What is a Whale Really Worth?

Oceana discovers the environmental and economic benefits of whales.

Oceana, the largest international advocacy organization dedicated solely to ocean conservation, presents solutions to our ocean’s most pressing issues. Together, we can restore our ocean’s health and abundance.

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April 19, 2021

By: Oceana

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Photo By: Eduardo de Ana

Photo By: Jesús Renedo

Photo By: Carlos Suárez

Photo By: Enrique Talledo

The tail of a southern right whale appears on the surface of waters in Puerto Pirámide, Península Valdés, Patagonia, Argentina. Spotting a whale tail, first-hand, is one of several key reasons why economists put a significant ecotourism value on whales.

A sperm whale swims in the straits of Gibraltar. Large whales like this naturally collect carbon dioxide in their bodies and act as a carbon sink during a “whale fall”, taking an average of 33 tons of carbon down to the seafloor and away from the atmosphere.

A group of long-finned pilot whales traverse through the waters of Majorca, Balearic Islands, Spain with a calf. In 2019, Oceana helped win protections for whales like this when Spain expanded Cabrera National Park, increasing the amount of marine area protected within Spain’s National Parks from 4% to 23%.

A young long-finned pilot whale heads towards Cabo Tiñoso, Murcia, Spain. Oceana captured this image on a its 2011 Ranger Expedition, a two-month study of seamounts and canyons in the Western Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean.