Spain is one of the best countries in Europe for whale watching, especially in the Canary Islands, but also along the entire coast of the peninsula.
Drift regattas are one of the great spectacles in the Basque Country, but their origin is not exactly sporting. Four centuries ago, when a whale was sighted from the shore, it was given the first trumpet that came to paddle and harpooned it, a large loot to be distributed among the paddlers.
At that time, right whales were abundant in the Cantabrian Sea. Overfishing drove most of the world’s whales to extinction over the next few centuries. However, since the 1980s, campaigns for the conservation of these marine mammals have caused several species to recover.
Since 2017, there have been four sightings of three different blue whales off the coast of Galicia in northwestern Spain, descendants of whales that have survived intensive fishing. But they are not the only ones.
While Spain’s seas and oceans aren’t associated with whale enlistment, it’s actually the best country in Europe to see up to 30 different species at different strategic points that you can’t miss.
Whales in the Canary Islands
The Canary Islands are located on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, which separates the cold and tropical waters, so that you can see the species that inhabit each of these waters, as well as those that migrate between them throughout the year.
Another of the characteristics that make these islands a privileged place for enlistments is the depth of the water, with an average of 1,000 meters and reaching 2,500 in some abysses. The fish that live in these deep waters are the favorite food of whales like the sperm whale.
In the waters of the Canary Islands, 30 species of cetaceans have been identified, making it one of the places in the world with the greatest diversity of cetaceans and the largest in Europe. Just go to Puerto Colón, in Tenerife, where boats depart daily to watch cetaceans, attracting more than half a million customers a year. It is also common to see dolphins, of which there are up to 21 different species.
There are other species of cetaceans that visit the Canary Islands, but they are harder to spot unless you are lucky. This is the case of the killer whale, which passes through the islands chasing the bluefin tuna in its migrations. Another elusive specimen is the humpback whale on its way to the Cape Verde Islands or, more rarely, blue whales in winter.
Whales in the Mediterranean Sea
Although there are whale sightings in different parts of the Mediterranean Sea, from Cape Creus in Catalonia to the Columbretes Islands and the Balearic Islands, they are more likely to see whales in the south, the Alboran Sea and the Costa de la Luz. Specifically, Tarifa and the Straits of Gibraltar are privileged places to see a particular species, almost invisible in the rest of Spain: the orcas.
Especially in the summer months, groups of killer whales arrive in the Strait of Gibraltar, even very close to the port of Tarifa, in search of bluefin tuna. Tunas return to spawn in the Mediterranean Sea after their migration through the Atlantic Ocean, to the same place where they were born. Fishermen are not the only ones following the tuna, groups of dozens of orcas chase fishing boats around Tarifa to hunt the same prey.
In the Strait of Gibraltar it is also easy to see sperm whales during spring and occasionally in summer, and fin and minke whales can occasionally be seen.
Whales in the Cantabrian Sea
Following Spain’s northern coast and trawlers, the Cantabrian Sea is a key spot on the Iberian Peninsula for whale watching. From the RÃas Baixas in Galicia to the Bay of Biscay, there are 27 species of cetaceans, residents and visitors. It is common to see dolphins and porpoises. Less frequently, fin whales, sperm whales and, more recently, the blue and humpback whales can be seen in the Bay of Biscay.
Quo Science Travel Section sponsored by Hyundai