When Nations Unite, Whales Benefit: The Promise of the High Seas Treaty  

A new global agreement to safeguard marine life in two-thirds of the planet's ocean is a lifeline for whales, but the next few years will be crucial.   

As the third UN Ocean Conference draws to a close, WWF is encouraged by the commitments made in a number of areas, but warns that the measure of success will be in delivery.

In a major advance for marine conservation, WWF and a global coalition of leading scientists, civil society, governments, and tech innovators have launched BlueCorridors.org—a dynamic new platform that brings together three decades of whale tracking data with information on overlapping marine threats and conservation solutions. For the first time, the migratory “blue corridors” used by great whales are now digitally mapped and made publicly accessible to inform science, policy, and ocean protection efforts worldwide.

WWF is urging countries to finalize a new global agreement for the two-thirds of the ocean that is largely unprotected and overexploited, as talks over the last 15 years are anticipated to conclude in a ‘High Seas Treaty’ over the next few weeks.

Vast expanses of our global ocean are unprotected – putting whales and other marine life in peril. A historic Global Ocean Treaty now in negotiations offers hope to better manage and protect biodiversity on the high seas.