'whale-chasing' craze:- Authorities in Mauritius are cracking down on "whale-chasers" -- influencers from China and Taiwan who go on whale-watching cruises and swim with cetaceans in quest of iconic photos for their social media accounts.

The Indian Ocean island nation is home to an internationally important whale habitat, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, or IUCN. Humpback whales come to breed there from June to October each year, and it is also an important habitat for sperm whales.

In recent months, China's Xiaohongshu social media platform has been packed with spectacular photos of people, some dressed in mermaid costumes, diving or swimming with whales, who sometimes have calves in tow.

"I got face-to-face with a sperm whale!" reads one recent Xiaohongshu post, while another offers a list of gear needed for followers planning to "go whale-chasing in Mauritius." 

Others mention whale-chasing in Tonga, in the Pacific, another popular location.

The craze had gotten to the point where it was disturbing whales around breeding time, so Mauritius has recently moved to implement curbs on tourist activity in cetacean habitats, according to Cindy Koon, secretary general of Taiwan Chamber of Commerce in Mauritius.

Warning

The Mauritius Tourism Authority recently warned boat skippers: "It is an offense to allow persons under their responsibility onboard their craft to swim, dive or snorkel with whales while conducting the activity Dolphin and Whale Watching."

Boat captains who fail to comply with laws governing the activity could lose their pleasure craft license and their skipper's license, the authority warned in a July 4 statement on its website.

Yet the whale-chasing craze continues, largely driven by social media accounts from China and democratic Taiwan, said Koon, whose father is Mauritian and mother Taiwanese.

“This has gotten chaotic too quickly, and government enforcement hasn't been able to keep up, so the chaos has gotten worse,” she said, adding that while divers from around the world come to Mauritius for whale-viewing, the sheer weight of demand from East Asia has driven tour operators beyond legal and ethical limits in search of a profit.

Whale-viewing tours in Mauritius are expected to remain at least 100 meters (yards) from whales at all times. 

But recent media reports have shown whales surrounded by boats full of tourists with cameras, and some people jumping into the water to get photos of them swimming with the whales, or even touching them, she said.

The Mauritian government banned swimming with whales at the end of October 2023, enacting a new law that carries bigger fines and a maximum sentence of two years' imprisonment for anyone caught doing it.

‘You can see them at the airport’

Since Aug. 1, signs have been on display at airports reminding tourists of the ban, with warnings also due to be promoted to passengers taking Air Mauritius flights.

Yet the would-be whale-swimmers keep coming, according to Koon.

"You can see them coming in at the airport -- you can tell the Chinese [and Taiwanese] are going to swim with sperm whales just by looking at the equipment they're carrying," Koon said, who has also spoken with some of the whale tourists.

"If you ask them, they will tell you that they plan to go swim with the whales," she said.

Meanwhile, in the Pacific Ocean, the Tonga Tourism Authority advertises whale-swimming tours on the front page of its official website, although restrictions do apply, according to promotional material posted by tour operators.

"Our Regulations allow us 4 swimmers in the water with our certified guide," the operator Endangered Encounters says on its advertisement on the Authority website, adding that whether or not people are allowed to swim with whales is entirely at the captain's discretion. However, it adds: "We prefer our guests to have EVERY opportunity to swim if possible."

Yu Hsin-yee, research manager at Taiwan's marine education non-profit Kuroshio Marine Education Foundation, said Australian research in Tonga had found that if a swimmer jumps into the water less than 50 meters (yards) from a whale, splashing water and kicking with flippers, the mother whale will sometimes react by leaving. When the distance is more than 100 meters (yards), there is much less of a reaction from the mother and calf.

Yu said operators had taken cues from the whales themselves when she visited Tonga in 2016. 

"A dive guide told me that a tourist in a previous group wanted to dive down to get close to a baby whale, but ... he stopped him from disturbing the cetaceans," Yu said.

She said the boat captain and the dive guide would first observe the whales before deciding whether or not to allow tourists to dive near them.

She was impressed that the boatman and the dive guide also left the decision of interaction to the whales. 

"Once they spotted signs of humpback whales, they would observe the animals first, to assess whether swimming with them would be appropriate," Yu said.

Mother and calf

Taiwanese whale and dolphin photographer Ray Chin told Radio Free Asia in a recent interview that 70-80% of humpback pods encountered by tourist boats include mothers and calves, in his experience.

Chin said he has followed whales for long periods in Tonga, in the hope of being allowed closer to a mother and calf, but was eventually warned off after the boat captain decided against further contact, as the whales were being somewhat evasive.

"The boat captains wouldn't do illegal things if people didn't put pressure on them to see or photograph specific things, or to dive next to the whales," he said. 

"Consumers should have their own awareness of conservation, and recognize that whales and dolphins are wild animals, not just objects to pose next to for selfies," he said.

Whale numbers

Whale numbers are gradually increasing around the world, yet declining in the waters around Mauritius, according to the Mauritius Marine Conservation Organization, which believes the downturn could be due to human activity.

And while there are an estimated 4,000 humpback whales around Oceania, putting the species in the category "of least concern" on the IUCN's Red List, those around Tonga are in greater danger, Yu said.

Chin cites the Caribbean island of Dominica as an example of sustainable whale-watching, with permits required for every trip, and boat operators helping out with local research projects on what is now the world's first sperm whale marine reserve.

Argentina's approach is also worth a look, with tourists in the marine world heritage site there accompanied by guides who have the final say in whether tourists are allowed in the water, based on the behavior of the whales, he said.

And authorities in Western Australia have limited whale-watching numbers after observing the impact of having more than one licensee on local bottlenose dolphins, Yu said.RFA/SP