Blue Whale
What Is Being Done
In order to protect the great Blue Whale there are many actions being taken by government agencies and NGOs to better enhance the living conditions of this endangered and magnificent mammal.
Recovery Plan
Recovery plans find reasonable ways to help recover and or protect endangered species. Recovery plans are prepared by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and obtain assistance from recovery teams, contractors, State agencies, and others services. This Blue Whale Recovery Plan (http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/pdfs/recovery/whale_blue.pdf) signifies the views of NMFS but only after it has been approved by the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries. This recovery plan can be modified as new findings are found over time. The Blue Whale’s status may change greatly and as a result the plan may be updated (Randall, 1998).
This specific recovery plan, holding humans back from completely wiping out the population, has established multiple goals and steps in which they will achieve these goals in helping to protect the endangered Blue Whale. The goals for the Blue Whale Recovery Plan include the following:
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Identify a specific set of actions that will minimize the effects from human activities which are detrimental to the Blue Whale population.
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Protect this great whale on a national level.
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Upgrade this beautiful creature from an endangered species to a threatened species.
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Over time, remove this great species from the list of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife under the provisions of the ESA (Randall, 1998).
Actions and tasks that are required to achieve these goals are the following:
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Determine the stock structure of this animal’s population occurring in the U.S. waters and other places around the world.
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Monitor particular trends in the abundance of the Blue Whale population.Identify and protect habitat that is essential to the survival of the Blue Whale population.
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Reduce or eliminate human-caused injury and death of Blue Whales.
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Minimize detrimental effects of directed vessel interactions with Blue Whales.
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Maximize efforts to acquire scientific information from dead, stranded, and entangled Blue Whales.
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Coordinate state, federal, and international efforts to implement recovery actions for Blue Whales.
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Establish specific criteria for deciding whether to delist or downlist Blue Whales (Randall, 1998).
Laws and Acts
Over the years multiple laws have been developed to serve and protect marine and endangered mammals including our friend the Blue Whale. These laws include the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, and the Species at Risk Act (Randall, 1998).
Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA)
The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) was passed by Congress and enacted on October 21, 1972. The primary government agency responsible for enforcing the MMPA is the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), found in the Department of Commerce, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The MMPA protects all marine mammals including cetaceans, the category under which the Blue Whale falls. This specific act makes it illegal to “take” marine mammals without a permit (Marine Mammal Protection Act, 2015).
Endangered Species Act (ESA)
While in the past many whales had been hunted and killed by commercial whalers this act makes it so that people may not harass, feed, hunt, capture, collect, or kill any marine mammal or part of a marine mammal. While the current status of this act is better than it was in 1972, challenges still remain with protecting large whales from interactions with fisheries or ship strikes in the northwestern Atlantic (Marine Mammal Protection Act, 2015). The act has been ineffective in dealing with indirect impacts like noise, disease, and prey depletion, which directly affect the Blue Whale and its living conditions. These challenges are being taken into consideration and improvement should be implemented soon (Roman, 2013).
The Endangered Species Act (ESA) was implemented by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Interior (FWS), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA), and the Department of Commerce. The beautiful Blue Whale was listed as endangered in 1970 and this very effective law was put into action in 1973.
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC)
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act of 1999 states that it is illegal to kill injure or interfere with cetaceans in any Australian waters. On July 16, 2000 the Blue Whale was listed as nationally threatened under the EPBC Act. In all Australian waters the EPBC Act regulates any action that will be taken and have a significant impact on all the listed threatened and migratory species. Many actions are being taken to protect these species, especially the astonishing whales. Any action must be referred to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts who will decide whether the action requires environmental assessment (Legislation, 2010).
