November 18, 2025
Celebrating the Ocean Progress We Made Together This Giving Tuesday
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BY: Meghan Dubeau
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This Giving Tuesday, we’re celebrating the incredible ocean progress made possible by you — our dedicated supporters. Giving Tuesday is a global day of generosity that highlights the power people have to create positive change, one act of giving at a time.
From strengthening sustainable fisheries management to seeing encouraging signs of ocean recovery, 2025 has been a year of real progress — thanks to you. Your generosity, combined with science-based advocacy and strong partnerships, helped Oceana Canada deliver results that protect marine habitats, rebuild depleted fish populations, and support a healthier ocean for generations to come.
Join us as we look back at key moments that defined 2025 — a year of ocean progress made possible by generous supporters like you.
More North Atlantic Right Whales
A new estimate from the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium finds that the population of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales has slightly increased. This encouraging sign shows that recovery is possible, but many threats still exist.
North Atlantic right whales are among the most at-risk whale populations, with only around 380 left. They were once hunted almost to extinction before the practice was banned in the 1930s. Today, these whales face new threats — collisions with ships and entanglements in fishing gear used to catch lobster and crab.
This year, Oceana Canada advocated for strong policy to protect North Atlantic right whales by monitoring ship speeds in critical habitat, assessing ropeless gear solutions to reduce entanglements, and collaborating with fish harvesters. We continue to call on Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Transport Canada to increase protections to save these whales from extinction.
Your support on Giving Tuesday can help strengthen their chances of survival. Consider making a gift to fight for these right whales and other marine animals threatened by entanglements and ship collisions.
Rebuilding Depleted Fish Populations
Canada now has 12 science-based fish rebuilding plans. These plans will help restore ocean abundance by bringing back depleted fish populations, including mackerel, cod, Chinook salmon, and herring.
This milestone follows a decade of advocacy by Oceana Canada and supporters pushing for science-based management that restores abundance. Work that could never have been possible without the support of Wavemakers like you. These efforts helped build the regulatory momentum and public support needed to secure these rebuilding plans — a win for the ocean and for all who depend on it. Evidence shows that fish recover when strong, science-based rebuilding plans are in place.
Your support is what made this progress possible, and now we must continue to hold the government to their commitments. This Giving Tuesday, consider donating to Oceana Canada’s work to rebuild fisheries and ensure healthy oceans across Canada’s three coasts — supporting sustainable seafood, thriving coastal economies, and ocean biodiversity.
Science at Sea: Southern Newfoundland Slope Expedition
In October, Oceana Canada embarked on a science-driven expedition to study the Southern Newfoundland Slope, a rich but little-explored ecosystem.
This area is home to incredible marine life. Ancient corals, sea pens, and endangered species such as northern wolffish and smooth skate. Commercially important fish populations, including halibut and redfish, thrive here alongside rare species such as chimaeras. Marine mammals, including dolphins, pilot whales, and blue whales — rely on this habitat as well. Your support helps expand our understanding of this ecosystem and inform how best to protect it.
These deep-sea habitats face many threats from oil and gas drilling, bottom-trawling, deep-sea mining, and pollution.
By providing our teams with resources needed to gather crucial data, you help us advocate more effectively for ocean protection. Please consider making your Giving Tuesday gift today to protect even more vital marine habitats. >>>
To help protect oceans, make your Giving Tuesday gift today! Or become a Wavemaker to receive more ocean stories and ways to protect marine life like whales, sharks, and sea turtles.
