The blue whale is the largest mammal on Earth and also the largest animal ever known to have lived. They belong to the family of baleen whales, which means they have a comb-like structure in their mouths to filter food from the water.
Blue whales can grow up to 100 feet (30 meters) long and weigh as much as 200 tons (180 metric tonnes). Their hearts alone can weigh as much as a car, and their tongues can weigh as much as an elephant. Despite their enormous size, blue whales feed on some of the smallest organisms in the ocean, such as krill, which are tiny shrimp-like creatures.
Blue whales are found in all the world's oceans, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. During the summer, they tend to feed in the cooler waters of the poles and during the winter they migrate to warmer waters to mate and give birth. They are known for their distinctive songs, which can travel for hundreds of miles through the water and are thought to be used to communicate with other whales.
Despite being protected by international law, blue whales are still threatened by a number of factors. These include climate change, which is causing a decline in the availability of krill, pollution, which can contaminate their food sources, and collisions with ships. Whaling also remains a significant threat, with some countries still hunting these majestic creatures for their meat and oil.
The number of blue whales today is only a small fraction of what it was before modern commercial whaling significantly reduced their numbers during the early 1900s, but populations are increasing globally. The primary threats blue whales currently face are vessel strikes and entanglements in fishing gear.
NOAA Fisheries and its partners are dedicated to conserving and rebuilding blue whale populations worldwide. We use a variety of innovative techniques to study, protect, and rescue these endangered animals. We engage our partners as we develop regulations and management plans that foster healthy fisheries and reduce the risk of entanglements, create whale-safe shipping practices, and reduce ocean noise.
Along their migrations, whales fertilize the marine ecosystems they move through and support the marine life inhabiting them. Their fecal plumes boost phytoplankton production, which captures about 40% of all carbon dioxide produced and generates over half of the atmosphere’s oxygen. When they die, whales sink to the seabed, taking massive amounts of carbon out of the atmosphere for centuries. Altogether, one whale captures the same amount of carbon over its lifetime as thousands of trees.
This means that by restoring whale populations, we can help restore ocean ecosystems and mitigate and build resilience to climate change. It’s helping nature help itself, and all of us who depend on it.
For the first time, Protecting Blue Corridors, a new report by WWF and our science partners from Oregon State University, University of California Santa Cruz, University of Southampton, and many others, visualizes the satellite tracks of over 1000 migratory whales worldwide. Importantly, it helps identify where migratory routes and key habitat areas overlap with a range of emerging and cumulative threats from human activities, helping inform how we can better protect and manage their ocean habitats worldwide.
Efforts are being made to protect blue whales and their habitats, including creating marine protected areas and reducing ship speeds in areas where they are known to be present. By working together, we can help ensure that these magnificent animals continue to throw out of oceans
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