PROVINCETOWN – According to the organization Whale and Dolphin Conservation, their 2016 Whale SENSE program helped both whale watches and the creatures they follow.
The group aims to provide whale watches with best practice guidelines to prevent injuries to the creatures.
These guidelines were followed by the highest number of participating companies from Maine to Provincetown: 16 in total this year.
These operations kept those who observed entangled whales close to the scene until disentanglement crews could assist, which is crucial to crews locating the animals.
It also benefitted whale watches, since more whales were freed and swimming.
The most large whale entanglements were documented by these participants, too, at 13.
The program was established in 2009 with assistance from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.