Dominica
If you get a chance to book with an operator to swim with sperm whales under permit and go to Dominica, you should do it! You can only swim with sperm whales with a government permit however, so don’t go without securing a spot on a boat that has a permit to take people out to get in the water with these huge intelligent creatures.
Straddling the line between the Atlantic and the Caribbean, Dominica features a resident population of sperm whales that swim in family pods. The government licenses a small number of operators to take divers out to swim with these intelligent whales. Snorkeling and free diving is the only sanctioned way to encounter these whales in the water.
Sperm whales have the largest brains on earth and are the largest toothed predators. They can reach sixty feet in length and 50-60 tons. They can dive over a mile deep to hunt for giant squid.
Dominica is a beautiful tropical volcanic island with waterfalls and lush green mountainsides surrounded by deep waters that host giant squid and are a favored feeding ground for the resident sperm whale population.
The whales echolocate to find their prey in pitch black waters and using clicks to communicate amongst themselves. Some believe that these creatures are able to communicate vast amounts of information about hunting grounds to their family members.
Sperm whales can be found in the waters off of Dominica at most times of year. It is best to allow for at least 6-7 days in the water there since weather conditions and large ocean habitats can make it hard to locate these massive mammals despite their size. Boat operators use hydrophones (some with directional abilities) to locate whales below the surface. After the whales are discovered and the boat gets closer to these creatures, they can be tracked by watching for their spouts.
The island was devastated by Hurricane Maria, a Category V hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph in September 2017. Some of the infrastructure and economy still bears the scars from the hurricane, but the island and inhabitants have bounced back to a large degree. Many are dependent on the hospitality industry and happy to see tourists help fuel their economic recovery. In addition to swimming with Sperm whales, scuba diving is also worth doing while there.
Booking trips
I went with Nadia Aly of ScubaDiverLife.com. Keri Wilk also leads yearly trips to Dominica.
We stayed at Ocean’s Edge on the outskirts of Roseau where the dive boat and “Izzy” or Arun Madisetti picked us up at the dock daily. The Ocean’s Edge was fine, but the food was nothing to write home about. Captain Dave and Izzy were awesome…
