A Commitment to Conservation

Pacific Whale Watch Association members are committed to ensuring that the Salish Sea remains a diverse and vibrant ecosystem for future generations to experience. It’s our responsibility to be good environmental stewards, giving back in a variety of ways and encouraging the hundreds of thousands of guests who join us each year to do the same.

Research Partnerships

The PWWA is proud to provide data and images to numerous research organizations in an effort to better understand and protect local wildlife. Wildlife biologists often have limited resources and can’t spend much time in the field. Our experienced crew members, many with backgrounds in marine biology or environmental science, have a year-round presence on the water and are often the first to locate and identify local whales. We document births, injuries, entanglements, or interesting behaviors and shared our observations with local research partners. Thanks to contributions from the PWWA, scientists are better able to monitor whale behavior and health over time. In addition to whales, the PWWA has also made important contributions toward studies on pinnipeds, porpoises, otters, and seabirds.

Environmental Advocacy

Whales can’t attend policy hearings or draft comment letters, so the PWWA represents their interests, and the interests of other Salish Sea wildlife, whenever possible. Whether it’s helping to establish safer shipping lanes, identifying potential impacts of proposed construction projects, pushing for stronger law enforcement presence around whales, or lobbying for increased habitat conservation and restoration efforts, the PWWA works hard to ensure that this ecosystem and its inhabitants are protected not just now, but for many generations to come.

Collaborators

There are numerous groups working hard to protect the wildlife of the Pacific Northwest through research, restoration, and outreach. Many of them are small, non-profit organizations that rely on the generous donations of others. Here are just a few of the many organizations that PWWA members currently collaborate with, or have collaborated with the past. Their work includes studying endangered Southern Resident killer whales, restoring salmon spawning habitat, reducing the threat of ship strike, rescuing and rehabilitating marine mammals, and more: