An ethical – and safe – place to swim with whales

An ethical – and safe – place to swim with whales Tahiti Tourisme French Polynesia has set the benchmark for ethical whale-swim tourism The Islands of Tahiti have long practiced the ancient conservation custom of rāhui to help preserve their maritime spaces and species, including a seasonal refuge for humpback whales. Tonga, Australia and the Dominican Republic also permit "free swimming" encounters with different species of migratory whales, and corresponding state and federal governing bodies manage how activities are conducted, but French Polynesia has developed some of the strictest regulations to protect its whale populations during tours. Tahiti Tourisme Moorea is a prime destination for swimming with whales Adopted by the Islands of Tahiti as part of its sustainable ecotourism practices, including responsible wildlife encounters, a modern interpretation of rāhui was applied on a major scale in 1996 when French Polynesia banned industrial fishing within its Exclusive Economic Zone – a 1.9-million-sq-mile expanse of territory waters equivalent to the landmass of the European Union – with line fishing reserved solely for the Polynesian fishing fleet. "Our photographic, acoustic and genetic databases have tracked the same whales for more than three decades on journeys from French Polynesia to Antarctica and other breeding areas in the South Pacific," he says.