India Whale and dolphin watching country profile

In India, the dolphin-watching industry currently focuses on two species: humpback dolphins, and Irrawaddy dolphins. There are also small scale tour operators offering opportunities to view Ganges River dolphins.  Dolphin watching, where it occurs, tends to be fairly organic and home grown – with fishermen opportunistically adapting their vessels to take tourists out to see the dolphins.

Target species, peak times of year and locations:

Humpback dolphin watching takes place in several locations along the west coast of India, as well as to a limited extent along the Vishakpatnam coast on the east coast and in the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve in West Bengal coast.  Irrawaddy dolphin watching is limited to Chilika lagoon, in the State of Odisha, where Irrawaddy dolphins are the focus of a dolphin watching industry involving over 900 vessels inside the lagoon. The table below gives an overview of the locations where dolphin watching occurs in India. Note that the dolphins are generally present year-round, but that dolphin watching does not take place during the monsoon months between June and September each year.  Endangered Arabian Sea humpback whales¹ are also present off the west coast of India, and their song has been detected by divers and researchers off the coasts of Maharashta and Goa^2,3.  However, their distribution and (seasonal) presence is not yet well enough understood to become the focus of regular whale watching operations.   Similarly, Bryde’s and blue whales are known to occur off of India’s coastlines, but are not the focus of any tourism operations.

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Regulations and guidelines

India has enacted strong legislations for conservation of biodiversity.  Some of the important legislation includes the Wildlife Protection Act of India 1972 aimed at protection of the wild life and their habitats and provides for creation of National Parks, Sanctuaries, Conservation Reserves and Community Reserves. The Environment (Protection) Act of 1986 and the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 provide further regulations for protection and preservation of India’s environment and biological resources.

The government of India has listed all Cetaceans in Schedule-I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, thereby according them the highest degree of protection against hunting and trade. Ganges River dolphins (Platanista gangetica), have been designated ‘India’s  National Aquatic Animal’  and has been identified as one of the 17 species under the ‘Recovery of Critically Endangered Species’, as have Arabian Sea humpback whales.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has adopted a National Wildlife Action Plan. The third National Wildlife Action Plan (2017-2031) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, aims toward a concerted approach for protection, conservation and management of wildlife throughout the country. It is divided into 17 chapters that also include action themes, such as: Climate Change and wildlife; Inland aquatic & Coastal and Marine conservation; etc. Under the aegis of these legislations and plans, India has established a network of more than 700 Protected Areas representing all of India’s 10 bio-geographic regions, including Marine Protected Areas.  At the time of writing, a proposal is under evaluation for the declaration of the area of Irrawaddy dolphin habitat in Chilika lagoon as a ‘Biodiversity Heritage Site’ under the provisions of the Biological diversity Act. The Chilika Development Authority have also issued a set of guidelines both for the boat operators as well as the tourists for safe dolphin watching.

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Research on dolphin watching in India

Studies conducted in the Chilika Lagoon highlight the potential for the dolphin watching industry to have an impact on the population of Irrawaddy dolphins that are the focus of tourism there ^4-6. A recognized and immediate focus for this area is to develop a responsible dolphin watching protocol, enforcement of these protocols and fixing the carrying capacity of the number of tourist boats operating in the area. Studies have also considered the safety and sustainability of the humpback dolphin watching industry in Goa where a number of potentially disruptive behaviours were observed by tour boats ^7,8. 

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