Divesite supports IFAW and Sacred Ocean in their campaign against whaling, and we invite you to participate by voting in our poll at the bottom of this page. This is the first time that an anti-whaling campaign has gathered opinions from those opposed and supporting whaling, thus giving a powerful, balanced opinion. Please add your voice.
 Sacred Ocean is an innovative anti-whaling campaign created by IFAW and Noel and Belinda Ashton in partnership with the Two Oceans Aquarium.
At the core of the campaign is whale specialist, Noel Ashton’s iconic 3.5m sculpture of a humpback mother and calf set within five vertical whale bones, which was created as a symbolic expression of his deep dismay at the ongoing cruelty of modern-day whaling.
Positioned in the foyer of the Two Oceans Aquarium, Sacred Ocean invites you to pause a while and consider the plight of the world’s great whales as they continue to face the brutal onslaught of explosive-headed harpoon whaling.
Sacred Ocean was launched in November 2008 by Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu. In his opening address, Archbishop Tutu spoke movingly about our continued impact on wildlife and the natural environment, saying “Are we surprised that we can gun down innocent people in hotels, and bomb innocent children, when we can behave so barbarically towards God’s creatures?”
The sculpture aims to raise awareness around whales, their majesty, the threats to their survival, and places special emphasis on bringing to light the brutality and increasing threat of modern whaling. The central message of the campaign is that whales should live wild and free in the oceans and that it is human greed and political profiteering that is impacting on the integrity of their underwater lives.
“I created Sacred Ocean as a silent symbol of my strongest wish that we celebrate our shared existence on this beautiful blue planet, and that the horrendous killing of whales must stop. Join me and let this iconic sculpture represent your voice as well, and vote in the Great Whaling Debate; it might take you a minute but that minute could save the life of a magnificent whale,” says Noel.
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