The Way of the Whale – The Way of the Whale

Touched by a

WHALE

TELLING THE STORY OF LAGUNA SAN IGNACIO

We are documenting the remarkable connection between humans and whales at a beautiful, isolated lagoon on the Pacific coast of Baja California, Mexico.

After making a 5,000-mile-long migration – the longest of any marine mammal – gray whale mothers and their newborns continue to reach out to the touch of visitors. This “friendly gray whale phenomenon” is unique in all of nature.

“When they turn, you see the eye of the whale. It is definitely a look that lives on in your memory.”

“You get hooked to this immersive wild nature environment and you just keep going back.”

“When you are there with them [whales], you realize that this is a very special part of who we are. We are on this planet, we co-evolved with incredible animals, we are connected to them! So thinking of those last wild places, it is really important, it defines who we are as humans.”

"What is the biggest scientific discovery of the past 100 years? […] we are utterly dependent on the rest of life. Without the rest of life, we won’t make it. We won’t be here."

"¿Por qué tenemos que intervenir los humanos, todos los espacios? ¿Dónde vamos a dejar espacios naturales en donde se permita que la evolución siga?"

DRAWING A LINE IN THE SAND

Laguna San Ignacio is such a special natural place that it has been designated to be protected under four different Mexican laws. Yet in 1996, Mitsubishi and its Mexican Government partner proposed constructing a giant industrial saltworks on the shores of the lagoon.

Sparked by concerns of local fishermen, the initial efforts of a few scientists and environmental advocates quickly grew into a global campaign which reached millions of people – one of the very first to make full use of the new internet.

SAVING THE WHALE LAGOON

"The Whales Won"

"...handing a stunning victory to environmentalists"

"...the most significant victory of their generation"

"...ferocius five year battle"

"...a decision Mexico never expected to make"

"...a glimpse of how most environtmental battles will be fought in the next century"

In the end, it was a mysterious powerful encounter with a 30-ton whale in 2000 that swayed Mexico’s President – and the world’s largest multinational – to choose to protect nature and not exploit it.

The preservation of the laguna continues today with innovative measures to protect the natural environment and improve the local communities, two decades after the historic win.

This hopeful story will inspire a new generation to take action on the new challenges posed by climate change to the laguna, the whales, and all of us.