Whale Watching Like You Mean It: How to be an Ally to Wildlife

Kasandra Kutzer

What is Whale Watching?

If you are an avid traveler, you’ve probably heard of whale watching. This activity involves viewing whales and other marine animals in the wild for the purpose of inspiring fascination within tourists. Understandably, an activity featuring such magnificent sights draws in billions of dollars, attracting roughly 13 million people from over 100 different countries annually! The whale species featured in whale watching tours varies by locale, but you’ll most likely see fin whales, minke whales, or humpbacks. It’s not often you get to see such large, beautiful creatures up close, so it’s no wonder people are so interested in these events, especially nature enthusiasts! However, there are a few caveats to such attractions that people should know before planning a trip, particularly the most passionate animal lovers.

What are the Problems with Whale Watching?

Despite often attempting catering to animal lovers, whale watching tours are often harmful to the creatures they rely on. Some whale watching vessels will harass whales and other wildlife to ensure guest satisfaction, so much so that it can become a major source of stress for the animals. Specifically, the prolonged presence of these boats create stress by producing loud noises that can disrupt their natural behaviors. For example, the existence of distracting noise in the whales’ environment can impact their ability to engage in reproductive behavior, social behavior, and mother-infant communication. In fact, even when whale watching vessels stay 100 meters away from the whales, the noise still reaches up to 172 decibels, which results in measurable signs of stress. These signs include changes in migration paths, breathing rate, vocalization pitch, and how often vocalizations occur. Additionally, this noise pollution causes mother whales to rest 30% less, increase their respiratory rates by 100% and swim 40% faster. Not only can whale watching cause mental harm to the whales involved, it can also cause physical harm. Often, the boats used to conduct whale watching tours end up colliding with the animals, which can wound or even kill them. 

How Can You be a Wildlife Ally?

Fortunately, it is possible to mitigate such harm caused by whale watching tours. You can help do this by seeking out responsible whale watching tours when planning your next trip. For example, you could look for a whale watching tour that utilizes a boat with an electric engine rather than a gas one. This will reduce the amount of stress typically associated with noise pollution, as such engines aren’t nearly as noisy as traditional gas engines. 

Of course, there are other factors to consider when deciding whether a whale watch is sustainable. For example, if you see advertising that “guarantees” that whales will be spotted, look the other way! This is one of the red flags for a whale watching tour that is conducted irresponsibly. Another telltale sign of an unsustainable whale watch is allowing participants to feed, touch, or swim with the animals. Additionally good whale watches should always focus on education in addition to amusement, so it’s best to avoid those that don’t. 

Any responsible whale watch will also make sure to follow specific guidelines to minimize their potential to harm wildlife. One such guideline includes the minimum distance requirements enforced nationally, which vary by species. For example, a limit of 1500 feet, or 500 yards, has been established for North Atlantic right whales. Members of any other whale species have a distance limit of 100 to 600 feet. However, you may recall that whales still experience stress as a result of noise pollution from boats 100 meters, or 328 feet, away. Therefore, whale watching tours (other than those exclusive to North Atlantic right whales) can still cause such stress even when following the legal distance requirements. So when choosing a whale watch for your vacation, you may want to consider those that exceed the minimum distance requirements established by law. Another guideline that sustainable whale watches will be sure to follow is a speed limit of 10 knots (or 11.5 miles per hour), applicable to vessels larger than 65 feet when they are near wildlife or in a designated zone. 

You or the boater conducting the tour can also make whale watching worthwhile for the whales as well as yourself by reporting when a marine mammal is in danger. This can be done by calling the New England/Mid Atlantic hotline at (866) 755-6622, contacting the Coast Guard by radio, or calling local responders. For our local readers, such responders that help whales and other marine mammals include the Seacoast Science Center, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the Center for Coastal Studies, the Marine Mammal Alliance Nantucket, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC), and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head Aquinnah.

