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Table of Contents
Introduction
Introduction
Whales are the largest of Marine Mammals, and are an important part of Earth's carbon cycle and food web.
Benefits of Whales
Benefits of Whales
Biodiversity & Carbon Sequestration
Biodiversity & Carbon Sequestration
Threats to Whales
Threats to Whales
Hunting & Poaching
Hunting & Poaching
Commercial Fishing
Commercial Fishing
Fishing can not only disrupt the food change (gobbling up the fish that whales and their ecosystems rely on for survival), but can also entangle whales directly.
Fishing Industry Pollution
Fishing Industry Pollution
Ghost gear entangles and drowns whales and other marine mammals all over the planet.
Marine Noise Pollution
Marine Noise Pollution
Unregulated Tourism
Unregulated Tourism
Tourism can be a wonderful solution that helps protect animals and habitats, but only when done correctly. Otherwise tourists can seriously harm or even cause extinctions for delicate organisms, especially those already struggling against habitat loss and climate change.
In the case of whales, tourism can interrupt their migration, rest, feeding, courting, mating, birthing, and feeding their young. All vital behaviours while their food sources are already so heavily under threat from human activities including overfishing and environmental degradation.
Where tourism is regulated, boats keep a healthy distance and the animals are respected, allowing them to behave naturally, and helping them to feel safe enough to return year after year.
When tour guided all chase down tired whale pods, aggressively converging on the animals with multiple boats this can cause serious stress on animals who are already tired and hungry. Tourists may drop down on top of the whales every time they come up for air, wearing strange costumes, and not caring if the whales are traveling with babies. When tourists all swim at and try to touch the whales, scientists have seen the whales respond defensively by swimming together into tight knots in an attempt to protect themselves from these aggressive people.
After a time, and enough stress, entire species of whales may abandon their historic migration route, killing the local tourism industry, while putting the whales at risk of increased hunger, exhaustion, or even the potential to get lost in unknown waters.
Solutions
Solutions
Monitoring
Monitoring
10:12 minute discussing the new attempt to monitor blue whales with drones to reduce stressing these magnificent animals.
Diet Changes
Diet Changes
Overfishing is steadily robbing marine mammals of food sources that have been plentiful for millions of years. In just the last century, fishing vessels have got bigger, faster, with increasingly massive and destructive nets that tear up the bottom of the ocean, destroying the ecosystems that allow ocean species to feed and reproduce. As preferred species go extinct, fishing companies switch to smaller, less nutritious alternatives, steadily going down the food chain, we are steadily shredding appart the entire foodweb. As companies turn towards species such as krill, which make up the bottom of the food chain, and the primary food of several whale species, we risk toppling the entire ocean carbon cycle, which would increase global warming further.
In order to protect ourselves, and whales, we can make different food choices. Plant-based seafood alternatives use less resources to produce, and produce less pollution, including noise pollution, bilge waste, ghost gear, and gas emissions.
Eco-Tourism
Eco-Tourism
To reduce the stress and impact of tourism on whales, tour companies should aim to reduce noise pollution, give the whales space, and even use technologies such as drones to evaluate the whales from a reasonable distance, to avoid stressing out pregnant or baby animals.
Learn About Responsible Whale Watching
Learn About Responsible Whale Watching
Whale-Friendly Tours
Whale-Friendly Tours
WCA Approved Responsible Whale & Dolphin Watching Tour Operators "The WCA Approved programme verifies responsible whale and dolphin watching tour operators who have demonstrated their ability to meet global standards of care for local wildlife and sustainability."
Projects & Programs
Projects & Programs
International
International
Ocean Alliance "Our research programs have helped shape humanity’s understanding of whales; our education and outreach efforts have introduced millions of people worldwide to the world of whales – and why it is so important that we protect them."
World Cetacaen Alliance "We’re empowering communities to protect, celebrate and respect cetaceans in the world’s leading destinations for responsible whale and dolphin watching.
Whale Heritage Areas, our flagship global programme, is part of the wider Wildlife Heritage Areas initiative which we co-founded with World Animal Protection."
South America
South America
Planet Wild: Drones for Blue Whales "Blue whales are the largest animals to ever exist on Earth. In the last two centuries, massive whaling has brought them to the brink of extinction. Despite a global ban on commercial whaling in 1982, their numbers are still not recovering. No one’s sure exactly why.
That’s why Ocean Alliance is gathering data with the help of drones. With their unique new technique, they’re able to find out where whales go to give birth, what dictates their annual movement, and how climate change is impacting their health and feeding behavior. All this data is extremely important to protect blue whales and help their whole population recover."
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