Orcinus orca
In 1976, Dr. Bigg submitted his report, indicating that the rate of captures from such a small population was unsustainable and recommending restrictions on the capture of killer whales from Canadian waters. The same year, the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service conducted a killer whale survey in the Washington coast, which also yielded low numbers, and public opinion had begun to turn against whale capture. Since 1976, no killer whales in British Columbia or Washington waters have been taken for captivity, with the exception of Miracle, a young killer whale that had been discovered starving and with bullet wounds. Killer whales for aquarium display continued to be taken from Iceland until 1989, when that country banned further captures. Since that time, killer whale populations at marine parks have been in decline with only a few small-scale captures that have occurred in Argentina, Japan, and Russia.