A group of conservation partners including WWF have launched a new online platform that shows whale migration routes, threats and conservation solutions.
The Protecting Blue Corridors platform has brought together three decades of data on where whales travel across the ocean and created moving maps. These can be used by to help decision-makers protect critical whale migration routes, known as blue corridors.
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"Blue corridors are more than migration routes – they’re lifelines for the ocean’s giants and the ecosystems they support,” says Chris Johnson, global lead for WWF’s protecting whales and dolphins initiative in a statement.
"This platform transforms decades of science into a tool for action – showing when, where, and how to protect whales in a rapidly changing ocean.”
"This is the future of conservation – open, collaborative, and grounded in science,” says Dr. Ryan Reisinger, co-lead of the initiative from the University of Southampton. “By linking threats with solutions, this platform supports smarter, more coordinated marine planning that spans sectors and borders.”
Although many whale populations have recovered since commercial whaling nearly wiped them out, they are still under threat from ship strikes, fishing, pollution and the impacts of climate change.
Marine planners can use the platform to see where migratory routes overlap with threats, so they can find the best solutions.
Through the platform, Johnson adds, “we’re giving whales a fighting chance.”
Main image: humpback whale. Credit: Getty
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