The following rules have been developed for responsible whale watching operations. If you are on board and are aware of them and the vessel does not respect them, in addition to making a complaint to the crew at that time, you are asked to report this to the authorities in port upon your return so that the irresponsible operator can be investigated and, if warranted, sanctioned.
APPROACH: Approach should be parallel to them or from behind. NEVER head-on, as the whales will feel threatened and change course.
SPEED: When you reach about 400 meters from them, you should reduce the speed to a minimum and keep it constant. Sudden changes in speed scare them and modify their behavior. They also make it more difficult to observe them.
DISTANCE: Do not approach closer than 100 mts., let them take the initiative and approach the boat. If you approach less than 30 mts., stop the engine and put it in neutral until they move away.
If the whales move at a speed of 4 knots for about 10 minutes, stop following them; they will feel pursued and your chances of observation will not improve.
There should be no more than 3 boats approaching the same whale or group of whales.
You should NEVER place a boat between a mother and her calf, as the mother may interpret this as a danger and this may become a risky situation.
The observation period should not exceed 25 minutes per whale or group of whales.
Expert navigator Carlos Julio Santander explained to us that the best vessel for whale watching should actually be a sailboat, especially for its silent quality, although he is aware that this should be a process since at the moment there is an entire infrastructure that is set up for the observation season.
Biologist Fernando Félix, Editorial Ballenita sí
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