Why Save the Whales?
Executive summary: Whales play a vital role in the well-being of the planet. They contribute to the production of oxygen we breathe, sequestration of carbon that otherwise would increase the rate of global warming, awareness of the state of the ocean’s health, and the economy of many coastal communities worldwide.
Why Save the Whales?
Whales have been considered a valuable resource for centuries. Early on whales were an important source of oil, oil that fueled lamps that illuminated people’s homes. As the whale industry became more efficient at hunting and killing whales, population numbers began to decline. As alternative sources of energy became available and more economical, the economic value of whales might have seemed to decline. This is far from the truth based on what we know today. Whales are both a vital component of the marine environment as well as in the fight against climate change. It is important to incorporate these things in a current estimate of the value of whales particularly when we ask: Why Save the Whales?
Whales are Important to the Environment …
Whales are more than some of the largest creatures on Earth, they also play a key role in supporting life on this planet including our efforts to combat climate change. Whales provide value by 1) delivering nutrients like iron, nitrogen and phosphorous to the ocean, nutrients that sustain phytoplankton; 2) playing a significant role in carbon capture, an important tool for forestalling the advance of climate change; and 3) providing a source of income for people who live along the world’s coast. These factors demonstrate a few of the reasons why it is vital to protect whales.
…for the air we breathe
Every breath we take is in some part courtesy of the microscopic plants that drift on the ocean’s surface. These phytoplankton are responsible for producing more than 50 percent of Earth’s oxygen. Phytoplankton float at the surface of the ocean capturing sunlight and, like green plants on land, transforming the sun’s energy into oxygen that living creatures, including us, need to breathe. Phytoplankton also captures an amount of carbon dioxide that is equivalent to four Amazon rainforests. These vital roles are sustained in part by whale poop that acts as a fertilizer for the phytoplankton.
Phytoplankton also produce carbohydrates. Many whales and fish, sharks, and other ocean creatures depend on phytoplankton as their primary source of food and phytoplankton depends on whales for important nutrients like iron, nitrogen and phosphorous which they get from whale poop. Wildlife expert Doreen Robinson noted that “the amazing connections between some of the smallest and largest examples of life on our planet – and the importance of understanding these complex relationships not only for their intrinsic value but for the vital role nature plays in keeping us alive too.”
…for carbon capture
Whales are a nature-based solution to capturing carbon. The International Monetary Fund reported that the carbon capture potential of whales can be valued at more than a $1 trillion for the current stock of great whales. “Each great whale sequesters around 33 tonnes of carbon dioxide on average. A tree during the same period only contributes to 3 percent of the carbon absorption of the whale.”
When whales die, they typically sink to the seabed taking vast amounts of carbon with them, carbon that otherwise might have been released into the atmosphere, thus contributing to global warming. Biologists estimate that the current population of whales is a quarter of what it was before whaling. Allowing the populations to grow again could significantly add to the potential for carbon capture. “Were it not for whaling, the animals might have removed 2 million tons of carbon from Earth’s atmosphere.” Conversely, if the whale population continues to decline toward zero there would be significantly more carbon remaining in the atmosphere with far-reaching effects on ecosystems and life on Earth.
…for economic benefits
As noted above, whale poo fertilizes phytoplankton which in addition to producing the oxygen that is needed to sustain life on Earth also provides nourishment for fish, a resource that supplies 17% of all the protein consumed in the world and approximately 500 million individuals who make their living, in some form, from the fishing industry. Whale watching tourism is another economic benefit of whales to local economies. It has been estimated that whale tourism may generate as much as $413 million annually to the US economy.
Financial incentives could be a way to encourage industries to support practices that could increase whale populations. For example, whale populations are limited in various degrees by collisions with ships, pollution, fisheries practices particularly entanglement with gear, and a variety of other human activities. Because of a whale’s capacity to capture and store carbon and promote phytoplankton growth, programs that offset the costs of moving shipping lanes to reduce whale-boat collisions, altering fishing gear with weak links or other technology that reduces the chance of entanglement and other methods would be well offset by helping to stabilize marine ecosystems.
Why wouldn’t we want to save whales?
Some whales are the largest animals to ever have lived on Earth. They are long-lived, intelligent creatures, that have been shown to be an essential component of the marine ecosystem. They also serve as indicators of what ails the planet. For example, whales bioaccumulate toxins, like mercury and PCB. This bioaccumulation may affect their overall health, ability to breed, and be the cause of mass strandings. The toxins in whale tissues come from phytoplankton, fish and other food that whales ingest and these toxins will eventually make their way into our bodies. When the health of whales’ declines, it is an indicator that the marine environment is in trouble, something we all need to be concerned about as it ultimately affects our own health, our economic well-being and that of our planet. All good reasons why we should want to save the whales!
