The International Whaling Commission and the Convention for Migratory Species have created an online handbook that aims to equip anyone who wants to go whale watching with guidance about places to go and questions to ask [potential operators. It currently has over 100 pages of searchable, cross-indexed online content.

The Whale Watching Handbook offers comprehensive, impartial and free advice to would-be whale watchers. The Handbook is divided into easily navigable sections according to user-type.

An estimated $2.1Bn is spent by 13 million people who go whale watching each year. The new Handbook aims to support the industry and its regulators, as well as members of the public, to ensure long-term sustainability for both the whale populations and the communities whose prosperity has come to rely on their presence.

The starting point for the Handbook is the latest scientific understanding of potential whale watching impacts on individual whales - and on the long-term health of the populations being watched.

The result is a living and evolving resource of information on whale watching, including country and species information, case studies, and management advice, developed in consultation with governments, industry leaders and conservationists around the world.

Link to handbook: https://wwhandbook.iwc.int/en/