Protect our whales

Thriving whales help create a thriving ocean.  Protecting our whales will help us mitigate the impact of climate change on the ocean and help to  restore its the health. 

Whales are a sentinel species - a species that provides early warning of existing or emerging problems in the ocean environment, such as climate change. They are also important as ecosystem engineers, meaning they support the wider biodiversity and health of the ocean.

The continued existence of whales is both vital to a thriving ocean and threatened by the current and worsening state of the ocean.

The perfect example of how deeply intertwined the twin crises of climate and extinction are.

© Brian J. Skerry /National Geographic Stock /WWF

Make a donation now to help protect our whales

© Carlos Olavarria /NIWA

Climate change and the loss of nature are two sides of the same coin. 

As our planet warms, we are losing habitats and species on land and at sea at a terrifying pace.

And with every wetland drained, every native forest cleared, each fishing ground depleted, and every threatened species lost, the climate crisis gains further momentum.

We can, and must, address the issues together. It isn’t a case of ‘save the whales’ or ‘halt climate change’.

It needs to be both. And it needs to be now.

Commercial whaling drove many whales species to the brink of extinction. They now face threats like plastic pollution, overfishing, entanglement in fishing gear, ship strike, and the impacts of climate change (often a horrible combination of all of them).

Your donation today can help protect tohorā and other ocean species from the impacts of harmful human activities.

With your support we can keep working to reduce plastic pollution, make commercial fishing practices more sustainable, and develop ship strike mitigation measures.  
 

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© Peter Chadwick / WWF

Increasing the number, size, and range of Marine Protected Areas in New Zealand and globally is one of the best ways we can to address the loss of nature and tackle climate change.

A protected ocean will be a healthier ocean - one not only better able to sustain life and preserve biodiversity, but also better able to mitigate global warming.

Your donation today will help us advocate for the establishment of more Marine Protected Areas to protect covering 30% of our ocean and providing sanctuary for the incredible diversity of species that call it home. 
 

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