When you look a humpback whale in the eye, it looks back at you, and you are struck by the realization that this is a sentient being. It is an otherworldly experience to share the ocean with these gentle giants, whose measurements defy description. The Polynesian archipelago has one of the world’s biggest whale populations. Tourists come from all over to marvel at their sheer size in person. Among the first countries to outlaw whaling, Tonga has been a leader in whale and marine conservation. The whale population around Polynesia has been growing gradually.