Blue whales, the largest animals ever to exist, remain endangered and face ongoing welfare harms from ship strikes and fishing gear entanglement despite being legally protected.
Ship strikes cause catastrophic blunt trauma and are often immediately lethal or cause prolonged suffering. Entanglement in fishing gear causes drowning or exhaustion. Even non-lethal encounters with ships cause behavioural disruption and stress. Krill scarcity forces longer foraging dives and increased energy expenditure, compromising body condition especially for nursing mothers.