Portugal bans popular holiday attraction due to fears for safety
PORTUGAL has banned a popular holiday activity with Brits due to safety concerns.
Many holidaymakers head to the Portuguese coastline such as the Algarve.
And many holiday resorts offer boat trips that include whale watching – however this has now been banned until the end of the year.
The Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF) said “the prohibition of the active approach to groups of orcas by maritime tourist vessels,” was now in place.
A series of incidents involving orcas and mostly sailboats have been reported since 2020 off the Iberian Peninsula coast and the Strait of Gibraltar, where orcas have bumped the boats’ hulls and rudders, causing damage that in some cases has led to their sinking or the coastguard having to tow boats to shore.
Back in May, a British couple were off the coast of Morocco when a pod of killer whales tried to sink their boat.
In June, orcas were filmed attacking racing yachts by smashing their heads into the vessels off the coast of Gibraltar.
And that same month, a man sailing towards Ibiza said he was left terrified when a pod tried to sink his boat.
The ICNF added: “In addition to sailboats, some vessels have also been of interest to orcas; smaller maritime tourist boats, licensed for whale watching.
“Given the size of the adult animals (eight to nine metres in length and three to five tonnes in weight), more intense interaction with killer whales with semi-rigid or other types of smaller vessels, such as those used for whale watching, may have more serious consequences.”
It also said that whenever orcas are sighted and trying to approach, boats should move away to avoid contact, and if they are already close, such vessels need to stop, leaving the engine running, until the animals leave.
More than 200 interactions between orcas and boats were recorded last year off the Atlantic coast of Portugal and Spain, according to data from research group GTOA, which tracks populations of the Iberian orca sub-species.
It said “the reason for this recent and repetitive behaviour toward vessels is not known”, but it was now clear that the number of the cetaceans involved in such interactions has grown since the initial reports.
Adult orcas can reach up to nine metres (29.53 ft) in length and weigh over six tonnes.
Although known as killer whales, highly social orcas are part of the dolphin family.
They usually feed on fish, penguins and seals. In the wild, they are not known to attack humans.