The UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) has adopted a proposal to expand whale protection areas off the California coast. The recommendation was initially made in 2015, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and U.S. Coast Guard submitted the final proposal to the IMO in 2022. The proposal adopted in November will take effect this summer, expanding no-go areas for vessels and extending vessel traffic lanes around the NOAA's Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. “A 13-nautical-mile extension of vessel traffic lanes, known as the “traffic separation scheme,” will result in vessels lining up for port entry farther west and away from the continental shelf, in deeper waters where there are lower concentrations of whales,” announced the NOAA. “The area to be avoided by vessels is expanding by more than 2,000 square nautical miles, and will cover, in total, approximately 4,476 square nautical miles of important whale feeding habitat off Point Conception and Point Arguello in Santa Barbara County, California. “ According to John Armor, director of NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, the IMO’s decision will enhance navigation safety for vessels and improve the protection of the ocean’s giants. Ship collisions are one of the biggest threats to whales living in the area, proving deadlier when bigger vessels are involved. Los Angeles and Long Beach ports are amongst the busiest container ports in the world, hosting some of the largest ships. Navigational routes for these vessels overlap with the sensitive living quarters of the endangered blue, humpback and fin whales. Not only are these mammals important for ocean health, but they are also crucial for climate change. According to a study by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), whales can capture tons of carbon from the atmosphere, an economic value of US$1 trillion for all great whales. The study calculates that each great whale absorbs around 33 tonnes of carbon dioxide on average over its lifetime. In contrast, a tree with the same lifespan only contributes to 3 per cent of the carbon absorption of a whale. When these whales die, they sink to the bottom of the ocean, and the carbon they absorbed sinks with them, which is a natural solution for reducing carbon emissions. According to the UN Environment Programme, biologists believe the whale population is down to a quarter of its pre-whaling numbers. Researchers estimate that without new initiatives to save them, it will take over 30 years to double the number of current whales and several generations to return them to their pre-whaling numbers.