On behalf of my co-authors I am pleased to share our recent publication in Journal for Nature Conservation: Guevara, C., Arriagada, A., Fishbach, M., Van Bressem, M-F., Van Waerebeek, K., Garcia-Cegarra, A.M. (2025). Site fidelity and external health of two distinct fin whale populations from the Northeast and Southeast Pacific Ocean. Journal for Nature Conservation 88,127045. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2025.127045 Article link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1617138125002225 Abstract: Human activities such as marine traffic, fishing, and pollution are the main threats to large cetaceans, especially to resident whale populations inhabiting heavily exploited enclosed seas or gulfs. Skin is indicative of whale health status because it can display wounds and scars from interactions with fishing gear, boat strikes and natural predators as well as infectious diseases. We evaluated the residence time of two fin whale, *Balaenoptera physalus* (Linnaeus, 1758 <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1617138125002225#b9001>) populations: one resident in the Gulf of California (GC), Mexico, and another potentially migratory found at Mejillones Peninsula (MP), Chile. We also compared skin conditions by analyzing photographs for the period 2016–2022. The results show that the GC population is closed while the MP population has a low residence time (5–6 months). The GC population has a significantly higher prevalence of the mesoparasite *Pennella* sp., commensal *Xenobalanus globicipitis* and scars from collision with vessels than its MP counterpart. The MP population has a significantly higher prevalence of skin conditions of natural origin such as cookie-cutter shark (*Isistius* sp.) bites, predation by killer whales, *Orcinus orca* (Linnaeus, 1758 <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1617138125002225#b9001>), and orange-brown and green–brown diatom patches than the GC population. These results show that a fin whale population residing year-round in an area with high industrial, fishing, and marine traffic presents more skin conditions related to anthropogenic origin than an oceanic migratory population, which mainly presents scars of natural origins (predation). It is recommended to review the conservation status of the GC resident fin whale population and propose management strategies to guarantee their long-term conservation and welfare. Feel free to reach out to me at anamaria.garcia@uantof.cl if you would like a PDF copy of the paper or if you have any questions. All the best Ana M. Garcia-Cegarra Director CETALAB, Laboratory for the Study of Marine Megafauna, Faculty of Marine Sciences, University of Antofagasta, Chile. *Ana M. García-Cegarra, Ph.D.* <http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail> Libre de virus.www.avg.com <http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>