Ethical whale watching in Tromsø

What are Norway's whale watching rules?

A 2019 regulation bans whale safari that disturbs whales and keeps whale boats at least 0.2 nautical miles, about 370 m, from fishing vessels and set gear.

The regulation on whale safari (Forskrift om utøvelse av hvalsafari) was adopted on 5 December 2019 by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries, after several episodes of irresponsible behaviour by whale watchers (IWC handbook). It is short:

Most of the detail is about fishing, because whale boats and the herring fleet work the same water and the whales feed around the nets. Guests notice when boats ignore it. One wrote of a January 2026 day at Skjervøy: "Several of the other boats got very close to a fishing boat in order to get a closer view of a humpback whale which is against the rules." The law says nothing about speeds or distances to the whales themselves. The guidelines do.

What do the whale watching guidelines say?

Under 5 knots within 300 m, approach from the side and slightly behind, three boats at most on one group, and leave resting or stressed whales alone.

Three sets of guidelines have been written in northern Norway: Ocean Sounds, Visit Tromsø and NorWhale. In November 2021 the municipality where most winter whale watching happens asked every operator to follow the Visit Tromsø version (IWC). Its main points:

These are voluntary. Visit Tromsø calls them best practice and says they may be improved over time. In practice they are the standard good operators quote in their briefings, and the one to measure a skipper by.

Why is snorkelling with orcas discouraged?

Feeding whales can hit people in the water, the winter sea is dangerous, and in-water trips crowd the whales and other boats.

Visit Tromsø discourages all in-water activity with whales, and Ocean Sounds does the same. NorWhale regulates snorkelling with orcas in winter and discourages diving and swimming. The reasons Visit Tromsø gives:

• Collisions. Orcas and humpbacks feeding on the same herring move fast and may not notice a person; "Persons in the water during these events are at risk of collision with fast-moving whales."
• Feeding. People in the water cut into the whales' foraging, which is the reason they are in the fjords at all.
• The sea. Cold water, poor visibility and fast-changing weather.
• Traffic. Boats placing swimmers in the whales' path disturb the animals and block other boats; only one boat should work a group with people in the water, against three for watching from deck.

The 2019 regulation also keeps swimmers twice as far from fishing boats and nets as whale boats. We think the case is clear, and none of the tours on this site put guests in the water.

How can you tell a careful operator from a careless one?

Watch what the boat does near the whales: a slow approach, neutral when they come close, no chasing, and leaving a resting group alone.

You can see most of the guidelines from the deck. A quick checklist:

Guests who got it right say so. On MS Alba: "when the animals were resting (you could see that from their behavior), we left them alone and sailed back." On the Skjervøy RIB day, the skipper "would not approach the whales if he felt there was too many boats around them and said he didn't want to create stress on the whales." On the heated boat: "the captain is really respectful of distance and engine use."

Before you book, read a few recent reviews for words like distance, respect and chasing, and check whether the listing mentions the guidelines. MS Alba sells itself as a responsible cruise with a wildlife guide; Skua Nature's heated boat says it follows ethical guidelines. Those are claims, but specific ones.

Are big boats or RIBs better for the whales?

Neither by default. Fewer, fuller boats mean less traffic, and a quiet engine and a careful skipper matter more than the hull.

The guidelines themselves favour big boats on one point: fill them and use larger vessels, so fewer boats crowd each group. A catamaran with 100 guests puts one hull near the whales; the same 100 guests in RIBs would put eight or nine. Noise is the other point. Brim Explorer's hybrid boats switch to electric drive near the whales, and the silent whale watching listing describes it as a way to reduce "noise and disturbance for you and the whales".

RIBs are not careless by nature. Reviews of the Skjervøy RIB day keep mentioning a skipper who showed guests the whales "without chasing them". One guest on a covered boat saw it differently that day: "the rib boats get much closer to the whales but that was visibly stressing them out". The skipper matters more than the boat type, which is why reviews are worth reading. Our guide to RIB or catamaran weighs up the rest.

The quietest approach on offer: Brim Explorer's hybrid boats switch to electric drive near the whales, with three outdoor decks for watching.

★ 4.5 · 7 to 9 hours · from $213

Check dates → Tour details

What can you do as a guest?

Pick an operator that follows the guidelines, keep noise down near the whales, leave the drone at home, and share your orca photos with researchers.

• Choose the operator, not just the price. Look for the guidelines in the listing and for words like distance and respect in recent reviews.
• Don't push for closer. The whales often come to the boat on their own. Asking the skipper to chase them is asking for a breach of the guidelines.
• Keep it quiet on deck when the boat is idle near the whales.
• No drones. The catamaran and the Skjervøy RIB both ban them on board.
• Share your photos. The guidelines ask operators to help researchers and guests to share observations. The Norwegian Orca Survey collects public photos of orcas to identify individuals and follow their movements over time.
• Be wary of guarantees. A 95% or 99% sighting rate is an operator's claim, and a boat chasing a number has a reason to crowd the whales.

Timing helps too. Mid-season, when the whales are settled and spread out, boats have more room. Our season guide explains when that is.

Frequently asked questions