Travel Adventure Stories Blog: Whale Watching General Rules And Regulations

By Gregory Sullivan


Coastal areas are great places to visit for marine world lovers. They have numerous water-based activities for tourists to engage in, one of them is whale watching. There are laws and regulations that apply to this activity and they differ from place to place, familiarise yourself with them before embarking on your trip to avoid breaking the laws. This travel adventure stories blog article gives generalized information involving viewing whales.

As a visitor, you are prohibited from trying to kill or harass whales, you are not even allowed to give them food. They should feel as comfortable as possible in their habitat during your visit, so avoid chasing them, even if you think you re playing with them. Don t make too much noise and never attempt to touch them. Your boat or vessel should be found free of anything that may be used to harm or capture the whales. The above-mentioned should be avoided at all costs unless if a permit has been granted.

There are signs they will project that will show you that you re making them uncomfortable. Tail slapping is one of them. Also, they might start to take a long diving or swim at an unpredictable speed and direction. Just stay on the lookout for any odd behavior, if you spot one then try to keep a greater distance between you and them.

Just like a hen protects its chicken, a whale also protects its claves. Animal parents may be a little paranoid when it comes to their young because they want no harm near them. So when you see a whale with its calves, stay away from them at all costs. Also, keep your things to yourself; that includes trash, don t dump it in the water you will be endangering lives.

It may be tempting to swim with these marine animals. However, their behavior is still under study and is not yet fully understood. For safety reasons, it is best to stay away from swimming with them no matter how tempting it may be, watching from a distance is enough.

If you follow the viewing guidelines given below then you will know what to avoid to make them comfortable. The first one is, don t rush to be at their front with your boat or to leapfrog to force an encounter. You might be tempted to turn your boat suddenly and rush towards them if they are at an opposite direction from your movement, don t do that because it will startle them. Finally, give them space.

When they approach, reduce your speed or stop completely. They have a history of bumping into boats, so always leave your engine on so that they may know where you are at all times for your safety and theirs.

Nature is unpredictable, so you will never be certain that you ll see whales when visiting whale watching destinations. However, in previous observations, there are seasons whereby the chances of seeing whales near the shore are high. For instance, if you want to see them in South Africa, the perfect time to do that will be from June to November.




About the Author: