Tonga whale swims still allowed, but touching and diving with humpbacks banned

Tourists visiting Tonga to swim with humpback whales are breaking the rules that make the activity legal, with videos on social media showing people touching and diving with the animals. Tonga's Ministry of Tourism in Vava'u has confirmed that multiple operators have been warned over breaches of the regulations.

Key facts

• Swimming with humpback whales is allowed in Tonga; touching and diving with them are not.
• The whale-swimming industry draws about 20,000 tourists to the kingdom each year and generates about $12 million in annual revenue.
• About 2,000 humpback whales visit Tonga's waters each year, mainly around the Vava'u Islands.
• The latest list shows 25 licensed operators in Vava'u alone, most of them foreign-owned.
• One operator, the Elim Hotel, had its licence suspended for six weeks and its fleet cut to one boat.

What are the rules for swimming with whales?

Tonga is one of the few places in the world where swimming with whales is permitted. The rules around whale watching include a ban on touching or diving with the mammals. Restrictions date back to 2006, when the Tongan government capped licences at 13. By 2020 that number had risen to 20, and the latest list shows 25 licensed operators in Vava'u alone, most of them foreign-owned.

Who is breaking the rules?

Videos posted on social media appear to show foreign-owned whale-watching firms allowing tourists to touch and dive with the animals. One video promoting free-diving tours advertised 12 trips for this year alone.

Local skipper Vili Vaipulu, who owns and operates his own whale-watching business, said such advertising created confusion for tourists and made it harder for local skippers working for foreign operators to enforce the rules. He said customers sometimes arrive expecting to be able to dive and then lose money when told otherwise.

Vaipulu said breaches also happened out of the water: he had witnessed one foreign operator overload its vessel to fit more people on board, and others operating on Sundays, which the Tongan constitution forbids for any trade, profession or commercial undertaking.

What have the authorities done?

Lemoto Faka'osi, director of the Ministry of Tourism Vava'u, said multiple operators had been warned about breaching regulations. Among them was the Elim Hotel, whose licence was suspended for six weeks and fleet reduced to one boat after guests posted online footage of themselves diving with whales.

Elim's manager, Lepolo Foliaki, said her guests were responsible, saying plainly that "they broke the rules". She said the lesson was that advertising must be truthful and clearly state that diving underwater is prohibited.

Why does it matter?

An Auckland University of Technology study found that mother whales can spend up to three times longer underwater when tourists are swimming with them. Lorenzo Fiori, who conducted the research in 2019, found low levels of compliance with Tongan regulations, with whale resting time between interactions with boats and swimmers often disregarded.

Karen Stone, environmental protection director at the Vava'u Environmental Protection Association, said swimming with whales could disrupt behaviour critical to the sustainability of the population. Vaipulu, who has run tours for 20 years, said growing numbers of boats and swimmers were crowding whales and calves, and that whales used to swim closer to the harbour and islands.

What is happening with licences?

A group of locally based operators has challenged the Tongan government in court over the licences. Alistair Coldrick argues the government has not followed its own regulations, which say licences should be issued in the interest of conservation and protection of the whales. Questions put to the Tongan government have not yet received a response.

What this means for travellers

Anyone booking a whale-swimming trip in Tonga should check in advance what the operator promises, since diving with and touching whales is prohibited and some advertised free-diving trips conflict with the rules. Tourists should also expect skippers to refuse dives, whatever the tour listing said.