Sources: Freepik
Can you imagine what would happen if the largest creatures on earth started to disappear? Underneath the large ocean, whales face lots of struggles and threats from pollution, noise, ship strikes, and whalling movements that make them in danger of extinction. Once hunted to the brink of extinction whales now have an army of protectors. Now, we are going to talk about how the “Save the Whales” movement is rallying global support to protest these gentle giants from extinction.
The Save the Whale movement started in June 1975 from a small group of Greenpeace activist members in California. Their mission is to preserve and protect the ocean and its inhabitants, especially to stop the number of Whale Hunting movements. In 1975 most of the Whale Hunting movement was done because of the cultural reason, but nowadays, in 2024, Whale Hunting majorly done because of Illegal Commercial Whaling Reasons.
According to Greenpeace and Save the Whale page, Commercial Whaling has been banned in international law since 1986 by moratorium. However, there are still lots of countries that continue to ignore this ban and are still doing Commercial Whaling constantly for their meat. Usually, they use whale meat in school lunches and are even sold as dog food.
The Urgency to Save the Whale
The condition and balance of marine ecosystems are greatly dependent on whales. As apex predators and essential members of the oceanic food chain, they maintain biodiversity by assisting in the control of other marine species' populations. Furthermore, whale excrement encourages the growth of phytoplankton, which absorbs a substantial amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide, contributing to the carbon cycle. Whale population declines would upset these natural systems, creating imbalances that might impact marine life and, in turn, ocean-dependent human livelihoods.
Whales are also extremely valuable from a cultural, economic, and scientific standpoint. Whales provide scientific insights into marine biology and the condition of oceanic environments. providing insight into more significant environmental changes. Preserving whale populations is morally related to our duty to safeguard and honor other sentient creatures with intricate social structures and behaviors. Preserving the complex web of life that keeps our world alive is more important than merely practicing conservation, as saving the whales will do.
“Save the Whale” Movement and its impact
Save the whale movement has constantly spread the campaign about saving the whales and anti whaling movement with the government approach and intense lobbying. Some of the impact that cause by this movement are:
Blue whales are increasing by 8.2% per year, while southern right whales are increasing by 7% annually.
Humpback whale populations are increasing by 3.1% per year in the Northwest Atlantic, 11-12% per year in the Southern Hemisphere, and 7% per year in the Northeast Pacific.
The population of eastern gray whales has increased from a few hundred in the early 1900s to over 20,000 today. Fin whales, which Japan continues to hunt, are not increasing in number, but their rapid decline to extinction has been halted.
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