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The Global Blue Whale Conservation Initiative

The Earth Island Institutes world famous International Marine Mammal Project (IMMP) and longtime blue whale specialist Michael Fishbach have decided to combine forces in order to attain sufficient protection for the worlds largest animals, the blue whales. These whales which continue to swim in all the worlds oceans do so in very small numbers. The best current estimates are that fewer than 10,000 remain alive today worldwide. But, there is hope. They do have favored aggregation areas, and it is our goal to attain the protection they so desperately need in these "critical habitat areas" wherever they may be globally.

In the days before whaling began there were an estimated 400,000 blue whales swimming the worlds oceans. In one whaling season (winter of 1930-1931) 29,000 blue whales were killed, and now only about 10,000 remain alive globally! Their numbers do not seem to be on the increase since 1966 when commercial whaling ceased. This species represents an awesome part of the great diversity of life on our planet. The blue whale far outweighs the biggest of the dinosaurs and is the largest animal to ever have inhabited the earth as far as we know. This great life form is still here with us today, but only doing moderately well in a few areas on earth. It seems obvious to us that the time is now to work hard and to settle for nothing less than sanctuary, refuge or national park status in all of these "critical habitat" aggregation areas. If the political environment exists and the migratory routes are established in a given region, then Biosphere Reserves may become the most effective solution that we will strive toward.

This initiative will have an advisory board with deep scientific and conservation experience. We will strive to educate the youth of North America about the plight of this great species of whale. We also plan to construct a life sized inflatable blue whale that can be floated in parades, in order to show the world how awe inspiring these animals truly are. This will also bring the blue whale more into the public spotlight and help us to galvanize the support we need in order to get the habitats that are so important to the blue whales protected. We will work closely with local interests, and governments as well as the local scientific and conservation communities to seek the most realistic form of protection in each aggregation area. We realize that the political environment will be very different from one location to another. We realize that local interest and support are critical elements to achieving success, and we will work to earn that support in each case. We will strive to put our efforts into those areas where success is most likely.

The Blue Whale Conservation Initiative will operate primarily from donations which are all 100% tax deductible as the Earth Island Institute is a 501c3 not for profit organization.

Donation checks should be made out to : Earth Island Institute / Blue Whale Initiative The reference or note Blue Whale Initiative can be on the note section of the check in the lower left hand side or on the top where the check is made out to: but it MUST appear somewhere on the check so the recipients at Earth Island know exactly what the check is for!

The Global Blue Whale Conservation Initiative

Earth Island Institute

International Marine Mammal Project