Developments in cetacean monitoring and IAATO operational procedures in Antarctica, 2019-2026

The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) created the Voluntary Cetacean and Pinniped Sightings (V-CaPS) program in the 2022-23 season to collect data on cetacean presence in the Southern Ocean. At the IAATO Annual Meeting in 2025, Members approved a proposal to evolve the VCaPS program so that data would be collected through the ORCA OceanWatchers app starting in the 2025-26 season. This partnership benefits IAATO’s marine mammal monitoring by improving and standardizing methods for more robust analyses of species distribution, and incorporating data from IAATO Operators into a large dataset that may be utilized by a wide range of researchers. By supporting this initiative, IAATO Operators can provide valuable data from their platforms of opportunity for larger scientific initiatives while still utilizing these data for assessing existing and creating new management plans for IAATO vessel operations in Antarctica. In this paper, IAATO and ASOC provide a description of the program so that CCAMLR scientists are aware of this data source and can make use of it in ongoing efforts to monitor cetacean populations in the Antarctic Peninsula region.