In the 1600s, there were so many right whales in Cape Cod Bay
off the east coast of the U.S.
that apparently you could walk across their backs
from one end of the bay to the other.
Today, they number in the hundreds, and they're endangered.
Like them, many species of whales saw their numbers drastically reduced
by 200 years of whaling,
where they were hunted and killed for their whale meat, oil, and whale bone.
We only have whales in our waters today
because of the Save The Whales movement of the '70s.
It was instrumental in stopping commercial whaling,
and was built on the idea that if we couldn't save whales,
what could we save?
It was ultimately a test of our political ability
to halt environmental destruction.
So in the early '80s, there was a ban on commercial whaling
that came into force as a result of this campaign.
Whales in our waters are still low in numbers, however,
because they do face a range of other human-induced threats.
Unfortunately, many people still think that whale conservationists like myself
do what we do only because these creatures are charismatic and beautiful.
This is actually a disservice,
because whales are ecosystem engineers.
They help maintain the stability and health of the oceans,
and even provide services to human society.
So let's talk about why saving whales is critical
to the resiliency of the oceans.
It boils down to two main things:
whale poop and rotting carcasses.
As whales dive to the depth to feed and come up to the service to breathe,
they actually release these enormous fecal plumes.
This whale pump, as it's called,
actually brings essential limiting nutrients from the depths
to the surface waters where they stimulate the growth of phytoplankton
that forms the base of all marine food chains.
So really, having more whales in the oceans pooping
is really beneficial to the entire ecosystem.
Whales are also known to undertake some of the of the longest migrations
of all mammals.
Grey whales off America migrate 16,000 kilometers
between productive feeding areas and less productive calving, or birthing, areas
and back every year.
As they do so, they transport
fertilizer in the form of their feces
from places that have it to places that need it.
So clearly, whales are really important in nutrient cycling,
both horizontally and vertically, through the oceans.
But what's really cool is that they're also really important
after they're dead.
Whale carcasses are some of the largest
form of detritus to fall from the ocean's surface, and they're called whale fall.
As these carcasses sink,
they provide a feast to some 400-odd species
including the eel-shaped, slime-producing hagfish.
So over the 200 years of whaling,
when we were busy killing and removing these carcasses from the oceans,
we likely altered the rate and geographic distribution of these whale falls
that would descend into deep oceans,
and as a result, probably led to a number of extinctions
of species that were most specialized
and dependent on these carcasses
for their survival.
Whale carcasses are also known to transport about 190,000 tons of carbon,
which is the equivalent of that produced
by 80,000 cars per year
from the atmosphere to the deep oceans,
and the deep oceans are what we call "carbon sinks,"
because they trap and hold excess carbon from the atmosphere,
and therefore help to delay global warming.
Sometimes these carcasses also wash up on beaches
and provide a meal to a number of predatory species on land.
The 200 years of whaling was clearly detrimental and caused a reduction
and caused a reduction in the populations of whales
between 60 to 90 percent.
Clearly, the Save The Whales movement
was instrumental in preventing commercial whaling from going on,
but we need to revise this.
We need to address the more modern, pressing problem these whales face
in our waters today.
Amongst other things, we need to stop them
from getting plowed down by container ships when they're in their feeding areas,
and stop them from getting entangled in fishing nets
as they float around in the ocean.
We also need to learn to contextualize our conservation messages,
so people really understand the true ecosystem value of these creatures.
So, let's save the whales again,
but this time, let's not just do it for their sake.
Let's also do it for ours.
Thank you.
(Applause)