Species at Risk Act (SARA)
The Species at Risk Act was put into act on December 12, 2002. This particular act seeks to protect species deemed to be endangered, threatened or at risk from extinction or extirpation and in addition protects critical habitats for the survival of those species specifically in Canada. In January of 2005 the Blue Whale was listed as endangered under the SARA. The total number of Blue Whales in the Northwest Atlantic population is strikingly estimated to be fewer than 250 adult Blue Whales. A recovery strategy has been developed for this species under the SARA with the long-term goal of reaching a population of at least 1,000 mature Blue Whales. In addition, a pause on harvesting forage species, such as krill, has been put in place by Fisheries and Ocean near Canada, to the vital food of many species including the Blue Whale. (Species at Risk Act (SARA) Summary and Press Release, 2015)
This act provides for the conservation of species that are endangered or threatened throughout all or a significant portion of their range and the conservation of the ecosystems in which they depend on to survive. Under the ESA the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) must designate critical habitat for each species under its area listed under the ESA. Unfortunately due to its large range and habitat there is currently no critical habitat designated for the Blue Whale. As a surprise to many, this does not violate the ESA, as it is not required to identify critical habitats for species listed prior to 1978, including the Blue Whale (Blue Whale, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, 2015).
NGO Efforts
Greenpeace
In addition to laws that have been implemented to help protect the amazing Blue Whale there are also number non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that have the ability to make just as big of an impact. NGOs that have played a large role in the protection of the Blue Whale include Greenpeace, Great Whale Conservancy, International Whale Protection Organization, and World Wildlife Foundation (Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, 2015).
Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning organization that works to change attitudes and behavior in order to protect and conserve the environment and promote peace. Greenpeace was established in 1970 and since then has been working on the protection of the ocean Greenpeace and in particular whales. They have been working to educate the public about whaling as well as the health of our ocean, which is home to millions of organisms. They keep their website up to date with the latest news regarding whaling, protection acts, and laws and provides ways in which individuals can make a change. (Whaling, 2015)
Great Whale Conservancy
The Great Whale Conservancy (GWC) is an NGO that works to protect whales and their habitat, with a special emphasis on the globally endangered Blue Whale. This organization was launched in 2010 and since then has been working hard to fulfill their mission in protecting the whales. One of the organization's primary objectives is to move shipping lanes. The GWC is advocating an increase in the separation between ships and whales, as it will help to protect the lives of these magnificent creatures (Great Whale Conservancy, 2015).
International Whale Protection Organization
The International Whale Protection Organization (IWPO) was established in 2008. This relatively new non-profit organization is an association against the exploitation of whales and dolphins. Their mission is to advance the understanding of the international, political, and environmental issues around whales and whaling industries in order to bring an end to the exploitation. They are currently working to campaign against Icelandic whaling and urge president Obama to enact sanctions against Icelandic marine products (International Whale Protection Organization, 2015).
World Wildlife Foundation
The World Wildlife Foundation is an international non-governmental organization that was founded on April 29, 1961. This organization works in the field of biodiversity conservation, and the reduction of human footprint on our environment (Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, 2015). This association focuses on conserving critical places and species including that are important for their habitat and people, which includes the Blue Whale. They are partnering with businesses and industries with on-the-ground conservation and high-level policy and advocacy (Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, 2015).
Efforts Being Made Outside of Habitat
Alfaguara Reserve
The cold waters that lie off the northwest coast of the Isla Grande de Chiloe are one of the most fertile feeding grounds in the Southern Hemisphere for Blue Whales. However, from 1926 to 1967, the Blue Whale population was decimated due to the ruthless slaughtering of whales by countless whaling ships off the western coast of Chile. While the Blue Whale population has started to recover, it has still not reached its full biotic potential.
There is still a lot of concern surrounding a small population of whales near the Isla Grande de Chiloe. These whales are in grave danger due to increased risk of collision with boats, as it became a predominant shipping route down the western seaboard of Chile. The whales are also threatened by a local Norwegian salmon farming operation that causes increased noise pollution throughout the region. The company operates heavy machinery in their effort to increase their profits from salmon farming. They regularly have large ships charging up and down the channels near the coast, causing intense sound and a high probability of ship strikes (Alfaguara Project. January, 2008).
Luckily however, in 2008 there was a near unanimous vote in which 98% of the island's inhabitants voted to establish a whale sanctuary off the coast of the island. The government took note of this and immediately established the sanctuary which has become a crucial part of researching and protecting the whales along the Chilean coastline. Today, the project is sponsored by the General Directorate of Maritime Territory as well as Merchant Marine which is a branch of the Chilean Navy with the purpose of ensuring enforcement of international laws regarding marine resources and marine life off the coast of Chile (Alfaguara Project. January, 2008).
Not only has this sanctuary provided a safe feeding ground for the largest animal on earth, but it has also helped to develop responsible marine ecotourism. There are guide companies such as Austral Adventures that lead tours along the shore to spot the graceful behemoths, as well as boat tours that actually go into the sanctuary. However, the boat tours are limited to just a 1000 visitors per year due to restrictions within the reserve (Alfaguara Project. January, 2008). It's unclear how far the boats have to stay away from the whales, but in other sanctuaries, vessels and people have had to stay at least 50 yards from the whales when they come up for air.
Established in 1969, the Loreto Bay National Park covers 2,065 square kilometer of the Sea of Cortez. It ranges from Isla Coronado in the north to Isla Catalana in the south. The Sea of Cortez was once referred to as “The Aquarium of the World” by the great Jacques Cousteau, and if you ever have the opportunity to experience it, you will understand why. The sheltered, mostly sunny stretch of the Ocean lies in between mainland Mexico and its outstretched arm of Baja California. Among the thousands of cetaceans that roam this bay, the Blue Whale stops through for a few fleeting weeks between February and March on its migration south each year. The National park is ideal for the animal because it offers a safe place to calve, mate, and feed their newborn babies. The whales’ main source of nutrition, krill, becomes abundantly rich as it blooms in the warming spring sunshine (The Blue Whales of the Loretto Marine Reserve, Baja California, 2014).
Bay Of Loreto Marine Park
As it is a National Park, any infringement on the whale's natural habitat is met with heavy fines and punishments. All of the whale watching boats are heavily regulated in an effort to limit the amount of traffic and noise pollution in the water. There are also restrictions as to limit how close boats can come to the 100 ton giants. While the population may have a hard time finding sanctuary in other parts of the world, such as the water off Iceland and Norway where they can be whaled freely, they can be confident in their security whenever they return to the Loreto Bay National Marine Park (The Blue Whales of the Loretto Marine Reserve, Baja California, 2014).
While it might come as no surprise, there are no Blue Whales in any zoo’s, or in captivity for that matter. Fortunately, due to their massive size and outrageous appetite of approximately 40 million krill per day, no aquarium has the funding or space to house such an animal (Why are Whales so Important, 2015). However, zoos are an integral part of the recovery of the Blue Whale. For example, the San Francisco Zoo is associated with and contributes to multiple organizations such as the IUCN Red List and the AZA Species Survival Plan. The IUCN Red List is recognized as the most comprehensive and complete list of endangered plant and animal species across the globe (Conservation Community, 2015).
As Blue Whales are not being held in captivity, there are no captive breeding programs for them. While this is the main outcome of this, the species is not in dire need of help anyway. The estimated population of the Blue Whale species today is somewhere between 10,000 and 25,000, so adding a few more individuals, at the immense cost it takes to breed a wild animal, would be a waste of money (Blue Whale, 2015, World Wildlife Foundation). These thousands of dollars could better be spent on improving some aspect of the Blue Whale habitat so they could more easily reproduce without human interference.
Zoos and Captive Breeding
What We Think Should Be Done to Protect the Giants of the Sea
While there are already many protection efforts for Blue Whales, there can never be enough. The Blue Whale population today is estimated to be between 10,000 and 25,000 individuals, while it may not be rapidly decreasing, their current population is a mere 5% of what it was before they became endangered (Blue Whale, 2015, World Wildlife Foundation). And when you think of 25,000 individual animals, spread across 355 million square miles of ocean (75% of earth), it amounts to a single whale every 14,200 square miles (Elert, G, 1997). Pre-endangerment, the ratio was one whale to every 1000 square miles of ocean. Luckily, Blue Whales are not solitary animals, so they do not spread out this far, however this astounding ratio of individuals to habitat range demonstrates how depleted the Blue Whale population is and how much it needs our help.
