Policy and objectives of cetacean interaction
- The guidelines establish regulations to govern the conduct of people interacting with cetaceans so that tourists are ensured of a positive experience.
- The regulations must guarantee the safety and welfare of the cetaceans during interaction.
- The guidelines are designed to help sustain ecological balance and ecosystem productivity by ensuring that interaction results in least disturbance.
- The guidelines are also intended to generate economic gains for host communities.
Definitions for key terms
- An Aircraft means any flight device, motorized or non-motorized, including airplanes, helicopters, gliders, hang gliders, and parasail.
- A Blowhole is the external opening to a cetacean’s nasal passages near the top of the head.
- A Cetacean means any species of whale, dolphin, or porpoise belonging to the order Cetacea.
- Contact includes any interaction involving a person and the cetacean likely to produce an effect on the cetacean.
- A Conveyance means any aircraft or vessel hired to carry passengers for viewing or coming into contact with cetaceans.
- Dolphin and Porpoises means all species under the family Delphinidae.
- Dorsal means the upper side of a cetacean where the dorsal fin is located.
- Flippers are the two (2) fins on either side of the pectoral area of all cetaceans.
- A Fluke is the horizontally oriented tail of any cetacean.
- Stranding is when a cetacean is found in shallow water or on shore in a helpless position.
- Under power refers to vessel propulsion in a direction with a motor/engine, wind, or human power.
- A Vessel means any craft designed to navigate on water, including ships, boats, kayaks, surfboards, boogie boards, and all other watercraft motorized and non-motorized except jet skis and wave runners.
- A Vessel operator is any person responsible for piloting or maneuvering any watercraft.
- Wake refers to waves generated by a vessel as it moves across the water.
- Whale means all species commonly known as whales under the suborder Mysticetes and Odontocetes.
Minimum distance and aircraft limits
- A vessel must not approach within less than 100 meters (330 feet) from any whale.
- For other cetaceans, the recommended observation distance is 50 meters (165 feet).
- No aircraft may fly directly over cetaceans at altitudes lower than 300 meters (1000 feet) to reduce noise effects.
- An aircraft’s shadow must not pass close to cetaceans.
- No conveyance may approach within 300 meters of any cetaceans if the number of other conveyances already positioned is two (2) or more.
- Jet skis and wave runners are prohibited in known cetacean interaction areas.
Rules for vessel operation
- A vessel should not approach any cetacean head on while under power.
- A vessel must approach from a direction parallel and slightly to the rear of cetaceans, or from 300 meters ahead of but not in the path of cetaceans.
- Within 300 meters of any cetacean, a vessel should move at a constant slow speed no faster than the slowest cetacean or at a speed that does not create a wake.
- A vessel must not make sudden or repeated changes in speed or direction while near or among any cetacean, except in an emergency.
- When approaching to enable passengers to watch whale(s) or dolphin(s), direct drive vessels should be switched to neutral or “dead slow.”
- If a whale approaches a vessel, the vessel operator shall, when practicable, maneuver to keep out of the whale’s path while maintaining a minimum distance of 100 meters from the whale.
- If a whale approaches within the 100-meter radius, the vessel operator should switch the engine to neutral or “dead slow” until the whale moves away on its own.
- Where two (2) or more vessels approach an unaccompanied cetacean, the vessel operators must coordinate so they do not cut across the cetacean’s path or “box” the cetacean.
- A vessel operator must ensure that an anchor is not dropped or lowered overboard within 300 meters of a cetacean.
Prohibited contact, feeding, noise
- No vessel under power shall continuously pursue any cetacean for more than 20 minutes, even when respecting prescribed minimum distances.
- No vessel may interrupt a cetacean’s path, or try to direct or alter its movement, or prevent it from leaving the vicinity of any vessel.
- A vessel may not intentionally penetrate into a group of cetaceans in a way that separates individuals or disperses group members.
- Contact must be abandoned at any stage if the cetacean becomes or shows signs of becoming disturbed or alarmed, including:
- Rapid changes in swimming direction or speed;
- Erratic swimming patterns;
- Escape tactics such as prolonged diving, underwater exhalation, underwater course changes, or rapid swimming away at the surface;
- A female shielding a calf with her body or by her movements;
- Sudden cessation in important breeding, nursing, feeding, or resting activities.
- If any sign of disturbance appears, a vessel must be maneuvered to at least 100 meters from the cetacean.
- Vessel operators must not touch or attempt to touch any cetacean, and must ensure no person onboard touches or attempts to touch any cetacean.
- Vessel operators must not feed or attempt to feed any cetacean, and must ensure no person onboard feeds or attempts to feed any cetacean.
