Whale Watching at Bahia Magdalena Bay
The mark of a New Year for many of us is setting out to improve our lives through resolutions. As our population increases exponentially our influence on the environment will continue to be felt in both positive and negative ways. We must remember that as a species when we change our surroundings to meet our needs an anthropogenic impact is felt by every other species that shares this global ecosystem called “earth.” A new year should renew an appreciation and awareness of a global view of our planet’s biological non-renewable resources. Hopefully with a united effort we can continue to bring species like the gray whale back from near extinction to what the International whaling commission deems “a sustained management stock” population.
Complete protection for the gray whale was not rendered until 1946 when the population was reduced to just several thousand individuals. Predictable annual migrations up to 12,000 miles round trip from summer feeding grounds in the Arctic, to warm winter breeding lagoons in Baja California made these marine mammals easy targets for whalers such as captain Charles M. Scammon.
As you determine your New Year’s resolutions reflect on your impact on the environment, and remember that female gray whales celebrate the New Year by giving birth to their calves in one of Mexico’s protected lagoons. The protection of the coastal marine environment along the entire annual migration route will determine if the gray whale’s numbers (believed to be at about 22,000 animals with an annual increase of 2.5 percent) will be maintained for future generations to enjoy and watch.
The mark of a New Year for many of us is setting out to improve our lives through resolutions. As our population increases exponentially our influence on the environment will continue to be felt in both positive and negative ways. We must remember that as a species when we change our surroundings to meet our needs an anthropogenic impact is felt by every other species that shares this global ecosystem called “earth.” A new year should renew an appreciation and awareness of a global view of our planet’s biological non-renewable resources. Hopefully with a united effort we can continue to bring species like the gray whale back from near extinction to what the International whaling commission deems “a sustained management stock” population.
Complete protection for the gray whale was not rendered until 1946 when the population was reduced to just several thousand individuals. Predictable annual migrations up to 12,000 miles round trip from summer feeding grounds in the Arctic, to warm winter breeding lagoons in Baja California made these marine mammals easy targets for whalers such as captain Charles M. Scammon.
As you determine your New Year’s resolutions reflect on your impact on the environment, and remember that female gray whales celebrate the New Year by giving birth to their calves in one of Mexico’s protected lagoons. The protection of the coastal marine environment along the entire annual migration route will determine if the gray whale’s numbers (believed to be at about 22,000 animals with an annual increase of 2.5 percent) will be maintained for future generations to enjoy and watch.
