WhaleSENSE is a joint initiative involving NOAAs Fisheries Service, NOAAs Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society in partnership with a growing number of commercial whale watching companies.
Yankee Fleet in Gloucester, Mass., Starflight Fleet in Wildwood Crest, N.J. and Cape May Whale and Dolphin Watch Research Center in Cape May, N.J. are the newest members of the WhaleSENSE team. Continuing partners include: Dolphin Fleet in Provincetown, Mass., Hyannis Whale Watch in Barnstable, Mass., Captain John Boats in Plymouth, Mass., Provincetown Whale Watch in Provincetown, Mass., and Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center Winter Wildlife Cruises in Virginia Beach, Va.
Entanglement in some kinds of fishing gear and collisions with ships are the two major ways human activities are known to cause serious injuries and deaths among whales off the Northeast U.S. Federal statutes and regulations are in place to help mitigate the dangers posed to whale by these activities off the East Coast. These include slow, safe speeds and required transit routes for vessels when whales are likely to be present, and configuring fishing gear in a way that makes it less likely to entangle and animal, and more likely to fall away if an animal does pick it up.
To become a WhaleSENSE participant, company vessel operators and the naturalists who narrate tours attend annual trainings on whale watching guidelines and regulations, safe operations, and whale ecology. After completing the program, the whale watch company is granted full use of the WhaleSENSE logo to promote its business and is listed on the website.
"It is critically important to show the world that whale watching, not whaling, is the best future for us and for the whales," said Regina Asmutis-Silvia, senior biologist for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.
All whales are protected under federal laws, including the Marine Mammal Protection Act, that safeguard them from being injured, killed, harassed, or having their natural behaviors interrupted. Companies participating in WhaleSENSE agree to use responsible viewing practices to minimize the potential for harming whales, to provide customers with a high standard of education, and to promote ocean stewardship and conservation.
To learn more about the WhaleSENSE program, please visit our website www.whalesense.org.
WDCS also helped develop the Dolphin SMART program that was officially launched in February 2007. Dolphin SMART is a unique voluntary recognition and education program encouraging responsible viewing of wild dolphins. Program participation is for commercial businesses conducting and booking wild dolphin tours, or any commercial vessel that may opportunistically view wild dolphins. The Dolphin SMART program offers participation incentives for businesses that follow the program criteria and educate their customers about the importance of minimizing wild dolphin harassment. It also includes an important research component that provides insight about the daily lives of the local, wild dolphin populations. See www.dolphinsmart.org