As a boy Philip Hoare was terrified of the water, only learning to overcome his fears and to swim as an adult. Bewitched by this experience he has become fascinated by the sea and all things in it but especially whales. In his book Leviathan or, The Whale he explores the truths, myths and legends surrounding mans […]

Whales eat a lot! Well that’s an understatement considering how large they are. But have you ever wondered what comes out the other end? In this fascinating story reporter Mark Horstman discovers that whales not only play a critical role in fertilising the oceans and providing a basic food source for marine plants such as […]

I was very interested in Dr Susan Bengtson Nash study of persistent organic pollutants such as organochlorine pesticides like DDT, or industrial chemicals like PCBs and dioxins in the Antarctic food chain. The study looked at the levels of these pollutants in Krill and how they accumulate in animals higher up the food chain such as whales. […]

Its thirty years since Greenpeace’s first direct action campaign in Australia to end whaling. Chris Pash’s book the Last Whale beautifully captures the passion on both sides of the argument as we follow the high drama off the Western Australian coast, as protesters risk their lives to protect the Sperm whales from continued slaughter. Given […]

 I think I can safely say that yesterdays whale watching was the best I’ve ever experienced in five years here in Sydney. I spent the day with Sydney Fast Ferries new whale watching tours. We headed north from the heads about 10am. It seemed to be one very big and empty ocean for the longest […]