Whales' stress levels due to tourist boats being studied by researchers

Scientists are collecting spray from the blowholes of humpback whales off Iceland’s northern coast to find out if they get stressed by whale-watching boats, a booming industry in the North Atlantic. More than 360,000 whale watchers were logged in 2019, three times the number a decade ago.

Researchers from marine conservation charity Whale Wise fly a drone carrying petri dishes through the spray. They then measure stress hormones in the samples to determine the impact of tourist boat encounters.

They have also teamed up with a French environmental group studying climate change, as whales absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide.