Stephanie H. Stack

Stephanie H. Stack

she/her

Marine mammalogist | Humpback whale behavioural ecology & energetics | UAV photogrammetry | Conservation science

Whale and dolphin tourism

Overview

Whale and dolphin tourism is the most common way people encounter cetaceans, and the sustainability of the industry depends on the animals remaining healthy and abundant. My research examines how vessels and swimmers influence cetacean behaviour and when those effects are biologically meaningful, generating the evidence needed for effective management. This has grown into a body of work spanning multiple species, regions, and tourism models, developed in collaboration with the operators and regulators responsible for managing these interactions.

Selected outputs

  • Stack, Sprogis, Olson, Sullivan, Machernis & Currie (2021) — The behavioural impacts of commercial swimming with whale tours on humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Hervey Bay, Australia. Frontiers in Marine Science. DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2021.696136
  • Currie, McCordic, Olson, Machernis & Stack (2021) — The impact of vessels on humpback whale behavior: the benefit of added whale watching guidelines. Frontiers in Marine Science. DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2021.601433
  • Self, Stack, Currie & Lusseau (2021) — Tourism informing conservation: the distribution of four dolphin species varies with calf presence and increases their vulnerability to vessel traffic in the four-island region of Maui, Hawaiʻi. Ecological Solutions and Evidence. DOI: 10.1002/2688-8319.12065
  • Stack, Olson, Neamtu, Machernis, Baird & Currie (2020) — Identifying spinner dolphin movement and behavioral patterns to inform conservation strategies in Maui Nui, Hawaii. Marine Ecology Progress Series. DOI: 10.3354/meps13347
  • Currie, Stack & Kaufman (2018) — Conservation and education through ecotourism: using citizen science to monitor cetaceans in the four-island region of Maui, Hawaii. Tourism in Marine Environments. DOI: 10.3727/154427318X15270394903273

Reports to the International Whaling Commission

  • Stack, Kobayashi, Okabe & Ozawa (2023) — Studying the behavioural impacts of commercial whale watch and swim-with-whale tours on humpback whales in Okinawa, Japan. SC/69A/WW/04.
  • Stack & McGovern (2023) — Demographics and motivation of participants in commercial swim-with-whale tours in Hervey Bay, QLD, Australia. SC/69A/WW/06.
  • Stack & Serra (2021) — Summary of swim-with-whales tourism around the globe. SC/68C/WW/03.
  • Stack, McCordic, Machernis, Olson & Currie (2019) — Preliminary report on the impacts of swim-with-whales tourism on humpback whale behavior in Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia. SC/68A/WW/02.

Policy and advisory

  • Written submissions to NOAA Fisheries on proposed management action and time-area closures to protect spinner dolphins in Hawaii under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (2016, 2021)
  • Member, IWC Whale Watching Communications Steering Group (2023–present)
  • Invited Participant, Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission (2018–present)

Media and public engagement

  • Invited speaker, whale watching workshop, Okinawa Churashima Foundation, Naha, Japan (2025)
  • Invited speaker, Hervey Bay Whale Festival, Queensland, Australia (2021)
  • Invited panelist, “Management and conservation of Hawaiian spinner dolphins,” Marine Mammal Commission annual meeting, Kona, Hawaii (2019)