Responsible whale watching in Tenerife
Whale watching can fund the protection of these animals or quietly wear them down. The difference is not the price of the ticket — it is how the boat behaves when it gets there.
The rules that exist here
Cetacean watching in the Canary Islands is regulated. Vessels need a permit, and there are limits on how close boats may approach, how many may be with a group at once, how they must manoeuvre and how long they may stay. Approaching head-on, cutting across a group's course, separating a mother from a calf and entering the water are all prohibited.
Regulation on paper is not the same as behaviour at sea, and enforcement is imperfect. Which is why the practical question is not "is this legal" but "what does this boat actually do".
What a good approach looks like
- Slowing down well before reaching the animals, not on top of them.
- Approaching from the side and slightly behind, never head-on.
- Cutting the engine and drifting, letting the animals set the distance.
- Leaving when the group changes behaviour — tightening up, diving repeatedly, moving away.
- Not chasing anything, ever, including for a photograph.
- No music on deck. Sound carries into the water.
What a bad one looks like
Arriving fast, holding position with engines running, circling to give everyone on the port side a turn, and staying past the point where the group starts to leave. None of it is dramatic to watch and all of it accumulates: this coast's resident pilot whales are approached many times a day, every day, for years.
Beyond not doing harm
The better operators on this coast do more than behave well. Boats on the water every day are, in effect, a monitoring network: they record sightings, photograph dorsal fins for individual identification, report entangled or injured animals, and pull floating plastic out of the water when they find it. That data feeds into the research that justifies the protected status of this stretch of sea.
What you can actually verify
- Barco AzulRegulated Canary Islands certification covering safety, environmental management and conduct around cetaceans. Ask to see it.
- WCA Approved PartnerIndependent assessment by the World Cetacean Alliance against a responsible whale watching standard.
- Group sizeA boat carrying ten can hold position quietly and leave quickly. One carrying two hundred cannot.
- A biologist on boardSomeone qualified to read behaviour and tell the skipper when to back off.
- No swim offersAny operator advertising a swim with wild dolphins is telling you what they think of the rules.
- No species promisesNobody can guarantee an orca. Anyone who does is guessing with your money.
Questions about responsible watching
Does whale watching harm the animals?
Badly run, yes. Repeated close approaches interrupt resting and feeding, engine noise masks the sounds animals use to communicate, and collisions injure and kill. Well run, the impact is small and the trade — funding for research and a public that cares — is worthwhile.
What is the Barco Azul certification?
A Canary Islands accreditation for vessels that meet requirements on safety, environmental management and conduct around cetaceans. It is regulated and displayed on the boat, so it is one of the few claims you can actually verify.
What is the WCA?
The World Cetacean Alliance, an international partnership of NGOs, operators and researchers. Approved Partner status involves assessment against a responsible whale watching standard.
Can I get in the water with them?
No. Swimming with wild cetaceans is not permitted in Canary waters, for good reasons.
2 h · max 10€60 per adult
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