Whale Sensitive Regions in October

Ports act as a funnel for incoming and outgoing vessels - bringing high concentrations of maritime traffic into areas where whales may be present. This makes port regions key areas for reducing the risk of ship-whale collisions.

At Whale Guardians, we focus on turning data into practical action. 🐋

When a whale-sensitive region on the map above is linked to seasonal or year-round recommendations, that information is available through our API, making it easy to integrate our whale layer directly into your own software platforms and maritime services.

One whale layer. Multiple platforms. Real-world impact.

Whale sensitive regions where we have routing recommendations (thanks to IMMA e-atlas, World Shipping Council and others):

• Argentina: Golfo Nuevo, Peninsula Valdes

• Australia: Consider reducing vessel speed and modest course alteration in areas where cetaceans have been sighted.

• Brazil: Abrolhos, south Bar Pilot Station, São Sebastiao

• Canada: Artic, North East Saguenay St Lawrence, North East St Lawrence, US West

• Chile: Antofogasta, Mejillones

• Costa Rica: Gulf of Nicoya & Osa peninsula

• Dominican Republic: Silver Bank

• Greece Hellenic Trench

• New Zealand

• North-Western Mediterrean Sea

• Oman: port of Duqm

• Panama

• Southern Ocean: South Orkney Islands

• Sri Lanka

• Strait of Gibraltar

• US: NOAA North East, NOAA South East, California Region, South Georgia and Sandwich Islands, Alaska Aleutian Islands, Bering Sea and Bering Strait

All areas listed above are translated into polygons that are currently or soon to be available through the services of Bogerd Martin, Accelleron & WRI.

Which role can you play in this story?

• Become a Whale Guardian: Integrate our API into your voyage optimization system. Members receive feedback on how their vessels are performing through AIS monitoring. These reports remain private, but can also be used to support green financing and sustainability reporting.

• Share whale data: Are you involved in a project that collects whale data in any way - through cameras, eDNA, crew observations, or other technologies? If you own the data, we can integrate it into our platform and turn it into actionable insights for the maritime industry.

• Spread the word: Our recommendations have a minimal impact on daily operations, but can make a significant difference for whales. Help us get the message out and encourage others to #MakeWayForWhales.

• Support us: Do you frequently visit an area on the map that is not yet covered? Do you have a great marketing team that could help us refine the look and feel of our newsletter or website, or share ideas on how to strengthen our social media messaging? Or perhaps you can support some of the less glamorous - but absolutely crucial - parts of what we do, such as hosting, AIS data, or development costs.

The options are endless - every contribution can help us make the oceans safer for whales.