66 JULY AUGUST 2024 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL To be honest, my mask was a bit foggy, so I had the impression of a Mack truck–sized creature crashing down right in front of me, rather than a view of a whale with the fine details of its marking. At some point, it became clear that the whales had a super awareness of the swimmers. Ever graceful, they are gentle masters of their domain. As swimmers, we get glimpses; then the visibility fails, or the whale swims out of range. Real, long-term encounters are rare. Tomasi said our day with the whales was as good as it gets. Even in low visibility, the whales seem to know where we are. From that first day on, I trusted them. Closest encounter. KAYLIE TONGIA/TANOA EXPEDITIONS Coming aboard. UILI LOUSI The photo of the whale towering over me caused a stir in the whale-swimming community in Tonga. Some said we were too close and never should have been that near the whale. We abided by the five-meter rule, but of course the whales did not. In that encounter, I succumbed to the magic of the whales. You can’t come out of the water unchanged by the experience. It was also a real privilege to observe whales with Uili Lousi, an artist and climate activist. The special bond between indigenous people and whales around the world remains mysterious yet captivating. Uili is advocating for a whale sanctuary corridor to be established between Antarctica and Tonga to avoid ship strikes. Later, at a United Nations conference on establishing a Universal Declaration of Rights for the Ocean, I was fortunate to meet famed marine biologist and oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle, or “Her Deepness” as fans call her. I mentioned Uili’s idea of a whale sanctuary corridor. “Why just a corridor?” she said, gripping my forearm with both hands. “Why not the whole Southern Ocean!” With so much threatening the marine environment, from global warming to deep-sea mining, the whales are a gentle reminder to us all that what is at stake is not just the economics of the seafood industry and the possible riches of deepsea minerals. It is also the welfare of incredible, highly intelligent, sentient beings. n
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