The Importance of Sperm Whales in Ocean Conservation.

National Geographic Explorer-In-Residence Enric Sala explains how whales are crucial to ocean health and how their poop fertilizes shallow waters and feeds phytoplankton, which produce at least 50% of the oxygen in our atmosphere. Sala founded the Pristine Seas Project in 2008, which has worked with 17 countries to turn large swaths of the ocean into marine protected areas. A preserve in Dominica would protect the whales from their greatest threats: plastic trash, noise pollution, and ship strikes. The sperm whale population has been declining steadily for the last 20 years because of human threats that affect the whales not only in Dominica but all around the world.