The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources started the humpback whale (Megaptera Novaeangliae) watching season in 2021 with a strict sanitary protocol to safeguard the health of citizens due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to guarantee the conservation of these mammal animals that travel hundreds of kilometers to the northern coast of the country.

The season will be extended from this Friday, January 15 to March 31 for the Samaná Bay and until April 15 for the Banco de La Plata in Puerto Plata.

The day was made official with the signing of the Management Agreement for the Observation of Marine Mammals 2021, initialed by the Minister of the Environment, Orlando Jorge Mera, the Ministry of Tourism, as well as by the Vice-Admiral of the Navy, Ramón Gustavo Betances and the Mayor of Santa Bárbara de Samaná, Nelson Antonio Núñez.

“It is an unprecedented joint effort, with sustainable tourism purposes; to care for the marine fauna, not only of the Dominican Republic but of the hemisphere and why not, of the global marine fauna; and it has a scientific reason because we will take advantage of this season to improve our database of these mammals and thus learn from them, know them in-depth and adopt actions that allow their healthy reproduction, for the enjoyment of all people,” said Jorge Mera.

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