Marine conservation successes — humpback whales, sea otters, dugongs in some areas — demonstrate that marine animal welfare can improve dramatically with sustained protection and management.
Marine conservation success stories are welfare success stories: individual whales now experiencing natural migratory behaviour, complex social lives, and full cognitive expression represent welfare improvement at individual level compared to a population where most adults had been killed. Sea otter populations now engaged in natural kelp forest foraging represent the same. These recoveries demonstrate that marine animal welfare can improve dramatically with adequate protection. The welfare motivation for continued marine conservation is not merely ecological but individual — more marine animals living better lives.