Whale Caught in Fishing Net Rescued by Boaters

The Great Whale Conservancy – Blue Whale Protection Program
Their Mission: To protect blue whales along the California coast from ship-strike caused injuries and death.

1. Stopping Ship Strikes on Blue Whales in the Pacific
One of the world’s largest subpopulations of blue whales is the Northeast Pacific group, which transit the California Bight. Blue whales are extremely vulnerable to strikes by cargo ships, cruise ships, and other vessels while feeding on krill, transiting, or resting, and a ship collision usually ends in injury or death. There are documented blue whale kills by ships every year, and many more deaths are likely unrecorded because the whales sink when they die. The annual rate of death, which could be as high as dozens of whales, is a significant threat to this subpopulation and possibly to the entire whale species.

Co-founders Michael Fishbach and Gershon Cohen Project Director give educational presentations, develop public actions, and produce web-based videos to educate to inform the public and focus attention on state and federal agencies in order to strengthen the rules and operational policies for vessels going through critical blue whale habitat.

2. Location – Identification – Observation
Since 1994, they have been tracking, identifying, and observing blue whales, finback whales, and humpback whales, primarily in the Sea of Cortez and the St. Lawrence River, sharing information from thousands of recorded sightings and hundreds of photo indentifications with the scientific community.

The Great Whale Conservancy (GWC) is a program of the Campaign to Safeguard America’s Waters , a project of the Earth Island Institute.