[OANNES Foro] It’s Time to Rethink the Practice of WhaleWatching

[Mario Cabrejos]

*It’s Time to Rethink the Practice of Whale Watching*

By Marco Tedesco

July 2, 2020

https://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/news-events/it%E2%80%99s-time-rethink-practice-whale-watching?utm_source=Nature+Briefing&utm_campaign=e9079e5ba2-briefing-dy-20200703&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c9dfd39373-e9079e5ba2-45511414

I am on Long Island beach near New York City and, while staring at the
ocean, breathing in its majestic power and wondering about its immense
unknown, I realize that the largest animal on our planet could be found not
far from here. I peek at the horizon, hoping to catch a glimpse of the
characteristic spray that is the emblem of whales
<https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2019/12/11/right-whale-mpa-esp-workshop/>.
This is the period, in fact, when they can be spotted off the coast while
migrating.

They move with magnificent grace and can magically float on the surface of
the ocean in the company of their calves. The calmness that wraps around
these animals is almost surreal — the same calm necessary for them to
properly communicate with each other. It is far from the noise of the city,
human acoustic pollution. I think, as I continue to look for them, about
the phenomenon of whale watching that, in recent years, has increasingly
taken hold and, according to some, represents an economic benefit for
coastal communities; for example, the Marine Mammal Commission of the
United States government states that marine mammals (or cetaceans) such as
whales and dolphins are “economic drivers of the economy linked to tourism
and associated industries.” The economic contribution of a single whale
during its lifetime is estimated at around 2 million dollars, for a total
of over 3 trillion dollars when we consider all whales, according to the
commission.

Yet where there are humans, there is little room for peace and quiet. A
recent study reported in the *eLife* magazine shows how the observation of
whales and dolphins from motorboats causes harm to animals. This is due to
the sound, or rather the noise, that the engines generate, stressing the
cetaceans and limiting their ability to find mates, engage in social
contact with other whales and communicate with their offspring. In some
countries, safety mandates require boats to maintain a distance of at least
100 meters from whales and to reduce speed when in proximity. Even in this
case, however, studies have shown that even when boats comply with these
restrictions, whales are still disturbed — they change course, breathe more
rapidly, and alter the frequency of their singing or stop singing overall.

“Unlike humans, the dominant sense in whales is not sight but hearing,”
wrote Kate R. Sprogis, an Australian scientist at the helm of a research
team monitoring whales with underwater equipment and lead author of the
study on *eLife*. “As such, a whale may not be able to see a boat 100
meters away, but they are very likely to hear it, so it makes sense to
consider this when defining the guidelines for whale watching.” Sprogis’s
team studied how much noise comes from boats and found that at the highest
level of 172 decibels (dB) at a distance of 100 meters, the resting time of
whale mothers decreases by 30 percent, their respiratory rate doubles and
their swimming speed increases by about 40 percent. But how deafening
actually is a noise of about 170 dB? A vacuum cleaner generates about
“only” 70 dB, a pneumatic hammer about 110 dB; 170 dB is very close to the
roar of a rocket lifting off.

I imagine myself with my kids in a quiet and serene park and, while
joyfully and respectfully enjoying what nature is offering me, I find
myself immersed in the sound of a rocket taking off that lasts for a time
that seems infinite. I see strange creatures looking at me from the rocket,
staring at me while I am not able to communicate with my kids and, though
curious, I am afraid, I am short of breath. I run away and try to hide, but
the rocket chases after me.

Observing animals, in itself, is not wrong but we must always ask ourselves
why we do it and pay attention to how we do it. Using motorboats to simply
take a photograph to satisfy your own vanity or sterile curiosity
(different from a scientific one!) is not noble, let alone useful. (There
are hundreds of thousands of whale images already, and probably much more
beautiful than what we can grasp from the boat.) Perhaps we could learn
from these good giants, building a relationship based on respect and
protection, rather than on vain curiosity. If we really want to help the
economy of the sea and its inhabitants, we can donate funds to foundations
or associations, talk to our friends about how wrong it is to destroy our
planet for our selfishness and, perhaps, sit in a boat offshore with
engines off (or paddling, even better), earning the right to be in that
ecosystem, and waiting for them to come to us to spend time together as
companions who share this wonderful planet.
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