"The Whaleman Foundation is a public IRS 501 (c) (3) non-profit research, education, conservation, and wildlife film production organization dedicated to preserving and protecting our ocean world. Whaleman’s primary mission is to educate key decision makers, while raising public awareness, on the issues that affect cetaceans (dolphins, whales & porpoises) and their critical habitats through our films, research, campaigns, and media outreach.
Since its inception, Whaleman has presented films to the United Nations, Congress, and the International Whaling Commission. In addition, our film footage and photographs have been featured worldwide in over 200 news stories airing on CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, the BBC, and Reuters.
Our first victory came when our film “Gray Magic: The Plight of San Ignacio Lagoon”, was presented to the December 1998 meeting of the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). This film was key in stopping Mitsubishi Corporation from building the world’s largest salt plant at Mexico’s San Ignacio Lagoon – a United Nations World Heritage Site and the last pristine mating and birthing grounds for the California gray whale.
Deadly-Sounds-TitleOur film “Deadly Sounds in the Silent World”, winner for “Best Short Film” at the 2003 Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival, was presented to Congress in 2002 and played a pivotal role in banning the worldwide deployment of a lethal sonar system called LFA Sonar.
In 2006, “Deadly Sounds II” was presented and distributed to the delegates attending the United Nations Law of the Sea Meeting in June 2006, asking the UN to take the lead in regulating manmade underwater noise pollution. As a result, the UN has made the further study and regulation of manmade underwater noise pollution a priority.
The films we presented to the International Whaling Commission in 2000 and 2002 on the Makah Tribe’s illegal gray whale hunt helped to revoke the Makah’s US permit to hunt gray whales in the Olympic National Marine Sanctuary."