Whale and Dolphin Conservation

WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, is the leading charity dedicated to the protection of whales and dolphins. 

WDC works in the US and around the world to protect marine mammals and their ocean habitat. With offices in Australia, Germany, United Kingdom and Plymouth, Massachusetts in the United States, and a partnership with Fundacion Cethus in Argentina, our reach is global.

Whale & Dolphin Conservation embraces diversity and equal opportunity. We are dedicated to forming a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. The more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.

We are campaigners, researchers, lobbyists, educators and volunteers. Together we are ‘one’ WDC. We work globally through campaigns, lobbying, advising governments, conservation projects, field research, rescue, education and much more.

Whales and dolphins are remarkable. But why are they so important? Why do we need to end captivity, stop whaling, prevent deaths in fishing gear, and create healthy seas? What is so special about whales and dolphins?

Whales play an amazing role in an ecosystem that keeps every creature on Earth alive, including you!

We need phytoplankton and phytoplankton need whales!

Unlike plants on land, phytoplankton cannot root into the ocean bottom to retrieve the nutrients they need. Where do they get it? Research shows that whales bring it to them! Because whales can’t “poop” under pressure, they take their bathroom breaks at the ocean’s surface and by doing so, supply phytoplankton with life giving nutrients like iron, nitrogen and phosphorus. Whales are the ocean’s gardeners, tending the forest of phytoplankton on which we all depend. And because whales migrate, they re-distribute nutrients across latitudes.

Their future is our future.  Save the whale, save the planet, save ourselves.