We Are All Whalers: The Plight of Whales and our Responsibility

A new book by Michael Moore, veterinarian, and marine scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), examines the plight and future of the North Atlantic right whale, one of the most critically endangered species on the planet, and draws on Moore’s 40 years of fieldwork to offer possible solutions. We Are All Whalers: The Plight of Whales and our Responsibility is a reminder that we can all share in the salvation of these imperiled animals. The image most people have of whalers includes harpoons and intentional trauma, yet eating commercially caught seafood leads to whales’ entanglement and slow death in rope and nets, and the global shipping routes that bring us readily available goods often lead to death by collision. All of us are whalers, Moore contends, but we do not have to be. 

Reviews for We are all Whalers: 

“This empowering call to action stuns.” 

—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“A compelling argument that whales’ survival depends on each of us. . . . Sobering.” 

—Washington Post, “15 Books to Read This Fall” 

“It’s not all doom and gloom. . . . Moore furnishes solutions while sounding the alarm.” 

—Bloomberg, “Six Best Books This Fall” 

“A truly compelling, captivating, and in places heart-wrenching story of one scientist’s journey caring for a highly endangered species. The very predicament of North Atlantic right whales is our fault, and their recovery is also our responsibility, as we are all consumers and hence all culpable in the environmental costs of fish products and goods and services transported at sea. Coexistence with whales is possible, and Moore’s book lays the foundation.” 

—Moira Brown, Canadian Whale Institute