Boats, behave! A review of the Marine Code of Conduct

Sea Watch seeks to educate and inform the public about various aspects of marine mammal conservation in the UK. Read on for an explanation of one of these topics, the Marine Code of Conduct.

 

Because of the magnificent wildlife that is found within the UK waters, an increasing number of wildlife boat tours are being offered and the public is taking advantage of these opportunities. This may not seem like a big problem, for why shouldn’t we go and watch the wildlife that is on our door step? However, boats can cause disturbances to marine mammals in addition to other threats they face, like water pollution and accidental capture in fishing nets.

Injures that are caused by boats can be fatal to marine mammals. Boats can cause trauma to marine mammals by accidentally bumping into them, causing head injuries, which can lead to internal bleeding. Any boat that is powered by a propeller can cause serious injuries to marine mammals by causing deep cuts that are unlikely to heal, like the one seen in the photo below.

Over the years there has been an increase in the number of marine mammal strandings on beaches in the UK and one of the main reasons for the strandings is trauma, usually caused by boats.

Noise from boats can also cause stress to the animals as well as disturb the frequencies that they use to carry out daily activities. Dolphins, porpoises, and whales use sound for locating and communicating with one other as well as for finding food and detecting predators. When the noise of a propeller blade interrupts this frequency then it can cause stress to the animals, especially pregnant mothers or those with young calves.

So, is there a way to stop harm or disturbance to marine mammals? Fortunately there is a Marine Code of Conduct in place, which is there to inform people about the safest and best way to watch or interact with marine wildlife and hopefully help minimise any disturbances.

Some of the rules included in the code are:

• If you sight dolphins at a distance, continue forward at a steady speed, slowing to 6 knots or less when they are within 1km
• Do not approach or steer directly towards dolphins; let them approach you
• If you see dolphins, do not make sudden changes in speed or course
• Do not attempt to touch, feed or swim with them
• Take extra care to avoid disturbing animals with young
• Avoid any unnecessary noise near the animals
• Do not stay longer than 15 minutes within 300m of the animals

For more information please see the Marine Code of Conduct page on our website. The code of conduct applies to all vessels including motorboats, yachts and even kayaks and canoes.

Signs like this help educate the public and boat operators about the code of conduct. 

If you go on a wildlife boat tour, you can look out for the WiSe Scheme sticker to make sure that your tour is sticking to the code. This means that the crew on the boat are aware of the code and have been given training in how best to interact with the marine wildlife.

There is no reason why boats and dolphins should not be able to co-exist if care is taken to observe the code of conduct.

By Abby (volunteer)