Top tips for paddling near whales, dolphins and porpoises

Kirstie Macmillan is a passionate sea kayaker with 15 years of experience. Below, she writes about her passion for marine animals and why paddlers need to be responsible when near them. Photos: Kirstie MacMillan

Cetaceans are a group of marine mammals including whales, dolphins and porpoises. They all give birth to live young and breathe air. While sea kayaking around the UK, I’ve seen many species of cetacean and have developed a huge interest in identifying, reporting and protecting sea mammals.

With an increasing number of people taking up paddlesports and heading out onto the sea, it’s important to remember that we are sharing the water with some of the world’s largest and most intelligent creatures.

Dolphins
There are many species of dolphin around the UK, but our most gregarious is the bottlenose dolphin. At 3.5m and 450kg, they are powerful apex predators, despite their smiling faces. They are highly sociable and often breach high out of the water.

It is a criminal offence to disturb cetaceans willfully. If you see them, stay still or paddle parallel to them without any sudden changes in direction.

Let them choose to come to you, or not. Don’t seek to interact with them as human dependence can result in social separation from their pod, increase the risk of fatal injuries from boat strikes, and there is a risk of being injured yourself.

A hundred metres is a safe distance, and if they do choose to come closer, limit your time with them to 15 minutes. Dolphins may be protecting their calves, feeding or sleeping with half of their brain (essential so they don’t drown). They don’t want their dinner or nap disrupted! Your actions should not interrupt their behaviour.

I’ve seen bottlenose dolphins many times from my kayak; sometimes, they are totally uninterested and go on their way. Other times, they’ve breached, spy hopped, and approached to inspect the boats. They are the masters of their environment, and it feels very humbling, if slightly intimidating, when they get closer!

Whales
Around the UK’s coast, our ‘smallest’ whale can grow up to 10m in length and live for around 50 years. The Minke whale is sleek, speedy and also very stinky!

On a recent sea kayaking expedition, nearing the point of Ardnamurchan (a peninsula in the Scottish Highlands), a large flock of gannets and shearwaters was enjoying a bait ball of fish beneath the surface. Among the barrage of birds, a fin and back appeared, rolling smoothly and then disappearing.

Watching for a while longer, we realised that two minke whales had joined the feeding frenzy! We kept our distance and allowed them to enjoy their feast before they drifted off towards the Small Isles.

The UK is also home to humpback and fin whales, both of which are enormous and need to fulfil their equally gargantuan appetites! I can recommend the book How to Speak Whale by Tom Mustill, who was, unfortunately, landed on by a breaching whale whilst kayaking!

Like the dolphins, it’s best practice to give whales space, especially if they are feeding. However, I have experienced a heart-stopping moment when a young minke whale surfaced next to me near the Farne Islands!

They are curious and intelligent creatures with complex language and culture. Maybe one day, we will even be able to communicate with them.

Porpoises
A hugely overlooked and undervalued cetacean, the harbour porpoise is shy and difficult to spot. Despite being rather unexciting in their behaviour, they are somewhat cute and energetic. Some of the best porpoise sightings I’ve had are from a kayak, occasionally hearing their snorting breaths before finding their tiny triangular fins among the swell.

They are just 1.5m in length and spend much of their time feeding and avoiding bullying grey seals and bottlenose dolphins!

Off the Isle of Canna, a pod of porpoises came close to our kayaks. We sat still, kept quiet and respectfully watched them forage around the edge of the tidal flow.Harbour

porpoises also seem to enjoy tide races. From Point Lynas, on Anglesey, while searching for Rissos dolphins, I’ve seen porpoises dash around in five knots of tide while sea kayakers negotiated the race! The paddlers said they thought something was there, but little did they know that they were totally outnumbered by cetaceans, with some common dolphins also joining in the fun among the waves!

Magical encounters
Encountering cetaceans on our paddles can be a magical experience, but please remember to give them space and choice. They are not there for our pleasure or to please us. They are wild and free as they should be, and it is a huge privilege to get sightings of cetaceans while we paddle around the UK.

If you’re lucky enough to spot cetaceans, you can report them to national citizen science projects, including Seawatch UK and the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust, or find a local citizen science group through social media.

With warming waters and changes in fisheries, there are also some non-cetacean fins to watch for, including bluefin tuna, basking sharks and ocean sunfish! Share the water with our marine creatures respectfully and keep watching out for those fins in the waves!

The Paddlers’ Code has some useful information when it comes to engaging with wildlife, and protecting environments at https://paddlerscode.info