Within our California Marine Sanctuary Foundation team, we talk a lot about how whale populations are still recovering from the industrial whaling era (a staggering 3 million whales were estimated to be killed over the course of the 20th century, resulting in devastating declines in whale populations and an 81% reduction in great whale biomass). Now, they face compounding and often interrelated threats: ship strikes, entanglement, habitat degradation, and climate change.