In Madeira, no boat may actively approach a dolphin or whale closer than 50 metres, each boat may stay in the 50 to 100 metre watching zone for 10 minutes at most, and all boats together get 40 minutes with one group. Chasing the animals, splitting a group, touching them and getting in the water to swim with them are all banned.
Which law sets the rules for dolphin watching in Madeira?
Madeira has its own law for this. The rules come from Regional Legislative Decree n.º 15/2013/M of 14 May 2013, which approved the regulation for watching marine vertebrates in the Autonomous Region of Madeira. You can read the full text in the official Diário da República publication of Decree 15/2013/M.
The regulation covers whales and dolphins, the Mediterranean monk seal, sea turtles and ocean seabirds such as shearwaters. Companies that sell whale and dolphin watching need an authorisation from the regional nature conservation service, today the IFCN. Casual watching, from a private yacht or from a boat that meets dolphins by chance, needs no permit. But Article 19 says it must still follow Articles 6 to 8. In plain words, the distances and bans below apply to every boat on the water. The Azores have separate rules of their own, so figures you read for the Azores do not apply here.
How close can a boat get to dolphins?
Fifty metres is the hard limit. Article 8 bans any active approach closer than 50 metres to a marine mammal or an ocean seabird, and closer than 25 metres to a sea turtle. If the dolphins decide to come closer, that is allowed. The boat must simply hold its course and speed.
The law measures from the edge of the group, not from one animal. A group is every animal inside a circle 400 metres across, placed where it takes in the most animals. Around that circle sit these zones:
| Zone | Distance from the group | What the boat must do |
|---|---|---|
| Approach zone | 300 m to 100 m | No more than 12 knots, no sudden changes of speed or direction, a parallel course from behind so the animals keep 180° of open water ahead |
| Watching zone | 100 m to 50 m | No more than 8 knots, match the animals' speed, never drift, come in gently at about 30° to their path |
| Inner limit | 50 m | No active approach closer than this. If the animals come in, keep course and speed |
| Sea turtles | 50 m to 25 m | Approach from upwind with the engine in neutral, never closer than 25 m |
Article 8 also says a boat must never come at the animals head on, from directly behind or straight across their path. Reversing is banned except in an emergency, and a sailing boat may not approach under sail alone.
How long can a boat stay with a group?
Ten minutes per boat, and 40 minutes for all boats together. Article 8 limits each boat to 10 minutes in the 100 to 50 metre watching zone. The total for every boat with that group is 40 minutes, counted from the moment the first boat goes in.
The first boat to arrive coordinates on VHF radio. It tells every boat within 500 metres when it went in and when it will leave. Once the last boat leaves, any boat waiting outside must give the group at least 120 minutes of rest before going in again, under Article 7. When time is up, or as soon as the animals look disturbed, boats leave from behind the group and move out beyond the approach zone.
How many boats can be with the same dolphins?
That depends on the stretch of coast. Article 7 splits Madeira's waters into two areas:
- Area I, the south coast between Santa Cruz and the Calheta border, which takes in Funchal, Câmara de Lobos, Cabo Girão, Ribeira Brava and Ponta do Sol: up to 2 boats between 50 and 100 m, 2 more between 100 and 300 m, and up to 4 between 300 and 500 m.
- Area II, everywhere else: 1 boat between 50 and 100 m, 1 between 100 and 300 m, and up to 2 between 300 and 500 m.
So on a busy summer morning off Funchal, a boat that arrives late may have to wait its turn, or leave the dolphins in peace and carry on.
What is banned outright?
Article 6 lists what no boat, swimmer or pilot may do, on any kind of trip:
- Chase the animals. The law defines chasing as any approach or following that makes them flee or show signs of stress.
- Split a group, and above all separate a calf from the adults.
- Touch a live animal. The one exception is freeing an animal caught in floating rubbish.
- Throw anything at them, or use ways of attracting them that science shows do harm.
- Get in the water to interact with marine mammals or turtles. Swimming with dolphins is banned.
- Dive with scuba gear or use underwater scooters to watch them, unless it is authorised science or filming.
- Use sonar, or bring pets into the watching area.
- Watch marine animals at night, apart from seabirds and authorised science or filming.
- Fly over marine mammals or seabirds lower than 300 metres and closer than 150 metres. That matters for drones.
There is one narrow exception for swimmers. Licensed operators may run underwater watching for two species only, the short-beaked common dolphin and the Atlantic spotted dolphin, with no more than four people in the water, all holding a line tied to the boat. Jet skis can never be used to watch marine animals.
What are the fines?
They are high enough to matter. Breaking the limits on boat numbers, or the watching rules in Article 8, is a serious offence: €1,000 to €3,740 for a person and €5,000 to €15,000 for a company. Breaking the Article 6 bans, or the approach rules on speed, course and waiting time, is a very serious offence: €2,500 to €3,740 for a person and €15,000 to €40,000 for a company. Authorisations can also be suspended. The regional nature service and the Maritime Authority both enforce the law.
How can you tell the dolphins have had enough?
The law spells out the signs, and they are worth knowing as a guest. Article 4 lists them for whales and dolphins: a sudden change of direction or speed, swimming away again and again, longer dives with less time at the surface, repeated tail slaps on the water, and adults moving between their calves and the boat. For sperm whales, add a sudden dive of the whole group with tails raised.
If you see any of these, the encounter is over, whatever the clock says. A good skipper does not need to be told. A good guest does not ask for one more pass.
What does this mean on a private boat trip?
It means dolphins are a bonus, never the plan. On a private boat tour in Madeira like ours, the route is built around the coast: the fishing bay of Câmara de Lobos, the cliff at Cabo Girão, then two swims further west on the Day Trip along the south coast. If dolphins cross that route, Chifbay's skippers are bound by the same 50 metres, the same speeds and the same 10 minutes as every other boat. Chifbay makes no promise of dolphins on any trip.
Here is the honest part. If seeing whales and dolphins is the main reason you are booking, choose an operator authorised for cetacean watching, with time set aside to search for them. If you want the coast, a swim and the chance of a sighting on the way, a private trip fits. For which species turn up and when, read our guide to dolphins and whales in Madeira. For the other protected waters on this coast, see which parts of the sea around Madeira are protected.
Frequently asked questions
Can you swim with dolphins in Madeira?
Not on your own. Getting in the water to interact with dolphins is banned. The only exception is licensed underwater watching of common and Atlantic spotted dolphins, with up to four people holding a line tied to the boat.
What should a boat do if dolphins swim towards it?
Keep its course and speed. The law allows the animals to come closer than 50 metres by their own choice, but the boat must not turn towards them or speed up to follow.
Do the rules apply to private boats too?
Yes. Casual, non-commercial watching needs no permit, but Article 19 says it must follow the same approach and watching rules as commercial trips. A sailing boat may not approach under sail alone.
Can I fly a drone over dolphins in Madeira?
Not low and close. The regulation bans flying over marine mammals or seabirds lower than 300 metres and closer than 150 metres, unless it is authorised science or filming.
Who do I tell about an injured or stranded dolphin?
The law asks you to tell the Maritime Authority and the regional nature service straight away. The Rede SOS Vida Selvagem wildlife network also takes reports on WhatsApp at +351 961 957 545.
Fifty metres is the limit, not the goal. The best sightings are the ones the dolphins choose.