For our local readers, there are some responsible whale watching tours that take place nearby. These include the Boston Harbor City Cruises/New England Aquarium Whale Watch, Captain John Boats in Plymouth, Dolphin Fleet in Provincetown, the Hyannis Whale Watcher, and the Newburyport Whale Watch. If you love whales and are passionate about their wellbeing, you would love participating in one of these!

Why Should You (Responsibly) Go Whale Watching?

After reading about how irresponsible whale watches can harm wildlife, you may be tempted to avoid whale watching altogether so you can avoid the pressure of correctly deciding whether a tour is sustainable. Well, don’t be so hasty! By participating in responsible whale watches, you can actually contribute to efforts that help protect these whales! For example, good whale watches can help educate the public about the dangers encountered by whales, such as climate change, pollution, entanglement, and vessel collisions. Additionally, the boaters for such tours can personally contribute to the welfare of these animals by reporting entanglements and collecting data for conservation scientists.

Why Does It Matter?

So, why does it matter if a whale watch is responsible? To answer this, let’s first discuss why it is important for whales to maintain their natural behaviors that would otherwise be disrupted by the stress from irresponsible whale watching. Whales use a swim pattern known as “dive-and-rise,” which moves valuable nutrients upwards in the water column and thus helps to support the surrounding marine ecosystem. Recall that stress caused by noise pollution from boats results in changes to a whale’s swim patterns. Therefore, by participating in good whale watches that prioritize mitigating such stress, you may be helping the local whales maintain their normal “dive-and-rise” patterns. Whales also contribute to the environment by sequestering carbon, and they also are also valuable in a more literal sense due to the yearly $2 billion dollars they contribute to tourism internationally. Remember that stress from loud tour boats also disrupts the mating behaviors of whales. Combined with the fact that boat collisions can kill whales, this means that choosing a responsible whale watch can help mitigate declines in population growth that whale watching could otherwise cause. This is especially important when you consider the fact that many whale species are already declining in numbers, such as the North Pacific right whale with only about 30 of these animals left alive today, and the humpback whale post climate change.

Irresponsible whale watches are problematic because they contribute to stress and potentially population decline in whales via harassment, vessel strikes, and noise pollution. By choosing to whale watch sustainably, you can mitigate these issues, follow guidelines that keep these animals safe, facilitate education of yourself and others about whale conservation, and enable the reporting of entanglements by your tour’s boater. In turn, this will contribute to the health of marine ecosystems, carbon sequestration, and the economy by preventing the disruption of the whales’ normal swim patterns that are used to support ecosystem health, as well as clearing potential obstacles to the population growth necessary for whales to overcome threats and continue contributing to ecosystem and economy.

References

1. Animal Welfare Institute. (2013, June 3). Whale Watching. Animal Welfare Institute. https://awionline.org/content/whale-watching. 

2. Kim-Dannibale, A. (2023, April 12). Whale watching is booming. Here’s how to do it responsibly. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/how-to-whale-watch-responsibly.

3. Kvam, I. (2025, May 20). Electric boats are making waves — find out why. Fresh Energy. https://fresh-energy.org/electric-boats-are-making-waves-find-out-why.

4. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2025, June 18). Report a Stranded or Injured Marine Animal. NOAA Fisheries. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/report.

5. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2022, December 6). Whale Watching and Wildlife Viewing in New England and the Mid-Atlantic. NOAA Fisheries. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/new-england-mid-atlantic/marine-life-viewing-guidelines/whale-watching-and-wildlife-viewing-new.

6. Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. (2021, October 12). What Species Will I See on a Whale Watch? Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. https://stellwagen.noaa.gov/visit/whalewatching/what-species-will-i-see.html.

7. Tedesco, M. (2020, July 2). It’s Time to Rethink the Practice of Whale Watching. Columbia Climate School. https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2020/07/02/rethink-whale-watching-practice/.

8. Whale SENSE. (2014, March 25). SENSE-ible Whale Watches. Whale SENSE Alaska Region. https://whalesense.org/sense-ible-whale-watches/.