Orca Attacks in Gibraltar Strait Drop 40% After New Safety Measures

This reduction in attacks in this critical area is the result of implementing a series of recommendations, such as navigating within a designated area on a map established by technicians, establishing routes as close to the coast as possible, or stopping the boat and moving away if orcas are observed or an interaction occurs, explains the ministry.

Several orca attacks have been recorded in the strait in recent years. One of the most serious occurred when a group of about fifteen orcas (Orcinus orca) attacked a sailboat sailing 14 miles from Cape Spartel, in the southern part of the Strait of Gibraltar, damaging the rudder of the 15-meter-long vessel, which eventually sank.

"May is a bad month because the Iberian population is concentrated here due to tuna, which is their main food source," Renaud de Stephanis, coordinator of the Center for Conservation, Research and Study of Cetaceans (CIRCE), tells El Pais.

According to this expert, "nearly 100% of dangerous situations could be avoided simply by navigating in shallow waters, following the map provided by the ministry, moving away if observed, but without abruptly changing course." Furthermore, it is forbidden to use methods that could injure or cause the death of these orcas to drive them away.