For most of us whale watching means the opportunity to take pictures of them from a boat during an organized whale watching tour. However, to organizations such as The Whale and Dolphin Conversation Society whale watching is conducted with the goal of learning more about earth’s largest mammal and protecting them.
In the Azores, whale and dolphin watching has become a much-advertised and popular activity and there are now many operators offering whale-watching trips. Around 30,000 people went whale and dolphin watching in the Azores in 2009. Since the Azores are home to twenty-five percent of the 20 species of whales known to exist, concerns surrounding the practice are growing regarding the effect of this pursuit on the whales themselves particularly with regard to behavior, breeding and migration.
The Azorean government has recently passed two sets of regulations, controlling the number of boats allowed, passenger safety, and visitor behaviour when near the animals. The regulations also aim to encourage the companies involved to work more closely together, reduce competition and limit the number of boats around any one pod.
Humpback whales appear to be the most innately-curious in terms of being attracted to boats but unfortunately unaware of the dangers involved. The speed of whale-watching boats can result in instant death or injury to whales. Respectful whale-watching dictates no craft should come within 100 feet of pods or individuals especially when feeding since during this activity the whale’s attention is focused in a different direction.
Water pollution generated by boats is of great concern in terms of whale preservation. The adverse effects of fuel emission is of greater concern for whales than humans since the inhalation and exhalation of water is essential to their breathing process. Engine noise generated by boats affects the whales sounding skills. While humans enjoy watching these creatures spouting, breaching (surfacing) and flapping their mighty tails, for whales sounding is their way of environmental awareness especially in terms of their proximity to enemy prey.
For whale protection organizations and whale-rights activists, the primary goal is to photographically- track them with respect to popularization, migration and most-importantly to evaluate the stress created for whales by the whale-watching industry.
If you are going to visit them, there is an accepted etiquette to follow. Rather than book a trip at random, study the notes about what you should know before you go out to sea, and how your boat crew should handle the situation.
For those who do not like the idea of venturing into mid Atlantic in a small rigid inflatable boat and enduring three hours banging into the waves as you speed along, there are now larger, more comfortable vessels that have cabins and decks.