There are times when progress seems like a given. Despite a few detours, it's expected things will undoubtedly plod on in the right direction. We anticipate that the next project, hire, or generation will pick up the ball and run it farther down the field. There are other times when the fragility of systems and capacity to make timely progress is laid bare, when we wonder if not just the ball, but the field we’re standing on will still be there.
At times like that, or this, it can be especially helpful to look to history, and to bright spots when people figured out how to make lemonade from lemons and share it with those willing to run around all the roadblocks.
Here in California, we live adjacent to a marine biodiversity hotspot, with endangered blue, humpback, and fin whales stopping to feed for an extended season during their annual migrations up and down the Pacific Coast. We also live in one of the epicenters of international trade, with ~40% of imports entering the U.S. via California ports, and over the past two decades the volume of cargo moved by ships in the region and around the globe has more than doubled.
The average container ship is a marvel of engineering and scale - with each ship averaging at around four football fields long. Compared to whales’ 40-50 million year history on our planet, these massive ships are also a new presence in the world’s oceans, one that whales have not yet evolved to avoid, making ship-whale collisions, or vessel strikes, a top threat. In addition, this fuel-burning vessel traffic also contributes emissions and pollutants, including a significant portion of the smog-forming NOx emissions known to impact coastal California communities.
But while maritime trade is a contributor to coastal air quality issues, many air quality groups lack regulatory authority to fully address its impacts. And while fatal ship strikes are a top threat to endangered whales, no mandatory regulations exist in the California region to require that large vessels reduce speeds, a solution shown to limit underwater noise and reduce the risk of fatal strikes by over 50%.
That’s why over a decade ago, a seemingly unlikely coalition of partners looked down at their bowl of lemons and wondered how they could sweeten things up. The Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies Program (BWBS) was formed in 2014 as a unique partnership between several California air pollution control and air quality management districts, national marine sanctuaries and non-profit partners. The goal was novel but relatively simple: to see if BWBS could incentivize shipping lines to voluntarily opt-in to reducing the speeds of their vessels for a handful of miles during critical ozone and whale seasons to reduce fatal strike risk and air pollution.
From the first year in 2014, when the team was pleasantly surprised to see 27 ships from seven different shipping lines participate across a limited area in the Santa Barbara Channel, the 2024 season now represents tremendous growth and progress - 743 vessels, across 49 of the world’s largest shipping lines (representing the vast majority of ocean freight moving through these waters) met or exceeded minimum program participation criteria across important whale habitat spanning hundreds of nautical miles. For a grand total of 425,981 nautical miles last year, participating vessels opted in for whale-safer (and air quality-friendly) behavior.
BWBS’ 2024 Season marked both significant jumps in total participating shipping lines -from 33 to 49 - and in the number of shipping lines that qualified for the top award tier (“Sapphire” with 85%+ total distance traveled in the VSR zones at 10 knots or less), which almost doubled from the prior season, from 13 to 23. They are:
CMA CGM; Connaught Shipmanagement HK; COSCO Shipping; CSL Americas; Hong Kong Top Honor Shipping; ISM Ship Management Ltd; Maersk; Marathon Petroleum; MSC; NYK Ro-Ro; Ocean Network Express; OOCL; OSG Ship Management, Inc.; Pilion Navigation; ConocoPhillips - Polar Tankers; Starbulk SA; STX Marine Service Co; Swire Shipping; Teo Shipping Corporation; Tomini Transports LLC; Toyofuji; Wallenius Wilhelmsen; and Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp.
To reflect on this milestone, lessons learned and how this program might speak to other complex environmental problems in daunting times, we gathered insights from across the partnership.
Building partnerships and consensus across diverse parties:
“From the very beginning BWBS framed the program’s co-benefits broadly—beyond protecting whales, we improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gases. This appeals to multiple stakeholders and has created unique partnerships that can serve as a model for other environmental programs. Our success lies not only in measurable environmental benefits, but also in our innovative, collaborative, and adaptive approach. By combining PR incentives, real-time performance tracking, and multi-stakeholder partnerships, the program has set a benchmark for voluntary conservation initiatives worldwide. Its lesser-known features, such as the Ambassador Program and Mid-Season evaluations, highlight the program's forward-thinking design and potential for continued growth.” - Robert Mazurek, California Marine Sanctuary Foundation
Collaborating with Industry:
"This work really revealed participants' genuine commitment to whale protection that goes far beyond what many might expect given the program's voluntary nature. What's particularly surprising has been the depth of engagement from some shipping companies - they're tracking progress closely throughout the season and actively seeking ways to improve in real-time. I've come to really appreciate just how hard many ship captains and crew are willing to work to avoid hitting a whale, while balancing tight schedules and economic pressure. We're grateful for the industry's leadership and for working with us on prioritizing whale protection amidst complex logistical demands. This willingness to adapt operations gives me hope for a future where ships and whales coexist in an increasingly crowded ocean." - Rachel Rhodes, Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory
“Our mariners and teams ashore want to minimize environmental impacts, especially on whales, air quality and the climate. BWBS is an exceptional voluntary collaboration that provides our ships clear instructions and tracking data on how to do that - first in the Santa Barbara Channel and more recently across many of the marine sanctuaries on the California coast. Thank you BWBS for working with us to make that happen!” Dr. Lee Kindberg, Maersk, Head of Environment & Sustainability for North America (retired).
Quantifiable air pollution results outside of public agency jurisdiction
“Starting in 2018, when BWBS began its fleetwide evaluation for participating companies, air quality monitoring in Ventura County showed some of the cleanest years in modern history. In 2020, Ventura County attained the 2008 National Ambient Air Quality Standard for Ozone by the deadline, a result I believe would not have been possible without the NOx emissions reductions from the program.”- Tyler Harris, Ventura County Air Pollution Control District
Noise Pollution and its Impact on Whales
“To whales, sound is everything. Ninety percent of the ocean is pitch black, and whales have evolved over the millennia to use sound for their daily life functions. Whales use sound to navigate, communicate, and keep in contact with each other during long migrations. However, noise pollution from ships disrupts these essential behaviors, threatening their ability to thrive in today’s increasingly noisy oceans. One proven solution is vessel speed reduction, an effective operational measure to mitigate noise impacts on whales. BWBS has shown that reducing vessel speed significantly decreases ship noise pollution, with an approximate reduction of 1 decibel per knot. Implementing vessel speed reduction programs, like BWBS, in regions with high whale presence is a crucial step in mitigating the harmful effects of chronic noise pollution and protecting these vulnerable species.” —- Dr. Vanessa ZoBell, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Scaling
“Wherever ships, whales and coastal communities overlap is an area of opportunity for BWBS to protect whales from shipstrikes and ocean noise, improve the air we breathe and maintain ocean commerce. In the near term, BWBS aims to work with the same ships and whales found off California that transit through the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary off Washington, and along the eastern seaboard where regulated zones would benefit from recognition incentives and co-benefits analysis. The high level of voluntary shipping industry cooperation is a testament to the strength of the BWBS coalition, our team’s skilled ship tracking and environmental benefit verification capacity, the power of effective awareness campaigns, and of course, the power of companies willing to be leaders in responsible commerce. Expanding this program for whales, people and the planet is not only necessary but well within our capacity. - Sean Hastings, Co-Founder Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies
Find Out More
For more information, including opportunities for the maritime industry to participate and our ambassador program for brands, logistics and freight forwarders, and entities that import or export via California ports, please see www.bluewhalesblueskies.org.
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