Cetacean Welfare Risk and the Educational Integrity of Ecotourism: A Multi-Framework Assessment of Whale-Watching Practices in the New York Metropolitan Area

Whale watching is frequently presented as a benign form of wildlife interaction, yet its ethical and ecological acceptability depends on two conditions: vessel practices must minimize disturbance to free-ranging cetaceans, and tours must provide meaningful conservation-oriented education. This study assessed whale-watching operations in the New York City Metropolitan Area using three complementary frameworks: the Whale SENSE “On the Water” evaluation, the World Cetacean Alliance (WCA) Best Practice Guidance, and a Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) framework for interpretation. Eight trips representing the active full-time commercial sector in the study area were observed between May and November 2022. The results have revealed that certified operators generally performed better than uncertified operators, but the difference was not large enough to demonstrate that certification alone ensured welfare-protective practice. Educational content was often present but shallow, with limited discussion of cetacean threats, conservation measures, and legal protections, while higher-order engagement and multilingual accessibility were notably weak. Vessel behavior showed a similar pattern: certified operators achieved higher average scores, yet close approaches, inconsistent adherence to conservative speed and maneuvering guidance, and occasional unacceptable practices were still recorded. Overall, some operations still expose whales to avoidable disturbance and fail to meet the educational standards that give ecotourism its conservation value. Responsible whale watching should therefore be evaluated not only by whether vessels find whales and satisfy tourists, but also by whether operators demonstrably protect animal welfare and cultivate informed conservation attitudes. As such, this study offers a regionally novel benchmark for future comparative research, management evaluation, and the development of more responsible cetacean ecotourism.