Alfaguara project. It has consolidated as a scientific and coastal sustainable development project of national interest by receiving the official support of the Chilean Navy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education of Chile. The project has also identified the area with the highest sighting rate of blue whales in the Southern Hemisphere (northwestern Chiloé Island) and has raised international awareness regarding the health status of this blue whale population by describing skinny blue whales and skin lesions associated to coastal pollution from the salmon farming industry.