January 2016: In a momentous decision, the Mexican government has authorized Sea Shepherd to remove illegal gillnets found in the vaquita refuge.
January 2016: Sea Shepherd retrieves the first gillnet from the vaquita refuge.
February 2016: The crew aboard the R/V Martin Sheen save a humpback whale that had been caught in a gillnet.
February 2016: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and the Animal Legal Defense Fund file a motion together to intervene in the SeaWorld vs. California Coastal Commission lawsuit. They are seeking to help uphold the conditions which restrict breeding and transfer of orcas by SeaWorld.
March 2016: Volunteers patrolling the vaquita refuge discover a dead vaquita, totoaba, and great white shark, all killed by entanglement in gillnets.
March 2016: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society signs a cooperation agreement with the government of Ecuador to address conservation needs in the Galapagos Islands.
March 2016: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society joins the Smashing Pumpkins on tour to host educational and merchandise tables.
March 2016: After discovering a third dead vaquita in three weeks, Captain Oona Layolle calls for increased patrols by law enforcement.
March 2016: Four of the seven men accused of the murder of environmentalist Jairo Mora are found guilty on appeal. They are sentenced to between 74 to 90 years in prison.
March 2016: Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Environment releases severe penalties on Vidal Armadores for participation in the management of vessels involved in illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, including the infamous Thunder.
April 2016: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society hosts a legal forum on marine wildlife law enforcement in the Galapagos.
April 2016: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society offers a $5,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest or conviction of a person killing or injuring a monk seal.
April 2016: Using a drone, volunteers on Operation Milagro II document footage of poachers retrieving their illegal gillnets.
April 2016: The M/V Farley Mowat hosts two vaquita experts, who spot three live vaquitas during their time on the vessel.
May 2016: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society announces the release of its first full-length, in-house documentary, Why Just One? The documentary addresses the dramatic decline in sea turtles and the organizations attempts to defend them.
May 2016: Operation Milagro II concludes, and the ships return to the US.
June 2016: Actor Ross McCall debuts heartbreaking documentary about the pilot whale slaughter in the Faroe Islands and what he saw while on campaign for Operation Sleppid Grindini.
June 2016: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society debuts a manual on environmental law enforcement in Ecuador.
July 2016: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society launches Operation Jairo II, the second season of the sea turtle defense campaign in Florida, Honduras, and Costa Rica.
July 2016: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society teams up with Pamela Anderson and renowned biologist Alexandra Morton for Operation Virus Hunter, an investigation into the lawfulness of the farmed salmon industry in British Columbia.
August 2016: Sea Shepherd Legal launches an online petition to compel the government of Brazil to protect the last remaining Guiana dolphins in Rio de Janeiro.
August 2016: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society launches Operation Angel de la Guarda, a campaign to protect the totoaba bass in the Gulf of Mexico. The M/V Farley Mowat is partnering with the Mexican Navy to patrol against illegal fishermen.
August 2016: Sea Shepherd founder and CEO Paul Watson returns to the US after a two year absence. Captain Watson had been living in exile in France following the issuance of two Interpol Red Notices.
September 2016: Sea Shepherd campaign leader aboard the M/V Farley Mowat in the Gulf of Mexico receives death threats from Mexican cartels, ordering the ship to stay away from their fishing.
November 2016: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society launches Operation Milagro III, the third season of campaign to save the critically endangered vaquita porpoise.
December 2016: Sea Shepherd Cove Guardian Leader Jessie Treverton denied entry to Japan after leaving for court date in the Faroe Islands.
December 2016: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society debuts sea turtle documentary Why Just One? with a post-screening Q&A with Paul Watson.
December 2016: Six illegal fishing boats are apprehended in the Sea of Cortez after being tracked by the M/V Farley Mowat. The Mexican Navy arrest all on board.
