Whale Watching Worldwide

Eastern Seaboard United States – New York to Georgia
Year Number of
whale
watchers
AAGR Number of
operators
Direct
expenditure
Indirect
expenditure
Total
expenditure
1998 204,000 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
2008 297,000 3.8% 50 $7,300,000 $12,500,000 $19,800,000
Whale Watch Locations:
01: Cape May
02: Lewes
03: Dewey Bay
04: Virginia Beach
05: Outer Banks
06: Hilton Head
07: Cape Hatteras
Whale and dolphin watching on the eastern seaboard of the United
States occurs in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland,
Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. Dolphins are
seen year‐round while whales ‐ some resident, some on migration ‐
are seen mainly between March and September, although some sightings are possible earlier and later in
certain areas. The peak season for tourists is during the May to September holiday season. With an
estimated 204,000 whale watchers in 1998 (E Hoyt, pers. comm., 2009), this form of tourism has grown at an
average annual rate of 3.8% in the region and now takes nearly 300,000 passengers annually.
New York to Virginia:
The Coastal Research and Education Society of Long Island (CRESLI), New York, offers members of the public
the chance to participate in its research, with occasional trips from Montauk Harbor. The trip runs for
around 5 hours as they must travel some distance offshore to see whales. Basic accommodation is provided
and tickets cost $300 for adults and $150 for children. CRESLI has identified 25 species of cetaceans in Long
Island's offshore waters, such as fin, humpback, minke, North Atlantic right and sei whales, as well as short‐
beaked common and bottlenose dolphins.
Operators between New Jersey and Virginia predominantly target humpback and fin whales and occasionally
see the North Atlantic right whale. Bottlenose dolphins are commonly seen and most operators run dolphin
watching trips when whales are not in the area. Several operators guarantee dolphin sightings, while whale
sightings are less consistent. Some operators report seeing whales on only 50% of their whale watch trips.
Whale and dolphin watching trips in New Jersey are offered from March to December. These trips run for
approximately 3 hours and cost $20‐$40 for adults and $10‐$25 for children with vessels mostly launching
out of Cape May and some from Atlantic City. Vessels in New Jersey, as in Delaware and Virgina, are
generally large and can accommodate up to 150 passengers.
In Maryland, only one operator advertises dolphins as a feature of cruises leaving from Ocean City. Trips in
this area are predominantly marketed as scenic cruises.
Similar to New Jersey, big vessels operating out of Lewes and Dewey Beach in Delaware offer whale and
dolphin watching offshore. Some land‐based dolphin watching is also advertised as an activity at Cape
Henlopen State Park, although minimal numbers have been included in this report.
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