini, Lindsay Porter OBE and Frances Gulland - who brought their invaluable expertise from the International Whaling Commission, the US Marine Mammal Commission and the Society for Marine Mammalogy. Their insights on advocating for stronger protections were both enlightening and motivating for everyone in the room.

The day began beautifully, with Natalie Barefoot and Helen Mitcheson enjoying a sunrise walk in Perth’s Kings Park, and a special visit from a kookaburra, a symbol of good luck and positive change - a fitting start to a day dedicated to impactful change 💙

Here’s to more collaborative efforts and breakthroughs in marine mammal protection 🐋🐬🦭

🐋 Valentina and Helen had a wonderful day representing Cet Law at the MASTS Annual Science Meeting 2024 in Glasgow!

It was an honour for Cet Law to deliver two talks in the very first marine mammal session at MASTS and to be among such a distinguished group of marine mammal experts.

The session was at full capacity, with not a chair to spare — an incredible turnout for an important topic. A big thank you to Carol Sparling and Emily Hague for organizing such a fantastic panel!

We are already looking forward to returning next year.

Next stop, Australia! 🐋🌏

🐋 Exciting news 🐬

In just six weeks, Cet Law will host an important workshop at the Society for Marine Mammalogy 25th Biennial Conference in Perth, Australia, titled "Marine Mammal Law - Enhancing Protection through Legal Understanding."

Taking place on Sunday 10 November, this workshop will provide marine mammal researchers with essential legal insights and practical applications to enhance conservation efforts.

Five years ago, we recognized the importance of this topic at the World Marine Mammal Conference, and we're thrilled to bring this vision to life.

Attendees will learn about key legal concepts, the intersection of law and conservation, and how to effectively engage in legal and policy processes. The workshop will include real-world case studies, expert panel discussions, and practical guidance on influencing law and policy to drive marine mammal protection.

Interested in joining the panel or attending the workshop? Please contact Natalie or Helen ([email protected] or [email protected]) 🐋🐬🦭

The 69th meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) started today in Lima, Peru, and Cet Law is here! We are attending for the first time as an observer non-profit organisation to the IWC, represented by our co-Director, Valentina DaCosta.

As unbelieve as it may sound, resuming commercial activities is still at the centre of the discussion at the most important international forum for the management and conservation of whales.

provide immense benefits to ecosystems and local communities, but disregarding these and the persistent scientific uncertainty on the status of some whale species populations, two resolutions have been put forward, aiming to lift the on commercial whaling and arguing for the utilisation of whales for food security. We hope these proposals will be quickly dismissed.

The good news is that those pushing for these harmful decisions against whales are a minority! Like-minded contracting governments, with the support of amazing , have done amazing work putting forth resolutions to reaffirm the necessary role of the IWC, the need to protect the moratorium and to further whale conservation, including those about:

🐋 A proposal to establish a whale sanctuary in the South Atlantic Ocean co-sponsored by the governments of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay -submitted repeatedly since 1998- There is no better time for this proposal to pass than now while in the Buenos Aires Group region!
🐋 The international legal obligations in commercial whaling activities.
🐋 The synergies between the IWC, the CBD GBF and the BBNJ Agreement
🐋 The co-operation with CCAMLR in Antarctica IWC

The day will kick-start discussing a new -and much-needed- definition of a quorum for decision-making. The current definition is broad and reaching a quorum to decide on crucial issues for cetacean conservation, like the South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary, has been hampered in the past by the wicked practice of whaling nations walking out the room before voting takes place.

Cet Law contributed to the work of the Working Group on Operational Effectiveness on quorum. It has been suggested that the amendment to the quorum rule should be adopted by consensus, which will be challenging by the very nature of the IWC.

We are crossing our fingers for a constructive discussion, always with the whale's welfare in mind!