Are whale-watching tours harmful to whales?

So does it harm the mammals? Whale watching can have an impact on their natural behaviour, including their ability to feed, rest and rear their young. This can cause problems in the short and long term, say those working in the field of marine biology. Boats can also collide with the whales, putting everyone at risk.



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Boat-based whale watching exposes whales and dolphins to underwater noise, as well as the risk of injury from collision with the boat's hull or propeller19,20. The presence of boats can distract the animals from important behaviours like resting, socializing or feeding1,3,21.

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You can see chunks of boat float away. A 2022 study found that out of 49 attacks that year, whales damaged ships in about 73% of interactions. And 25% of those had to be towed back to port.

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For cruise ships, avoiding a whales requires that the captain, pilot, or other bridge personnel detect the whale at a sufficiently large enough distance to change course or speed. This often means detecting the whale several kilometers away.

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At sites where the whales or dolphins targeted for tourism have no alternative locations for important biological functions like feeding or resting, animals may be at greater risk of serious “energetic costs”, by being distracted from these behaviours, as well as increased stress levels from the continual presence of ...

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Disadvantages of travelling by boat:
  • Feeling of drunkenness. This feeling can last for hours, days or weeks, depending on the length of your trip. Although if you think you're feeling seasick inside… ...
  • Slow travel.
  • It's not exactly cheap. Travelling by boat is somewhat expensive, but it's totally worth it.


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Collisions with vessels can be fatal. When a whale or sea turtle is hit by a ship or another vessel, these gentle creatures are likely to die or suffer a horrific injury. Ship collisions have been identified as a significant human cause of baleen whales (mysticete) mortality [1].

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Frequently they do avoid vessels, except silent ones. The ocean is a noisy place. Whales seem to 'tune out' repetitive background noise like the drone of an approaching vessel. Whales sometimes seem to have difficulty locating an approaching ship.

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