Pacific Island Nations Unite in Fiji to Protect Whale and Dolphin Migration Corridors

In the western Pacific, whales do not respect national borders. Humpbacks calve in the warm shallow waters of Tonga, feed in the nutrient-rich seas near New Zealand, and migrate through corridors that cross the exclusive economic zones of a dozen nations. Protecting these animals requires something that ocean governance has historically struggled to deliver: genuine regional cooperation built on both science and cultural tradition.

That is what the Western Pacific Blue Corridors Forum attempted to advance during three days of meetings in Fiji from February 23 to 25, 2026. Organized by WWF’s Protecting Whales & Dolphins Initiative in collaboration with the International Whaling Commission and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), the forum brought together government representatives, fisheries organizations, Indigenous leaders, and marine scientists from Fiji, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Tuvalu.

The concept of “blue corridors” refers to critical migratory pathways that cetaceans depend on for breeding, calving, and feeding. Unlike terrestrial migration routes, these corridors are invisible, shifting with ocean temperatures, currents, and prey availability. Climate change is already altering some of these patterns, making the designation and management of protected corridors a moving target.

What made this forum distinctive was its integration of Indigenous knowledge alongside peer-reviewed cetacean science. Pacific Island cultures have deep, multigenerational relationships with whales that predate Western scientific study by centuries. Several island nations have already declared their waters as whale sanctuaries, but coordinated cross-border protection of migratory routes has remained elusive.

The forum explored specific threats: fisheries bycatch, increasing shipping traffic, marine pollution, underwater noise, and climate-driven shifts in migration timing and routes. Participants worked toward developing recommendations that national governments could adopt to formally protect key corridors and reduce cumulative stressors along migratory pathways.

The timing is significant. The BBNJ High Seas Treaty entered into force just weeks before the forum, on January 18, 2026, creating a new legal framework for establishing marine protected areas in international waters. While the western Pacific blue corridors primarily cross waters under national jurisdiction, the treaty’s emphasis on connectivity and ecological coherence provides a complementary framework for regional action.

No binding agreements emerged from the Fiji forum; this was a consultative and knowledge-sharing event. But the regional momentum is real. If the participating nations translate the forum’s recommendations into coordinated policy, the western Pacific could become one of the first ocean regions with a functioning network of whale migration protections informed by both traditional ecological knowledge and modern satellite tracking data.

Written by: Junior Thanong Aiamkhophueng

Attribution: This article draws on reporting and event documentation from the WWF Protecting Whales & Dolphins Initiative on the Western Pacific Blue Corridors Forum (February 23–25, 2026, Fiji); co-convening context from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP); background on the BBNJ High Seas Treaty’s entry into force from UN reporting; and regional cetacean science context on humpback whale migration corridors from IWC and SPREP. For further reading, visit WWF Whales and Dolphins, SPREP, and the International Whaling Commission.