At the invitation of the Royal Belgian Shipowners’ Association , Michael Fishbach, Executive Director of the Great Whale Conservancy spoke to the European shipping industry at the recent European Shipping Summit.

“To protect the great whales from ship strikes and to allow them to continue to survive and increase in number, we need the support of the shipping world,” explained Michael Fishbach in a video interview. “It is a good business model to be protecting whales and be making an effort to not hit whales when you are transiting with your large ships.”

The Great Whale Conservancy was founded in 2010 to raise awareness about the serious threats the world’s great whales are facing such as ship collisions or habitat destruction. Its goal is to double the blue whale numbers by 2050 by significantly reducing ship strikes.

“We at the RBSA are proud that a number of Belgian shipowners are working with the Great Whale Conservancy to adopt whale protection measures for their fleet,” commented Wilfried Lemmens, RBSA Managing Director.

“We hope to set an example for our sector and convince our shipping colleagues to come onboard, seeing that some of the measures taken are simple and do not have a significant commercial impact. At the EU level, we wish to send a clear signal to policymakers to pass the necessary legislation in ESG to get as much of the wider European maritime industry as possible to participate and take the lead in the global whale conservancy efforts.”

To know more about how European and international shipping can help save whales, watch the video interview below with Michael Fishbach: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJbQzG_AqeU