At Whale Swim Safaris, the environment isn’t just where we operate — it’s the reason our business exists.
We are privileged to operate in the waters of the Great Sandy Marine Park and alongside the humpback whales that visit Hervey Bay each year. We are committed to operating responsibly, minimising our environmental footprint and helping our guests develop a greater understanding and appreciation of the marine environment.
Low-Impact Whale Encounters
Our whale swim experiences are designed around the whales, not the other way around.
We do not chase whales or force interactions. For an in-water encounter, our vessel is positioned appropriately and the engines are switched off. Guests enter the water using a controlled line system and wait for the whales to choose whether they want to approach.
A maximum of 10 guests may be in the water at one time, and we do not conduct swims with mothers and calves, injured, sick, entangled or distressed whales.
This approach allows us to provide incredible wildlife experiences while putting the welfare of the whales first.
Small Groups, Meaningful Experiences
We deliberately operate small-group tours.
Keeping our groups small reduces pressure on wildlife and allows our crew to spend more time educating guests about humpback whale behaviour, migration, conservation and the unique importance of Hervey Bay.
We believe that seeing a whale in its natural environment can create a much stronger connection with the ocean — and that connection can inspire people to care about protecting it.
Supporting Whale Research Through Citizen Science
We encourage our guests to contribute to humpback whale research after their safari.
The underside of every humpback whale’s tail fluke has a unique pattern that can be used to identify individual whales. Guests who capture a clear photograph of a whale’s fluke can upload their images to Happywhale, a global citizen-science platform that uses photographic identification to track individual whales.
These contributions can help researchers understand whale movements, migration and population trends.
We love the idea that a photograph taken during a day with us can become part of a much bigger international research effort.
Reducing Paper & Waste
Where practical, we operate digitally rather than using printed paperwork. Booking confirmations, guest information, waivers, manifests and other forms are completed or stored electronically, reducing unnecessary printing, paper consumption and waste.
We also choose not to provide single-use plastic water bottles on our tours. Instead, we encourage guests to bring their own refillable water bottle and stay hydrated without creating unnecessary plastic waste.
All rubbish generated during our tours is retained onboard and disposed of appropriately onshore.
Reducing Our Operational Footprint
Operating powered vessels means our tours inevitably consume fuel and produce greenhouse gas emissions. We believe it is important to acknowledge this rather than claim that our tours have no environmental footprint.
We continue to look for practical ways to operate more efficiently, including careful trip planning, maintaining our vessels and engines, monitoring fuel use and avoiding unnecessary vessel movements.
By operating scheduled small-group safaris and coordinating our operations carefully, our aim is to provide high-quality wildlife experiences while keeping our resource use as efficient as practical.
Protecting the Place We Operate
Our responsibility extends beyond the whales themselves.
We operate within an extraordinary marine environment and expect our crew and guests to respect wildlife, marine habitats and the surrounding environment. Wildlife is observed without feeding, touching or deliberately disturbing animals, and nothing is intentionally left behind.
Our tours also provide an opportunity to talk about the threats facing whales and marine ecosystems and the actions individuals can take to help protect them.
Supporting Our Local Community
We believe sustainable tourism should contribute to and support the community in which it operates.
Whale Swim Safaris proudly sponsors our local Marine Rescue as a way of thanking their volunteers for the important work they do to help keep our local waterways and boating community safe.
Where practical, we also support local businesses, suppliers and tourism operators, helping ensure that the benefits of tourism remain within the Hervey Bay community.
Always Improving
Sustainability is an ongoing process rather than a box to tick.
We will continue reviewing our fuel and resource use, operating practices, guest education and opportunities to contribute to conservation and citizen science.
Our goal is simple: to create unforgettable encounters with humpback whales while ensuring our presence has as little impact as possible, and that our guests leave with an even greater reason to care about the ocean.