We Are All Whalers: The Plight of Whales and Our Responsibility

The threat to whales goes beyond the conventional images of harpooning ships, according to this moving and impassioned debut from veterinarian and marine scientist Moore. “The very survival of the species is in our hands,” he argues, and the problem comes down to industry—commercial seafood fishing accounts for numerous whale deaths each year, as the animals get caught in nets and ropes, and “even vegetarians contribute to the problem, as we all benefit from global shipping of consumer goods and fuel, which, in its current iteration, leads to fatal collisions with whales.” Moore injects his descriptions of the dire situation with a personal angle, sharing stories about how he came to study and care passionately about whales, creatures with awe-inspiring intelligence and social skills but whose population is threatened by humanity: between 2017 and 2020, he writes, the number of North Atlantic right whales declined by 10%. Technology offers a ray of hope—in his final chapter, Moore describes how using ropeless nets for commercial fishing and studying whale population movements can prevent accidental collisions and lessen the death toll. This empowering call to action stuns. (Oct.)