What a Whale Heritage Area is
A Whale Heritage Area is a certification granted to a destination, not to a particular company. It recognises the places where cetacean watching is practised responsibly.
It is awarded by the World Cetacean Alliance and World Animal Protection, two organisations devoted to protecting marine life.
It is not earned by having a beautiful sea. It is earned when an entire community — companies, institutions and residents — shows that it looks after the whales and dolphins that live in its waters.
What it means when you sail with us
The sea we head out into every day is part of one of these areas. The Tenerife-La Gomera strip obtained the certification in January 2021.
That milestone has a special value: it was the first destination in Europe to achieve it. We therefore sail through a place recognised internationally for the way it treats cetaceans.
For us it is not simply a seal to hang up. It is a reflection of how we understand our work. The sea is not a stage and the animals are not here to put on a show on demand.
Heading out with small groups and at a calm pace is our way of living up to that recognition. A well-tended destination is sustained by many small gestures, and every trip is one of them.
What lies behind the certification
A Whale Heritage Area is not a prize that is won and then forgotten. It requires good practices to be maintained over time and the destination to prove that it still deserves the recognition.
Behind it lie respect for cetaceans, cooperation between different parties and a community that values its sea beyond immediate profit.
Sailing through a place like this reminds us where we are. Not in just any corner, but in one of the few destinations in the world that have decided to put whales and dolphins first.
