Good practices for whale watching

We invite you to join us and actively participate in the commitment we have undertaken as guides/naturalists in order to ensure a safe trip for whales, as well as an educational and pleasant experience for the passenger.

Thus, we would appreciate it if you read the following instructions:

1. Be aware and follow the indications provided by the guide/naturalist during the whale watching tour. The guide/naturalist is experienced and knowledgeable enough to guarantee a responsible and quality tour.
2. Do not throw any kind of waste to the water. Animals can not tell between wastes and food and may suffer from indigestion, resulting in lethal damages with the perception of being fully sated.
3. Do not try to touch animals when they are near the vessel. The whale watching trip supposes the observation of Whales to be from a short distance. Touching whales may entail certain risks for the passenger and the animals as well.
4. Keep quiet or speak in a low voice during the whale watching tour. Enjoying nature and its sounds is a wonderful experience.
5. We remind our passengers that the use of external sound systems (speakers and megaphones) is limited, since noise pollution disturbs the fauna and passengers.
6. The guide/naturalist must abide by the ‘Patagonian Whale Watching Technique’ which regulates the way vessels should approach and behave towards animals. Among other points, this technique indicates that:
   1. Whale watching tours are prohibited up to September when whale mothers are accompanied by their calves.
   2. Animals should not be followed, bothered or surrounded.
   3. Only one boat can watch a group of whales, aside from exceptional cases.
   4. The normal distance to the animal watched is equivalent to a whale’s body length, i.e. 50 feet. However, you will be fortunate if the whale decides to come closer. Please, do not compromise the crew asking them to come closer.
   5. If you have the chance to watch a white whale, the vessel will be limited to a viewing time to a recommended máximum of 15 minutes approximately.
   6. The vessel must slow down when she approaches a whale or distances from her, and when she enters the pier or departs.

Similarly, the document containing all the specifications about the Whale Whatching Patagonian Technique can be requested to the company where you have asked the service, at the Subsecretaría de Turismo y Áreas Protegidas [Tourism and Protected Areas Secretary of Chubut Province], through the means it may deem convenient.

By the same token, users that detect flaws in the above mentioned regulations can formally post a direct claim to the corresponding entity or through the claims book available in the office of each boat operator, who will have to answer back in writing.