Every year on February 19, the world celebrates International Marine Mammal Protection Day, or World Whale Day, reminding us that even the largest and smartest animals on the planet need protection.

The holiday has been celebrated since 1986, when the International Whaling Commission (IWC) banned whale fishing.

On this day in 1986, the moratorium on whaling introduced by the International Whale Commission came into force, and commercial cetacean fishing ceased. This date is considered the day of protection not only for whales, but also for all other marine mammals.

In our country, Marine Mammal Protection Day has been celebrated since 2002 and is of particular importance: several dozen species of whales, dolphins, seals and sea otters live in the Russian seas. Many of them are endangered and are listed in the Red Books of various levels.

In our Institute,  Roman A. Belikov heads the Laboratory of Marine Mammals.

• Main areas of research:
• Dynamics of species composition and abundance of marine mammals under the influence of natural and anthropogenic factors.
• Acoustic signaling of marine mammals.
• Behavior of marine mammals, adaptation to extreme conditions.
• Fundamental principles for the conservation of marine mammal populations.