Area covered in blue is the entire habitat of the Blue Whale species
Stop Unintentional Ship-Strikes with GPS Tagging
Ship strikes are a frequent cause of Blue Whale deaths, specifically along the coast near major ports and shipping lanes. While these may seem like random inconsequential instances, they actually happen quite frequently. Over a two week period in 2007 at least three Blue Whales were killed by ships striking in a small area near the California Channel Islands (Roman, J, 2013). This alarming number of Blue Whales killed by ship strikes has gotten the attention of conservationists looking to curb these unintentional deaths. One way to protect the precious Blue Whale species from ship strikes would be to tag them with GPS tags. Then create a program that would allow large cruise ships and freighters to see their location and allow the ship's time to change their course accordingly. While all Blue Whales would not be able to be tagged, tagging the whales specifically along major shipping lines would have the greatest effect in protecting the extremely endangered species. While tagging could also protect the graceful giants from ship strikes, it would also provide precise information about migration routes and the edge of the Blue Whale habitat (Roman, J, 2013).
Move Shipping Lanes
The tagging of Blue Whales could help protect some portion of the whale population, a more general approach to limit ship strikes would be to reroute shipping lines around heavily populated whale habitats and migration routes. In a study by the Oregon State University Marine Mammal Institute, a team of researchers tagged 177 Blue Whales along the west coast of Canada and the United States in an effort to study the “movement of Blue Whales off the West Coast to identify important habitat areas and environmental correlates, and subsequently to understand the timing of their presence near major ports and shipping traffic” (15-year analysis of Blue Whale range off California finds conflict with shipping lanes, 2014). After gathering GPS data from over 15 years of tracking the Blue Whales up and down the coast they found that “two of their main foraging areas are coincidentally crossed by shipping lanes”(15-year analysis of Blue Whale range off California finds conflict with shipping lanes, 2014). These foraging areas are the Channel Islands off of Santa Barbara and the Farallon Islands outside of the San Francisco Bay. They found that the Blue Whales were extremely attracted to upwelling zones in the ocean because that is where krill populations are found, their main source of food. However, these two major foraging areas are also heavily trafficked by cruise ships and freighter coming to the ports of San Francisco and Los Angeles.
One way that this unintentional conflict between the peaceful Blue Whales and the unknowing ship captains could be avoided is by moving the shipping lanes further away from the high-density Blue Whale population areas. This tactic has been proven to work when it was implemented off the eastern coast of Canada in the Bay of Fundy, in which it lowered the number of ship strikes by 80%. This tactic has been proven to work, so why not implement it off the coast of California, where an estimated 2,500 Blue Whales are estimated to live and migrate through? (15-year analysis of Blue Whale range off California finds conflict with shipping lanes, 2014).
Targeted National Parks and Reserves
Another way that we can help the Blue Whale population is by providing sanctuaries or National Parks in which they are safe to feed and breed without the interruption of humans. However, some Blue Whale populations migrate from the tip of Baja California to the Aleutian Islands off of Alaska and it would be impractical and impossible to protect this entire stretch of ocean as it is thousands of miles long (Blue Whale Facts, 2015). However, with the use of GPS tagging, researchers can analyze the data and figure out where the Blue Whales stay to feed or mate for extended periods of time. With this knowledge, reserves and parks could be built around these areas to encompass the limited size of national parks, while also providing targeted protection for the whale in the areas they spend most of their time. These targeted national parks would provide invaluable safe feeding and breeding grounds for the Blue Whales which gives them comfort to have their calves without human interference and bring their new babies into the world without fear.
