The water in front of Jay Beedle’s remote beachfront property often looks like a classroom poster of Southeast Alaska marine life: humpback whales bubblenet feed, sea lions chase salmon and orcas hunt in pods.
It’s a view Beedle cherishes, but one he says gets crowded. During the summer months, he’s seen as many as 20 whale watching boats hover around groups of humpback whales.
“We’re just incredibly lucky that these are tolerant whales,” Beedle said. He likened it to a kind of gold rush, which seems to him has gotten out of hand.
Humpback whale populations in Juneau have increased to historic numbers in recent years, with whale watching tour operators seemingly multiplying just as fast. Enforcement officers and researchers are still adapting to the new boon.
The North Pacific stock of humpbacks, which populates Juneau, has grown at an astonishing rate of 7 percent a year. Ninety-five percent of Juneau’s humpbacks are from a population segment which has been taken off the endangered species list, according to University of Alaska Southeast marine biologist Heidi Pearson.
In the capital city, whale watching has exploded to an estimated $35 million industry, a 2015 McDowell Group report shows. Approximately 60 tour boats will ply the waters near Juneau this year. The exact number is hard to pin down because some boats are multi-purpose, only pursuing whales when requested by clients.
About one-quarter of the city’s more than 1 million predicted cruise ship visitors will embark on some kind of whale watching activity, the McDowell Group study indicates.
Whale watching is an industry that has its detractors. Local fishermen and recreational boat owners have long complained that tour boats aren’t operating safely or respecting marine mammals’ space.
But tour companies, operators and NOAA law enforcement have been working together to regulate an industry which depends largely on self-regulation.
Don’t get too close
Federal guidelines do not allow boaters to come within 100 yards of humpback whales or to approach them from head on.
Enforcing these rules in Juneau is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association’s Robert Marvelle. During the cruise ship season, Marvelle and another NOAA officer patrol once or twice a week to make sure tour boats follow protective species law.
He said compliance from commercial operations has improved in his decade working in Juneau. He now receives more complaints about recreational boaters coming too close to marine mammals, he said.
Nobody wanted to talk to law enforcement when Marvelle first came to Juneau in 2007, he said. Now he works hand-in-hand with operators, attending meetings and “stomping the docks” to develop a repertoire with captains and naturalists.
“The compliance rate is actually very good in Juneau,” Marvelle said. He credits this to increased communication between tour operators and law enforcement.
“That whole perception of, ‘Oh, that’s the cops, we don’t want to talk to them’ has gone away. … It’s come completely full circle that they’re not afraid to talk to us.”
Serene Hutchison, owner of Juneau Whale Watch, agrees that things have gotten better lately. Her company, which operates five boats and will soon launch a sixth, was fined $12,000 in 2015, according to reports from Alaska Public Media.
She told APM at the time that the fines were an “eye-opening experience.”
One of her boats had violated the 100-yard rule, and off-duty employees had been seen paddleboarding near a humpback whale and her calf.
The year that Juneau Whale Watch was fined, the company joined a local working group in developing Whale SENSE, a voluntary program which further defines safe practices for boating around whales.
“Many of us companies are aware that we need to start policing ourselves because if we leave it up to others, most likely it wouldn’t be with our business and our success in mind,” Hutchison said in an interview.
Before whale watching exploded in Juneau six to eight years ago, Hutchison said operators were much more competitive, and would often prioritize business over best practices.
A different tour operator characterized the businesses pre-Whale SENSE years as “cutthroat.”
But with the industry growing the way it is — gaining a higher profile in the process — Hutchison said companies could no longer afford to continue business as usual.
“There was a lot of argument between companies. Mostly, overall it was a competitive nature on the water. Everyone wanted to be first in line to see the whales,” Hutchison said.
Three different tour operators agreed that industry care and compliance has improved since the whale watching has taken off in Juneau.
But not all stakeholders agree that these voluntary programs are enough.
Beedle is one of those people. Until a few years ago, he operated Harv and Marv’s Outback Alaska, a whale watching company he has since sold.
He says that monetary incentives, combined with a lack of enforcement resources, has pressured boat operators to bend the rules.
When Beedle ran Harv and Marv’s, he estimates he was Marvelle’s most frequent infraction reporter.
“Most people will not turn anyone in because they are afraid of retribution,” Beedle said. “I have seen many times people with film crews or rich guests on board say, ‘Screw you, I’m going closer,” in order to get a bigger tip. “And it’s pretty frustrating, because people go, ‘Well, they’re closer, why can’t I get closer?”
Beedle’s daughter has worked with him since she was 12 and recently started her own business, Jayleen’s Alaska, operating a single, six-person tour boat.
She said that she tries to avoid the crowds, but disagreed with her dad that boats are as careless as they’ve always been. Several other companies also said they avoid the crowds to pursue a more authentic experience.
“It seems to me that people are trying a lot harder now. … People are being more cooperative,” Bydlon said.
In addition to Whale SENSE, many companies participate in Tongass Best Management Practices. TBMP is a voluntary program aimed at providing a bridge between locals and tourism companies.
Are whales affected by boat boom?
Concerns over just what the increased attention to humpback whales may be doing has prompted research by University of Alaska’s Dr. Heidi Pearson. This summer, Pearson and a graduate student will use “theodolites” — similar to tripod-mounted surveyor’s equipment — to see how close whale watching boats are actually getting to whales.
She’s also looking at the potential benefit of whale watching. Tour-goers may be inspired to help protect the ocean, she said, after participating in a whale watch tour.
“We’re looking at short-term responses to whale watch vessels. But the other side of the study is benefits. Are there educational benefits that people receive by going on whale watch vessels? I think both of those are really important to look at,” Pearson said.
Pearson said current research, conducted around the world but never in Juneau, has shown mixed results on the effects of whale watching on marine mammals.
“It’s really a mixed bag in terms of what people have found,” Pearson said. “Some studies have found no effect, some studies have found short-term effects such as interfering with foraging or resting or traveling. Some studies have indicated there could be some long-term effects in terms of perhaps stress, perhaps animals abandoning an area due to high whale watch pressure. Those long term effects are really hard to nail down.”
When it comes to how many whale watching boats is too many, Kirby Day, a local resident responsible for putting together TBMP put it this way.
“People always say how much is too much?” he asks.
His answer: “When you can no longer control the impacts and manage the impacts to a degree that’s acceptable to people, then that’s when you have to take a step back.”
• Contact reporter Kevin Gullufsen at 523-2228 or at kevin.gullufsen@juneauempire.com.
