JUNEAU -- Southeast Alaska companies have agreed to participate in a program intended to help mitigate boats' impacts on whales.
The National Marine Fisheries Service announced Thursday in a press release that it was launching a voluntary program in Alaska called Whale SENSE.
According to the release, the program is intended to help reduce disturbances when whales are foraging.
The Alaska participants include tour and charter fishing operations in southeast Alaska.
The participating companies agree to certain guidelines about boat activity and customer education. Boats are asked to travel at slow speeds around whales and limiting the amount of time spent near feeding whales.
According to the release, the participants worked with the federal agency this winter to tailor the program to Alaska. The program developed on the East coast.