New Study: Whale Watching May Not Be So Safe
(Photo Credit: Wikimedia)
By Mike Madsen
Whale watching has been given as an alternative to visiting SeaWorld and other marine parks and is the option that animal rights groups promote as better than visiting a Marine Park. Whale watching is a $2 Billion dollar industry around the planet.
It has been observed that whales and dolphins change their behavior in the presence of whale watching boats. Tours could be inhibiting some of their natural biological behavior and indeed the argument can be made with the data that it is having a negative effect on reproductive rates. Certainly there are some direct and demonstrable problems such as whale/boat collisions which need to be addressed at the least. It sincerely looks like the only safe whale watching is in SeaWorld and other accredited Marine Mammal parks, where the whales and dolphins are safely separated from humans and boats in an environment that is healthy for them.
