{"id":463,"date":"2018-07-10T16:06:00","date_gmt":"2018-07-10T16:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whalewatchingazores.com\/blog\/2018\/07\/10\/how-does-whale-watching-affect-whales_10\/"},"modified":"2020-02-11T12:59:16","modified_gmt":"2020-02-11T13:59:16","slug":"how-does-whale-watching-affect-whales_10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whalewatchingazores.com\/blog\/how-does-whale-watching-affect-whales_10\/","title":{"rendered":"How does whale watching affect the whales?"},"content":{"rendered":"
In many\u00a0places, whale watching might consist in trying to get as close to the whales as possible to get the best photos. As this may seem very normal and desired for some curious tourists, we should think about this fact and consider if this practice bothers the whales.<\/div>\n
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Som<\/span>e\u00a0species of cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) are very endangered\u00a0nowadays. And this is mainly because of our fault\u2026 because in the past (and\u00a0currently in some countries) we used to hunt them and because of the pollution we face nowadays.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Here in the Azores we have some rules to keep when\u00a0we are in the company of these beautiful creatures.<\/div>\n
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\u201cIt’s time to end the cruel slaughter of\u00a0whales and leave these magnificent creatures alone.\u201d Paul McCart<\/span>ney<\/span><\/div>\n
Futurismo Azores Adventures has a commitment with the\u00a0minimum standards for Responsible Whale and Dolphin Watching, a document we\u00a0helped to\u00a0develop with our partners in the World Cetacean Alliance (WCA). These standards\u00a0are an extra to our compliance with local guidelines for a safe approach to\u00a0whales and dolphins at all times. Our many vessels share sightings information,\u00a0coordinate viewing schedules and minimize boat traffic.<\/span><\/div>\n
These guidelines are endorsed by the Government\u00a0of Azores (Directiva Regional N\u00ba9\/1999 de 22 de Mar\u00e7o).<\/span><\/div>\n
In the\u00a0Azores, the current guidelines stipulate that 50 meters are the approach limit to\u00a0cetaceans and that the vessels stay 100 meters away when whale calves are\u00a0present, 300 meters when 3 or more vessels are in the presence of dolphins and\u00a0500 meters when 3 or more vessels are in the presence of whales.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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Whales and\u00a0dolphins are very intelligent animals and think for their own and they don\u2019t\u00a0know the rules. Sometimes they are the ones that approach us. In that case, if\u00a0a whale approaches us, and if it\u2019s unsafe for us to get off the way, the engines\u00a0are idled until the whale has passed and it\u2019s safe to move away.<\/span><\/div>\n
There are\u00a0also regulations that govern speed of vessels around the whales (4 knots within
\n<\/span><\/span>500 meters). Studies have shown that speed determines the\u00a0noise level. By moving slowly near the whales, we keep noise to a minimum.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
When the observation is finished or whenever\u00a0the animals show signs of stress, the vessels must move from the approaching area.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u00a0<\/span>During our whale watching tours, you will have the company of a marine biologist that will inform you about the biodiversity of our\u00a0oceans and will try to answer to all your curiosities. We like to explain you\u00a0about the species you see, the behavior of the animals and the many\u00a0threats that nowadays they face, hopefully you will learn with us about them and\u00a0about several conservation measures you can take to help protect these animals\u00a0and transmit these measures to your closest ones.<\/span><\/div>\n
When we do whale watching we also need to have\u00a0in mind that we are the ones visiting their homes, and we must respect them,\u00a0the same way we like to be respected when we are in our homes.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cTen percent of the big fish still remain.\u00a0There are still some blue whales. There are still some krill in Antarctica.\u00a0There are a few oysters in the Chesapeake Bay. Half the coral reefs are still
\nin pretty good shape, a jeweled belt around the middle of the planet. There’s\u00a0still time, but not a lot, to turn things around.\u201d <\/span>Sylvia Earle<\/div>\n
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Written by Andreia Vieira<\/em><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In many\u00a0places, whale watching might consist in trying to get as close to the whales as possible to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21192,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[316],"tags":[23,29,18,4,158,40],"yoast_head":"\nHow does whale watching affect the whales? - Azores Whales<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/whalewatchingazores.com\/blog\/how-does-whale-watching-affect-whales_10\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How does whale watching affect the whales? - Azores Whales\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In many\u00a0places, whale watching might consist in trying to get as close to the whales as possible to…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/whalewatchingazores.com\/blog\/how-does-whale-watching-affect-whales_10\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Azores Whales\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-07-10T16:06:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-02-11T13:59:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/whalewatchingazores.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/whaledolphinwatchingazores.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"616\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"411\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\">\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/whalewatchingazores.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/whalewatchingazores.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Azores Whales\",\"description\":\"Azores Whale Watching Blog\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/whalewatchingazores.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/whalewatchingazores.com\/blog\/how-does-whale-watching-affect-whales_10\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/whalewatchingazores.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/whaledolphinwatchingazores.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/whalewatchingazores.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/whaledolphinwatchingazores.jpg\",\"width\":616,\"height\":411},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/whalewatchingazores.com\/blog\/how-does-whale-watching-affect-whales_10\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/whalewatchingazores.com\/blog\/how-does-whale-watching-affect-whales_10\/\",\"name\":\"How does whale watching affect the whales? - Azores Whales\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/whalewatchingazores.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/whalewatchingazores.com\/blog\/how-does-whale-watching-affect-whales_10\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-07-10T16:06:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-02-11T13:59:16+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/whalewatchingazores.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/ccbb558acf5445295d665fb153636c78\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/whalewatchingazores.com\/blog\/how-does-whale-watching-affect-whales_10\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/whalewatchingazores.com\/blog\/how-does-whale-watching-affect-whales_10\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/whalewatchingazores.com\/blog\/how-does-whale-watching-affect-whales_10\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"item\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/whalewatchingazores.com\/blog\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/whalewatchingazores.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Home\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"item\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/whalewatchingazores.com\/blog\/how-does-whale-watching-affect-whales_10\/#webpage\"}}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/whalewatchingazores.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/ccbb558acf5445295d665fb153636c78\",\"name\":\"Futurismo Biologists Team\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/whalewatchingazores.com\/blog\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bc557f0ad5ebe29d770478dfcbf8f29d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bc557f0ad5ebe29d770478dfcbf8f29d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Futurismo Biologists Team\"},\"description\":\"At Futurismo, we are not just a sea team. 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