Forty organizations that make up the “Whales or Gas?” alliance rejected the presidential decree authorizing cruise ships to enter the Port of Loreto, in Baja California Sur, arguing that it threatens the habitat of the blue whale and local economies. They called on President Claudia Sheinbaum to reverse the decision.
In a statement, the organizations explained that the decree also changes Loreto’s classification from a coastal shipping port to a deep-sea port.
“The decree goes against the purpose of Loreto Bay as a National Park and World Heritage Site; its management program as a Protected Natural Area explicitly identifies megacruise ships and cruise liners as a threat to the blue whale,” the association explained.
They added that the same conditions they have denounced for nearly two years regarding Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) projects in the Gulf of California also apply to this new measure.
In that sense, the environmental and climate organizations that signed the statement called on authorities to reverse what they described as a misguided and unconstitutional decision.
The organizations warned that megacruise ships have a long history of environmental impacts that destroy whale habitats and force whales to alter their behavior and migration patterns.
“The noise from these enormous vessels, similar in size to LNG tankers, deafens, disorients, and harms whales.”
They also emphasized that these ships load and unload ballast water, which is water taken on in other locations to provide stability during navigation.
“This loading and unloading process severely contaminates marine ecosystems and introduces invasive species that can have significant consequences.”
Local economy at risk
The organizations also argued that the local economy would be negatively affected.
“On top of that, economic evidence also points to the megacruise industry’s negative impacts on local economies. Loreto currently depends on whale watching, fishing, and small-scale tourism activities,” the statement said.
They continued by saying that the arrival of cruise ships changes the local economy and causes the disappearance or serious disruption of independent activities carried out by local residents. For these reasons, the people of Loreto have organized to demand proper protection for both their livelihoods and blue whales.
Dead whales
According to data from NOAA Fisheries, 92 whale stranding cases were recorded during the most recent breeding season in Baja California Sur, from December 2024 through April 2025.
According to Francisco Javier Gómez Díaz, director of the Whale Museum in La Paz and active member of the Baja California Sur Stranding Network, there is no evidence of human intervention in these stranded whales. Many likely died at sea and were later carried by coastal currents.
Records also show a dramatic decline in whale sightings, a significant drop in births, and a concerning increase in whales with poor body conditions — extremely thin animals with fat reserves so depleted that, in some cases, their bones were visible beneath the skin.
Experts continue to support the hypothesis that reduced food availability in the Arctic, caused by the loss of sea ice combined with changes in water temperature, contributed to the weakening and deaths of the whales.
“What we observed suggests they arrived malnourished, which made them much more vulnerable and more likely to strand,” said Lorena Viloria Gomorra, researcher with the Marine Mammal Research and Monitoring Program (PRIMMA).
Source: grupoanimal
