14-06-2025
Oman contributes to global whale migration atlas
In a landmark step for marine conservation, Oman has contributed to a major new global initiative to map and safeguard the migratory 'superhighways' of whales. The Blue Corridors platform ( launched this week by WWF and an international coalition of scientists and conservation groups, digitally charts decades of whale tracking data to drive action on ocean protection worldwide.
Oman's unique satellite tracking data -gathered through the Environment Society of Oman (ESO) and marine research group Future Seas and supported by the Environment Authority is now part of this global dataset; helping to illuminate how whales travel through the region's waters and beyond.
'We've contributed Oman's dataset to this collaborative effort,' Suaad al Harthi from the Environment Society of Oman confirmed, 'offering insights that will support international efforts to protect whales from rising threats such as ship strikes, fishing gear entanglement, underwater noise and climate change'.
For the first time, brings together three decades of global tracking data, integrating it with maps of overlapping marine risks to create a dynamic tool for governments, scientists and policymakers. The initiative highlights the movement of whales through the territorial waters of multiple countries and underscores the urgency of international collaboration, especially as seven of the world's 14 great whale species remain endangered or vulnerable despite decades of conservation efforts.
'Oman's contribution is a vital part of this global effort,' said Dr Andrew Willson of Future Seas Oman, one of the contributing researchers. 'By understanding where whales travel, and where they face the greatest risks, we can work together on more informed conservation plans to protect them —not just in Oman's waters, but across the migratory routes that connect the dots between important habitats used by the whales for breeding and feeding.'
Launched ahead of World Oceans Day (8 June) and the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France, the project also advances global goals to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030 — part of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the UN Decade of Ocean Science. The Blue Corridors platform is publicly accessible and will evolve with further peer-reviewed science and collaborative input through 2025.
'Blue corridors are more than migration routes — they're lifelines for the ocean's giants and the ecosystems they support,' said Chris Johnson, Global Lead for WWF's Protecting Whales and Dolphins Initiative. 'This platform transforms decades of science into a tool for action — showing when, where and how to protect whales in a rapidly changing ocean.'
The project builds on the Protecting Blue Corridors report (2022), now enhanced with open-access visualisations from more than 50 contributing research groups. The platform also highlights hotspots where solutions -such as marine protected areas or revised shipping routes- can make the greatest difference.
As the oceans warm and human activities intensify, tools like this offer hope for species whose survival depends on protecting migratory pathways. And Oman's role in this collaborative atlas underscores the country's growing contribution to marine science and conservation on a global scale.
Najah al Riyami
The writer is a Media and Communication Master's graduate.