- Vessel operators must not play back, and must ensure no person onboard plays back, any sound or recording underwater.
- Vessels departing the vicinity of any cetacean must proceed slowly at a speed that does not create a wake until the vessel is at least 300 meters from the nearest cetacean.
Mother-and-calf group special rules
- No vessel shall pursue mother and calf groups of any whale species.
- No person or vessel may approach within 200 meters of any whale accompanied by a calf or calves.
- If a mother and calf group approaches a vessel stopped or proceeding at minimal speed, the vessel must not make sudden or repeated changes in speed or direction while near or among the mother and calf group, except in an emergency.
Swimming, waste disposal, and stranding response
- Vessel operators must not allow any person on board to swim with whales and dolphins.
- No person aboard a vessel may dump any substance, garbage, or other pollutants overboard; all wastes must be properly disposed of on land.
- In a cetacean stranding, the prescribed response begins by checking whether the animal is alive or dead while maintaining a safe distance.
- If the animal is alive, expert help must be summoned at once, and any marine mammal stranding response team in the area must be informed immediately.
- When no local marine mammal stranding team is available, the following agencies may be called upon:
- Department of Agriculture (BFAR);
- Department of Environment and Natural Resources (MENRO, CENRO, PAWB);
- Provincial Fisheries Office;
- Provincial Veterinarian’s Office;
- Local Government Units;
- WWF-Philippines;
- Marine Mammal Stranding Response Team;
- Palawan Marine Mammal Rescue Society (PMMRS);
- Malampaya Sound Ecological Studies Project (MSESP);
- Bohol Rescue Unit for Marine Mammals (BRUMM);
- Batangas Bantay-Dagat;
- Mindanao Marine Wildlife Watch (MMWW);
- Negros Oriental Marine Mammal Rescue Task Force (NOMMRTF);
- Cagayan Marine Mammal Stranding Rescue Team;
- Roxas Marine Mammal Rescue & Conservation Group.
- While waiting for help, onlookers must be kept at a distance and noise minimized.
- The procedure prohibits standing close to the tail or head of the cetacean and requires refraining from pushing or pulling any parts of its body.
- The cetacean must be kept dorsal side up; if on its side, a hollow area can be dug in the sand so it can be righted.
- The response must keep the cetacean—especially its flippers and flukes—cool and its skin moist.
- If the cetacean is small enough, a sling fashioned from tarpaulin or heavy canvas may be used to move the cetacean to shallow water.
- A shelter may be created over the cetacean to provide shade, and cloth soaked at regular intervals may be draped over the cetacean.
- The blowhole must never be covered, and no sand or water must enter the blowhole.
- If the cetacean is dead, the response must collect data including:
- Date and location of the stranding;
- Number of cetaceans stranded;
- Species involved, including measurements of length and girth and color of skin, teeth or baleen, and unusual features;
- Any obvious reasons for the stranding (wounds, entrapments in a net, etc.).
- Photographs must be obtained when helpful, including a full lateral view and dorsal and underside views when manageable, and a head photograph with the mouth open showing teeth or baleen when possible.
- Data and photographs may be forwarded to the marine mammal stranding response team in the area or to WWF-Philippines.
- No part of the cetacean may be taken as a souvenir.
- After enough information is collected, local authorities must be contacted and informed to facilitate disposal of the cetacean’s remains.
Scientific research clearance and tourism encouragement
- For scientific research, clearance must be secured from DA-BFAR pursuant to Republic Act No. 9147.
Passenger safety and conveyance accreditation
- The DOT must encourage tourists to patronize only vessels, aircraft, or similar conveyances duly registered/licensed by government regulatory agencies such as the ATO, MARINA, or the Philippine Coast Guard.
- The DOT must particularly encourage patronage of conveyances accredited by DOT.
Monitoring and local enforcement adoption
- The local government unit concerned, in coordination with DA-BFAR, whale watching associations, and other concerned enforcement agencies, is primarily responsible for monitoring enforcement.
- The monitoring is intended to ensure strict observance of the guidelines.
- Concerned LGUs with cetacean interaction industry must utilize the joint order to adopt local policies integrating sanctions for violations, to institutionalize and standardize the local cetacean interaction industry.
Supplementary force and effectivity
- The guidelines govern conduct of people interaction with cetaceans and operate as suppletory to all existing laws and Presidential issuances relating to the protection of cetaceans.
- The guidelines take effect after fifteen (15) days upon submission of three (3) certified copies to the UP Law Center pursuant to Section 4, Chapter 2, Book VII of Executive Order No. 292, s. 1987.