Watch for Whales

Watch for Whales is a poster and campaign based around the current real-life events of whales being endangered due to ship collisions. During my research, I wanted to experiment with a different era of design – the WPA period.

Social Media Campaign

What is a ship strike and why do they occur?

A vessel strike is a collision between any type of boat and a marine animal in the ocean. All sizes and types of vessels—from large ships to jet skis—have the potential to collide with nearly any marine species. Strikes that result in death or injury to the animal may go unnoticed by the vessel operator or unreported to researchers that keep track of such incidents.

Collisions may occur anywhere vessels cross paths with marine life. Marine animals can be difficult for a vessel operator to see because they are not always clearly visible from the surface. And even if the operator sees the animal clearly, there may be no time for either of them to avoid a collision.

Endangered North Atlantic right whales are especially vulnerable to vessel strikes because their habitat and migration routes are close to major ports and often overlap with shipping lanes.