Regulatory & Technical Services Group

In recent months, the CA has played a pivotal role in facilitating collaboration between Grupo Trabajo Orca Atlantica (GTOA), Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas (ICNF), the Portuguese government department responsible for Nature Conservation and Forests, and GenusWave

Since the launch of its orca project in June 2022, the Cruising Association has received around 150 reports from skippers who have experienced an orca interaction.

A number of orca incidents have now been recorded east of Gibraltar using the GT Orcas app, including one off Ceuta which caused extensive damage, and another south of Marbella, both of which have also been reported to the CA. This is new behaviour by the orcas this year, as previously they have only been involved in incidents in Atlantic waters.

If you are sailing in areas where orca incidents have occurred, the Spanish government is now advising that you should navigate as close to the coast as is safe, and in the event of an interaction, motor away as fast as possible towards shallower waters "until the orcas lose interest".

In a strong display of international interest, the CA webinar on ‘Orca and Yachts: Fact, Fiction and Fear’ attracted a live audience of over 450 participants from 37 nations, spanning all continents.

The Cruising Association (CA) has launched an updated online portal and web pages for orca information and reporting, the result of a year-long effort to gather and analyse data on orca interactions.

The Cruising Association (CA) is hosting a free webinar for members and non-members on ‘Orca and Yachts: Fact, Fiction and Fear’ at 1900 hours BST (1800 hours UTC) on Thursday 18 May 2023.

The phenomenon of orcas damaging small yachts and other vessels along the south and west coasts of Spain and Portugal began in 2020. It is linked with the migration of tuna exiting the Mediterranean from the Strait of Gibraltar and heading West and North around the Iberian Peninsula, into the Bay of Biscay, primarily between the months of June and October.

The work of the CA’s Regulatory & Technical Services group (RATS) orca project continues, with the ongoing collation of interaction and uneventful passage reports in order to help research possible solutions to the phenomenon of orca interactions along the Iberian Peninsula.