Whales and dolphins now have legal personhood in the Pacific – but one treaty won’t be enough to protect them

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Whales and dolphins now have legal personhood in the Pacific – but one treaty won’t be enough to protect them

Sperm whales are endangered - new measures aim to protect cetaceans like this in the Pacific Ocean. Erik AJV/ShutterstockWhales and dolphins have been officially recognised as “legal persons” in a new treaty formed by Pacific Indigenous leaders from the Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Aotearoa (New Zealand) and Tonga. He Whakaputanga Moana, a treaty that translates as the ocean declaration of Māori, promotes the protection and survival of these…