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Five Ways to Protect Whales this World Whale Day

Saturday, 15 Feb, 2020

Thanks to your support, Sea Shepherd has been defending whales since we shut down the illegal whaling ship Sierra in 1979. From Soviet Russia and Norway to the Pacific Ocean and Antarctica, Sea Shepherd's fleet has protected whales in every corner of the world.

 

Read on to learn about how you can help us continue to protect whales this World Whale Day. Small actions can make a real difference.

Around the world, our oceans are drowning from a tidal wave of plastic pollution. Plastic debris can be deadly to all marine animals, big and small. Toothed whales often mistake plastic and other marine debris as potential food, while most baleen whales unknowingly ingest plastic debris while they are feeding. You can help protect whales from ocean pollution by replacing single-use plastic items with reusable alternatives and picking up trash before it enters the ocean.

Shop our single-use alternatives

Join a Sea Shepherd Australia Marine Debris Campaign clean-up near you 

 

Each year, over 30,000 humpback whales migrate along Australia's eastern seaboard.

Once highly-threatened due to whaling, these humpback whales are one of the quickest recovering whale populations in the world. Unfortunately, these migratory humpback whales are now under threat from entanglement in Queensland and New South Wales' indiscriminate shark nets and drumlines. There are many whale-safe alternatives to these destructive shark bite mitigation technologies that are supported by science.

Take action for whales by asking Queensland's Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner for an end to the Queensland Shark Control Program's lethal methods of shark bite mitigation today.

The Great Australian Bight is home to one of the world's most significant southern right whale nurseries. Despite the ecological importance of the region, on the 18th of December 2019, Australia's offshore oil and gas regulator, NOPSEMA, granted environmental approval to oil-giant Equinor’s controversial, deepwater and high-risk drilling plans in the Great Australian Bight Marine Park. 

As part of the Great Australian Bight Alliance, we are proud to stand strong with the Wilderness Society South Australia in protecting southern right whales by challenging this approval in the Federal Court of Australia. 

Help us spread the message by sharing our #FightfortheBight video with your friends and family.

 

Each year it is estimated that 300,000 whales and dolphins are killed as bycatch to industrial fishing. With as much as 15 to 40% of global fisheries conducted illegally, Sea Shepherd is working to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. 

Sea Shepherd has conducted seven campaigns in Africa to stop IUU fishing since 2016, resulting in the arrest of over 50 illegal fishing vessels. Thanks to the support from people like you, not only are we protecting whales but all marine life caught by these unscrupulous vessels.

Support our campaigns to protect whales from illegal fishing by making a donation today. 

Each winter, thousands of humpback whales return to the sheltered waters of Exmouth Gulf in Western Australia to rest and feed their newborn calves. But now, oil and gas players want to open the Gulf to industry, threatening all marine life in the area. The whales of Exmouth Gulf need our urgent protection.

Our friends at Protect Ningaloo are working to stop Subsea 7: a multinational oil and gas services company with plans to construct a massive pipeline fabrication facility across a beautiful, undeveloped beach in Exmouth Gulf, and tow enormous pipelines and ballast chains through the Gulf and the Ningaloo World Heritage area.

Take action today by asking the Premier to say NO to Subsea 7

 

World Whale Day is a day to celebrate the giants of the oceans and raise awareness about the threats they face. Watch and share our '40 years of Defending Whales' video to learn more about how, together, we are making a difference for these magnificent animals. 

* Our current campaigns are some of the many activities Sea Shepherd undertakes in our battle to defend, conserve and protect our oceans. Donations are used where they are needed most and help us continue our work saving marine wildlife worldwide. 

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