Portuguese authorities have banned tourists from whale-watching killer whales after the sea creatures were found responsible for a series of boat attacks off the coastline.
The decision comes as many tourists come to Portugal hoping to visit popular places such as the Algarve, a region in the southwestern part of the nation. Additionally, many holiday resorts offer boat rides, including whale watching in the waters near the area.
Portugal Bans Whale Watching
However, that popular tourist activity has now been suspended temporarily, which will stay in effect until the end of the year. In a statement, the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF) said that it was a ban on the active approach to groups of orcas by maritime tourist vessels.
The situation comes from multiple occasions that involved orcas and mostly sailboats that have been reported since 2020. The incidents occurred off the Iberian Peninsula coast and the Strait of Gibraltar. Officials said that the sea creatures would bump the boats' hulls and rudders, damaging them, and in some cases, have led to the vessels' sinking or the coastguard having to tow the boats to shore, as per The Sun.
One of the latest incidents involved a British couple back in May who was off the coast of Morocco when a pod of killer whales attacked their boat, seemingly trying to sink it. Video footage of the orcas was released in June that showed them attacking racing yachts by smashing their heads into the vessels off the coast of Gibraltar.
In that same month, a man sailing towards Ibiza said that he was left horrified after a pod of sea creatures tried to sink his vessel. The ICND added that on top of sailboats, the killer whales also attacked smaller maritime tourist boats licensed for whale watching.
With how large the adults of the sea creatures are, which range from eight to nine meters in length and three to five tons in weight, more intense interaction with semi-rigid or other types of smaller vessels could result in more serious consequences.
Series of Killer Whale Attacks
The ICNF added that on top of the ban, they advised that boats should move away whenever orcas are seen and try to approach to avoid contact with the animals. According to Reuters, officials said that if the sea creatures were already somewhere nearby, the vessels should stop but leave the engine running and wait for them to leave.
The agency said that the reason for the killer whales attacking the vessels is still relatively unknown but noted that such instances have increased since the initial reports. Last year, officials recorded more than 200 interactions between orcas and boats off the Atlantic coast of Portugal and Spain, based on data from GTOA. This research group tracks populations of the Iberian orca subspecies.
Some theorize that a killer whale, known as White Gladis, instills the behavior among its brethren. The animal is believed to have been traumatized after a collision with a boat or being trapped in fishing nets, said Sky News.
