Summary
On February 25 of 2025, Councilmember Cecilia Lunaparra, with Councilmember Shoshana O’Keefe as co-sponsor, introduced the Berkeley Whale Safe Passage Resolution, establishing the City of Berkeley’s commitment to supporting the free and safe passage of whales, sea turtles, and other marine animals in the San Francisco Bay Area’s coastal waters. Aligning with California’s Vision Zero goal of eliminating human-caused whale and sea turtle mortality, the resolution recognizes fishing gear entanglements and vessel strikes as leading causes of serious injury and death. It affirms Berkeley’s support for state efforts to prevent these harms, emphasizes safeguarding marine biodiversity for current and future generations, and urges the state and the National Marine Fisheries Service to adopt mandatory, science-based vessel speed limits to reduce vessel collisions. The resolution cites the 2014 resolution adopted by the City of San Francisco supporting the free and safe passage of whales and dolphins and declaring that every whale and dolphin has the right to remain unrestricted in their natural environment, as well as the 2024 resolution adopted by the City of Alameda on the free and safe passage of whales, sea turtles, and other marine animals.
Related Initiatives
Suggested Citation:
Kauffman, Craig, Catherine Haas, Alex Putzer, Shrishtee Bajpai, Kelsey Leonard, Elizabeth Macpherson, Pamela Martin, Alessandro Pelizzon & Linda Sheehan. Eco Jurisprudence Monitor. V2. 2025. Distributed by the Eco Jurisprudence Monitor.https://ecojurisprudence.org/initiatives/berkely-usa-resolution-safe-passage-of-whales-sea-turtles-and-marine-animals/.
When using our data, please follow the FAIR and CARE Principles for data governance outlined in our Ethics Statement. We are doing our best to be correct in the information we provide, but if you notice any omission or inaccuracy, please report this to us immediately at info@ecojurisprudence.org so we can correct it.
Eco Jurisprudence Tracker is licensed under CC BY 4.0
