There is a whale lying outside the European Parliament.

It is impossible to miss.

And that is precisely the point. 

For Ocean Week 2026, Seas At Risk is bringing a life-sized whale to the heart of the EU quarter. We Are the Whale is an interactive installation, but it is also a political provocation: a reminder that the ocean cannot keep being treated as an afterthought while decisions made inside the Brussels bubble determine its future. 

The whale, an impressive artwork that has already “washed ashore” at different locations across Belgium, has now arrived in the heart of the EU – at the right time! This autumn is crunch time for the ocean in EU decision-making. 

The EU has promised a lot 

Europe already has no shortage of ocean strategies, targets and promises. But ambition on paper has never been the ocean’s problem. Implementation is. 

The Blue Manifesto, backed by more than 140 organisations, has provided the EU with a roadmap for restoring a healthy, climate-resilient ocean by 2030. In June 2025, the European Commission presented their long-awaited Ocean Pact which laid out the planned work for the current mandate. 

 Two years in, a recent assessment finds that the outcome is still far from reassuring. Painfully little progress has been made. The EU is still not moving at the scale or speed required to turn its ocean ambitions into reality. 

The European Ocean Act must bring everything together.

The Commission has committed to presenting a brand new Ocean Act by the end of 2026, with the proposal intended to bring the EU’s ocean-related objectives and frameworks under one umbrella. We are hoping it will become the EU’s climate law for the ocean, including modernisations of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the Marine Spatial Planning Directive.  

This must be matched by decisive financial action in the upcoming Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). As the EU prepares to set its budget for 2028–2034, we face critical questions about whether sufficient public funding will be allocated to restore marine ecosystems, protect blue carbon habitats and phase out harmful subsidies. Without a significant shift in financial priorities, even the strongest legislation will remain an empty promise. 

Enter ‘The Whale’

‘We Are The Whale’ focuses on three pillars that are not merely policy preferences, but existential necessities for Europe’s future.  

  • Ocean and Climate Regulation is the foundation of our survival; the ocean absorbs the vast majority of excess heat and carbon. Without recognising the ocean as our primary climate regulator, all other climate goals are mathematically impossible to achieve. 
  • Biodiversity and Ecosystem Restoration is the only path to resilience. Our ocean is overexploited and polluted, leading to a collapse of the natural systems that support fisheries, coastal protection and, in turn, human health. We cannot afford to treat symptoms – we must actively restore ecosystem functions to ensure they can withstand future shocks. 
  • A Sustainable Blue Economy is the only model that ensures long-term economic viability. The current “take-and-waste” approach is an economic dead end that depletes the very capital ocean industries rely on. A truly sustainable blue economy must align profit with regeneration. 

The whale is watching 

Whales are the ocean’s most visible giants, but their fate is tied to pressures that are often almost invisible from Brussels: warming seas, underwater noise and pollution. 

The whale is also a keystone of the ocean’s life-support system. As a giant of the deep, it acts as a powerful engine for the planet’s climate regulation. Through a process known as the “whale pump” these giants cycle nutrients from the deep ocean to the surface, fertilising phytoplankton that sequester vast amounts of carbon dioxide and produce much of the oxygen we breathe. 

By restoring whale populations, we do not just save a species. We actively repair the ocean’s ability to cool the planet and regenerate its biodiversity. 

The whale also carries a message of hope. The global moratorium on commercial whaling stands as a rare example of international cooperation where humanity chose to step back from the brink, recognising that some things are more valuable than their immediate extraction. This success proves that political will can shift the trajectory of an industry. 

With the whale, we argue that this same spirit of caution and foresight must be replicated. Just as we ended the slaughter of whales to allow their populations to recover, we must impose a global moratorium on deep-sea mining to protect the fragile, unknown ecosystems of the seabed before we destroy them.  

The whale symbolises that the best balance act is just to let it restore nature as long as it needs to.  

This autumn, Europe’s institutions will make choices that could shape the future of the ocean for years to come. 

The whale is watching. So are we. 

Posted on: 15 September 2026