Frequent Questions: Feeding or Harassing Marine Mammals in the Wild

Why is it illegal to feed, attempt to feed, or harass marine mammals in the wild?

Marine Mammal Protection Act regulations prohibit feeding, attempting to feed, and harassing marine mammals in the wild. These activities are illegal because they harm the animals in the following ways:

• Marine mammals associate people with food, losing their natural wariness of humans or boats and becoming conditioned to receiving handouts.

• Marine mammals change their natural behaviors, including feeding and migration activities, and show decreased willingness to forage for food on their own. They may also begin to take bait/catch from fishing gear. These changed behaviors may be passed on to their young and other members of their social groups, increasing their risk of injury from boats, entanglement in fishing gear, and intentional harm by people frustrated with the behavioral changes.

• Marine mammals may eat contaminated (old or spoiled) food or non-food items. Feeding marine mammals inappropriate food, non-food items, or contaminated food jeopardizes their health.

• Marine mammals sometimes become aggressive when seeking food and are known to bite or injure people when teased or expecting food.

Marine mammals include dolphins, porpoises, whales, seals, sea lions, and manatees.

How does the MMPA define "harassment"?

The MMPA lists two levels of harassment:

Level A harassment means any act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance that has the potential to injure a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild.

Level B harassment refers to acts that have the potential to disturb (but not injure) a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild by disrupting behavioral patterns, including, but not limited to, migration, breathing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or sheltering.

Does NOAA Fisheries have a policy about interacting with marine mammals in the wild?

NOAA Fisheries has a policy on human interactions with wild marine mammals that states:

• Interacting with wild marine mammals should not be attempted, and viewing marine mammals must be conducted in a manner that does not harass the animals.

• NOAA Fisheries does not support, condone, approve, or authorize activities that involve closely approaching, interacting, or attempting to interact with whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals, or sea lions in the wild. This includes attempting to swim with, pet, touch, or elicit a reaction from the animals.

Learn more about viewing marine mammals and other marine life

How can people responsibly view marine mammals in the wild?

NOAA Fisheries supports responsible viewing of marine mammals in the wild. Each of our five regional offices have developed viewing guidelines or regulations tailored to the specific needs of the species in their area to help people responsibly view the animals and avoid harassment. In general, the guidelines recommend the following:

• Observe wild dolphins, porpoises, and seals from a safe distance of at least 50 yards (150 feet) by land or sea.

• Observe large whales from a safe distance of at least 100 yards (300 feet) by land or sea.

• Observe whales, dolphins, porpoises, and seals from a safe distance of at least 333 yards (1,000 feet) by air.

• Use binoculars or telephoto lenses for a better view of the animals.

• Limit overall viewing time to no more than 30 minutes.

• Avoid circling or entrapping marine mammals between watercraft or between watercraft and shore.

• Avoid abrupt movements or loud noises around marine mammals.

• Avoid separating mother/calf pairs.

• Move away cautiously if you observe behaviors that indicate the animal is stressed.

• Avoid touching or swimming with wild marine mammals, even if they approach you.

In addition to these recommended guidelines, federal regulations strictly prohibit closely approaching certain species of marine mammals and feeding or attempting to feed any species of marine mammal:

• It is illegal to feed or attempt to feed any species of marine mammal.

• It is illegal to approach humpback whales in Hawaii and Alaska within 100 yards (300 feet) by land or sea.

• It is illegal to approach humpback whales in Hawaii within 333 yards (1,000 feet) by air.

• It is illegal to approach killer whales in inland waters of Washington State within 200 yards (600 feet) by land or sea.

• It is illegal to approach North Atlantic right whales within 500 yards (1,500 feet) by land, sea, or air.

To learn more, visit our Viewing Guidelines and Distances page, as well as 50 CFR 216.3 and 50 CFR 224.103.

How does NOAA Fisheries educate the public about the MMPA feeding and harassment regulations?

NOAA Fisheries works cooperatively with many partners, including other federal and state wildlife officials, to develop clear and consistent outreach messages educating the public that it is illegal to feed and harass wild marine mammals. We use a variety of innovative methods to ensure the public understands why feeding or harassment is illegal, how these activities may harm marine mammals in the wild, why these activities are unsafe for people, and how to avoid these illegal activities and enjoy viewing marine mammals in the wild.

Visit the following websites for more information about our education and outreach campaigns to prevent feeding and harassment of marine mammals:

• Protect Dolphins Campaign

• Dolphin SMART

• Be WhaleWise

• WhaleSense Program

• Share the Shore – New England and Mid-Atlantic

• Share the Shore – West Coast

What can people do if they see a marine mammal violation?

• To report marine mammal violations, such as people feeding, attempting to feed, or harassing marine animals in the wild, please call NOAA Fisheries' Enforcement Hotline at (800) 853-1964. You may leave information anonymously.

