In an unprecedented species management plan, the state of Baja California Sur has issued a decree legalizing and regulating the increasingly popular activity of swimming with orcas.<\/p>\n
The regulations specifically target the community of La Ventana on the southeastern, or Gulf of California, side of the peninsula where the overwhelming majority of the boats offering orca-tracking services operate.<\/p>\n
\nSwimming alongside orcas at La Ventana Beach, Mexico pic.twitter.com\/PS4x2XJgv2<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 ViralRush \u26a1 (@tweetciiiim) June 24, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The protocol \u2014 published by the state Environment Ministry (SMADS) \u2014 requires that tourism boats interacting with the animals acquire permits and limits the number of boats that can surround an individual or family of orcas on any given day.<\/p>\n
The Model Management Plan<\/a> for the Conservation and Non-Extractive Use of Orcinus orca aims to ensure that tourists are allowed to swim with orcas only in La Ventana.<\/p>\n
Georgina Saad, a marine biologist who studied at the Autonomous University of Baja California Sur, called the site limit the most important part of the pilot program.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can send the message that this is the only place to do it, and this is how it is going to be done, and the rest is illegal,\u201d she told the newspaper The Guardian.<\/p>\n
Saad and Erick Higuera, a marine biologist and documentary filmmaker based in Baja California Sur, were among the scientists advising the SMADS as it sought to address the legal gray area<\/a> being exploited by tourism providers.<\/p>\n
The activity, which reportedly took off after several Instagram posts went viral in 2019, fell between strict whale-watching regulations \u2014 which apply specifically to baleen whales and the sperm whale \u2014 and the orcas\u2019 status as a species \u201cSubject to Special Protection.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
So while the \u201cSpecial Protection\u201d norm provides guidelines for conservation and management, it does not regulate swimming or other direct interactions with orcas, which are actually not whales but members of the oceanic dolphin family (Delphinidae).<\/p>\n
The plan goes beyond establishing a quota on the number of people and boats that can interact with the orcas. It also requires boat captains to respect the animals\u2019 behavior \u2014 if they exhibit distress, the boats must retreat.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The revenues from the boat permits will fund training for captains and local residents as well as pay for patrol boats to enforce the decree.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe goal is to teach captains and guides how to read the whales\u2019 behavior so they know when to interact with the animals, how to do so safely, and when to give the orcas space,\u201d Saad told The Guardian.<\/p>\n
Not everyone is happy with the SMADS decision. Local boat captains have expressed concern that the permits will go to established tour companies in Cabo San Lucas and La Paz.<\/p>\n
Some tour company operators complained that they were not involved in crafting the plan. Others wondered why the program is limited to La Ventana when orcas roam around the entire peninsula.<\/p>\n
With reports from The Guardian<\/a> and El Sudcaliforniano<\/a><\/p>\n