Why Are Blue Whales Endangered And How To Save Them

Blue whales are some of the most fascinating yet gentle creatures on the planet. However, due to extensive poaching, commercial fishing, climate change, and over exploitation, their population is declining. We, as humans, should be able to protect and preserve them for the years to come.

Furthermore, blue whales are known to multiply at an extremely low rate, and not all of them transition into adulthood. There are various factors to this, and humans play a huge factor in these. If you want to learn more about why blue whales are endangered and ways in saving them, then here’s how and why.

Getting To Know Blue Whales

Before we start discussing why blue whales are endangered and the ways to save them, you need to know what blue whales are. Blue whales are one of the oldest and biggest living creatures on the planet. It is estimated that they can go thrice the size of a school bus when they are fully mature or go into adulthood. 

Although blue whales get incredibly big, their diet consists of tiny little creatures called krill. During a specific time of the year, when krill is abundant, it is estimated that roughly 4 tons of krill are being consumed in a single day. Yup, you read that right, 4 tons of krill!

Whenever blue whales are pregnant, it would take them around a year for babies to develop inside the womb. Once baby blue whales are born, they are considered one of the biggest babies in the world; they can stretch for up to 25 feet and weigh as much as 3 tons! Aside from being the biggest creatures on the planet, they are also the longest-lived ones. 

The oldest blue whale ever recorded was estimated around 110 years of age. Although blue whales are the biggest marine creatures, they are still preyed upon by other large marine creatures such as sharks and killer whales. If they were able to live, they would die from injuries eventually. 

Why Have Blue Whales Become Endangered?

Back in the days, the blue whale population was so abundant it made them one of the most sought-after whales in the market. But because of over-exploitation, commercial whaling activities worldwide, their population was significantly reduced to a minimum. Today, blue whales are considered endangered, but they are now protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. 

Human activities have led to the extinction of blue whale’s endangerment. If such factors would continue, then expect that not only blue whales would become endangered; some of the sea creatures would be affected too. Here are some of the reasons:

Entanglement in Fishing Gears

Due to their sheer size, blue whales can easily swim off with fishing gears or get anchored by these. As a result, they can easily get tangled up from various fishing equipment such as nets, traps, and various gears. 

Whenever the blue whales get entangled, these fishing gears can be dragged down into the depths of the water or whenever blue whales travel, thus, making their life hard, or in some cases, lead to their imminent death.

Fatigue, constricted, severe injury, and reduced quality of life result from entanglement in fishing gear. And as mentioned, it can only lead to two results, a reduced way of living or death. 

Vessel Strikes 

As the name suggests, Vessel strikes is the act of blue whales getting stricken by a moving ship. It can easily injure or kill a blue whale once they get into a collision with these big fishing boats. Moreover, there’s a bigger risk involved whenever these blue whales roam around coastal areas wherein fishing vessels are abundant.

Additional Threats 

There are still various threats to blue whales that are far less known but can contribute to blue whales' overall well-being, including habitat destruction, global warming, vessel disturbance, ocean noise, and many more.

How To Save Blue Whales?

Thankfully, various organizations protect these gentle creatures. Such as the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and in your little ways, here are some ways on how you can save them.

Participate in annual coastal cleanups

Marine debris and other human garbage found in our ocean play a negative role in blue whales. Most of the time, this ocean trash can be mistaken for food such as plastics and rubber. If eaten, it could cause the blue whale's eventual death.

Donate to a whale organization 

There are various organizations around the world that help preserve and protect marine creatures such as the blue whales. Organizations such as the ‘Save the Whales,’ ‘Ocean Preservation Society,’ ‘American Cetacean Society,’ ‘Whale and Dolphin Conservation.’ 

These organizations have put an incredible amount of effort into protecting various marine creatures such as blue whales. If you want to save them, they do some events to provide marine life a better environment, or if you have the money, donating to these various organizations goes a long way.

Always set a good example

By example, we mean do not throw garbage at the ocean, respect every concept of marine conservation, and support various local marine programs. A little effort, when done collectively, is a great help to the blue whale community.

Educate everyone 

We, as humans, should educate each and everyone that whatever we do negatively to our surroundings has a great impact on various creatures of our planet. Share what they need to know and help create ocean advocates for a better future.

Wrapping Things Up

Saving blue whales have become a worldwide phenomenon in which people have put up a concerted effort to protect and preserve marine creatures such as blue whales. In your little ways, you can impact the future by educating every individual around you. 

However, all hope is not lost for blue whales, there are still many things to be positive about, and hopefully, we are walking in the right direction. We just need to start things right within ourselves, and the rest will follow. We do hope that you understand why blue whales are endangered to be aware about the activities we need to avoid. This will not only save the whales, but the ocean as well. 

Here at ATOLEA, helping save the Ocean is one of our biggest priority. Part of our every profit goes back to Ocean conservation charities as an act of giving back. So make your purchase now from our stunningly unique Sea-inspired jewelry collection from ATOLEA. Show your care with our dear sea creatures by supporting us in this mission!

You can also check out our Whale-inspired jewelry design and be more engaged in taking care of these gentle giants of the sea!