  Learn more about marine resource violations

What can happen to those prosecuted for violating the MMPA?

NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement works closely with other federal and state law enforcement agencies to enforce federal regulations and investigate violations when they occur.

If prosecuted, violators of the MMPA could face:

• Civil penalties up to $34,457.

• Up to 1 year in prison, plus criminal fines.

• Forfeiture of the vessel involved, including penalties for that vessel up to $25,000.

Examples of penalties include the following:

• Judge Fines Panama City Boat Rental Company and Operator $4,500 for Illegally Feeding Dolphins

• California Woman Pleads Guilty to Feeding Whales in Marine Sanctuary.

What research identifies the risks to marine mammals from feeding?

Scientific research has documented the harmful consequences when humans feed or provision marine mammals in the wild. Notable literature includes:

• Cunningham-Smith, P., D. E. Colbert, R. S. Wells, and T. Speakman. 2006. Evaluation of human interactions with a provisioned wild bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) near Sarasota Bay, Florida, and efforts to curtail the interactions. Aquat. Mamm. 32(3): 346–35.

• Finn, H., R. Donaldson, and M. Calver. 2008. Feeding flipper: a case study of a human-dolphin interaction. Pac. Conserv. Biol. 14: 215–225.

• Mann, J. and C. Kemps. 2003. The effects of provisioning on maternal care in wild bottlenose dolphins, Shark Bay, Western Australia. In Marine mammals: fisheries, tourism, and management issues (N. Gales, M. Hindell, and R. Kirkwood, eds.), p. 304–317. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Victoria.

• National Marine Fisheries Service. 1994. Report to Congress on results of feeding wild dolphins: 1989–1994. National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Protected Resources, 23 p.

• Orams, M. B. 2002. Feeding wildlife as a tourism attraction: a review of issues and impacts. Tourism Manage. 23: 281–293.

• Samuels, A., and L. Bejder. 2004. Chronic interaction between humans and free-ranging bottlenose dolphins near Panama City Beach, Florida, USA. J. Cetac. Res. Manage. 6(1): 69–77.

What research supports the need for responsible viewing practices?

Scientific research has shown that human interactions with marine mammals in the wild can disrupt their normal behavior and activities. These include boat-based interactions and intentional swimming. Notable literature includes:

• Bejder, L., A. Samuels, H. Whitehead, N. Gales, J. Mann, R. Connor, M. Heithaus, J. Watson-Capps, C. Flaherty, and M. Krutzen. 2006. Decline in relative abundance of bottlenose dolphins exposed to long-term disturbance. Conserv. Biol. 20(6): 1791–1798.

• Christiansen, F., D. Lusseau, E. Stensland, and P. Berggren. 2010. Effects of tourist boats on the behaviour of Indo-pacific bottlenose dolphins off the south coast of Zanzibar. Endanger. Species Res. 11: 91–99.

• Constantine, R. 2001. Increased avoidance of swimmers by wild bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) due to long-term exposure to swim-with-dolphin tourism. Mar. Mamm. Sci. 17(4): 689–702.

• Constantine, R., D. H. Brunton, and T. Dennis. 2004. Dolphin-watching tour boats change bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) behaviour. Biol. Conserv. 117: 299–307.

• Jensen, F. H., L. Bejder, M. Wahlberg, N. Aguilar Soto, M. Johnson, and P. T. Madsen. 2009. Vessel noise effects on delphinid communication. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 395: 161–175.

• Lusseau, D. 2003. Effects of tour boats on the behavior of bottlenose dolphins: using Markov chains to model anthropogenic impacts. Conserv. Biol. 17: 1785–1793.

• Lusseau, D. 2004. The hidden cost of tourism: detecting long-term effects of tourism using behavioral information. Ecol. Soc. 9(1): 2.

• Lusseau, D., and J. E. S. Higham. 2004. Managing the impacts of dolphin-based tourism through the definition of critical habitats: the case of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops spp.) in Doubtful Sound, New Zealand. Tourism Manage. 25: 657–667.

• Nowacek, S. M., R. S. Wells, and A. R. Solow. 2001. Short-term effects of boat traffic on bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, in Sarasota Bay, Florida. Mar. Mamm. Sci. 17(4): 673–688.

• Samuels, A., and L. Bejder. 2004. Chronic interaction between humans and free-ranging bottlenose dolphins near Panama City Beach, Florida, USA. J. Cetac. Res. Manage. 6(1): 69–77.

• Samuels, A., L. Bejder, and S. Heinrick. 2000. A review of the literature pertaining to swimming with wild dolphins. Marine Mammal Commission, Bethesda, Maryland, 57 p.

• Wells, R. S., and M. D. Scott. 1997. Seasonal Incidence of boat strikes on bottlenose dolphins Near Sarasota, Florida. Mar. Mamm. Sci. 13(3): 475–480.