“Even one percent increase of phytoplankton productivity capture the CO2 equivalent of two billion trees,” Jean-Michel Cousteau, president of Ocean Futures Society and honorary president of World Cetacean Alliance, writes in an email. When it dies, its body sinks to the bottom of the sea, where the CO2 stays trapped. In its lifetime, a whale can capture about 33 tons of atmosphere-warming CO2. Released in plumes, their poop fuels phytoplankton-a foundational food source for all marine life. A whale’s dive-and-rise movements stir up all kinds of tasty nutrients from the depths of the ocean to the surface. These “ ecosystem engineers,” as marine biologist and Nat Geo Explorer Asha de Vos calls them, support healthy marine environments. “So it’s really hard to actually quantify how important whales are, but there’s no question that they are a huge part of our coastal culture.” “Whales offer innumerable benefits in terms of ecosystem roles, carbon sequestration, and carbon cycling in addition to tourism, funding, and cultural importance,” Hazen says. law, notes Elliott Hazen, a National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) marine ecologist, who took the postage stamp photo and has worked on reducing the risk of ship strikes on whales and entanglements from fishing gear. Star quality aside, they’re also protected under U.S. Indeed, since whale conservation rallied in the 1980s, whales have taken on near-celebrity status (a breaching humpback even starred on a 2022 U.S. ( Whale watching is having a moment-in New York City.) These days, over a hundred countries offer a catamaran or zodiac sail to glimpse a sudden mist of sea spray on the horizon, a graceful tail fluke slipping under the ocean’s surface, or-the holy grail-a humpback bursting out of the water. In Alaska alone, half a million visitors shelled out $86 million in 2019 to stan over humpbacks and minkes feeding and socializing in majestic fjords. Whale watching continues to grow around the world today, with an average of 13 million people annually participating in an industry that generates over $2 billion globally. Nearly hunted to extinction, gray whales and their conservation success story contributed to a whale watching boom across the country by the 1990s. Soon, enterprising boat owners (many of them fishermen) began taking people out for a couple hours in between fishing seasons. Other posts popped up along the coast, paralleling the migration path of gray whales. Whale watching didn’t become a tourist activity until the 1950s, when California’s former military outpost at Cabrillo National Monument became the world’s first public whale watching site. However, there are things you can do before setting sail to ensure an unforgettable experience, while helping to protect the animals for the future.
These factors can make it especially hard for travelers looking forward to a long-awaited trip on the water. That makes it difficult to impose blanket restrictions across the world and uniformly enforce them. But while whale watching is becoming increasingly popular around the world, travelers have a tough time knowing if a local guide is aware of whale watching regulations, let alone follows them.īecause species and coastal communities vary, regulations and resources differ from region to region: What works in Tromsø, Norway, may not in Baja California, Mexico. The International Whaling Commission (which oversees whaling and whale watching globally) lists some 50 countries that outline rules for marine tourism, from maintaining safe distances to how long boats can hang out with a pod. But while memorable for tourists, such pursuits can force cetaceans to abandon crucial feeding grounds, get separated from their babies, and feel debilitating stress. You can research stocks and other investments in a number of ways, such as looking into the economic factors that influence the investment, sector and industry trends, impactful news, research reports, and fundamentals and technicals of the investment.Whale watching tours chasing after orcas can lead to once-in-a-lifetime vacation photos. In particular, any strategy or idea that exposes you to more risk than what you are comfortable with may not be something you'll want to consider. If you come across an idea this way, it's critically important that you thoroughly investigate it on your own.įirst and foremost, ensure that the investing idea aligns with your investing objectives and risk tolerance. Of course, there's nothing wrong with gathering information-including that gained from watching the habits of experienced and/or influential investors.
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