A practical, evidence-based guide to protect marine mammals

Background

In 2025, World Sailing took a landmark step to address one of the most pressing and complex environmental challenges facing ocean sport: interactions between sailing vessels and marine megafauna.

From elite offshore races to grassroots regattas, sailing takes place in habitats shared with whales, dolphins, sharks, turtles and other large marine species. While the sport is powered by wind and often perceived as low impact, vessel strikes and disturbance pose real risks to wildlife – particularly as sailing technology advances and boats travel at higher speeds offshore.

Recognising both its responsibility and its global influence, World Sailing released the Marine Megafauna Guidelines in December 2025. The document provides science-based recommendations to help reduce the risk of collisions, improve reporting protocols and strengthen education across the sailing community.

Challenge

The challenge for sailing is twofold.

First, offshore and coastal racing increasingly overlaps with migration routes and feeding grounds of protected marine species. Vessel strikes can cause serious injury or death to animals, damage boats and create safety risks for sailors. Yet data on such incidents has historically been fragmented or underreported.

Second, as the international governing body for the sport, World Sailing needed to provide consistent, credible guidance applicable across diverse geographies, competition formats and levels of participation, from Olympic classes to offshore ocean racing.

The task was to move from isolated responses to a coordinated global framework that prioritises both marine conservation and sailor safety.

Approach

World Sailing convened experts from marine science, offshore racing, athlete representation and event management to develop a practical, evidence-based framework.

The resulting Marine Megafauna Guidelines focus on six core pillars:

• Source and share information
• Risk assessment and planning
• Observe and report
• Technology
• Education and outreach
• Collaboration

The guidance encourages organisers to integrate environmental risk assessments into race management plans and to collaborate with local scientists and conservation authorities when designing offshore courses.

It also supports the use of emerging technologies – including onboard detection systems and improved mapping – to better anticipate wildlife presence in high-risk areas.

Importantly, the framework applies not only to elite competitions but to the broader sailing community, reinforcing a culture of ocean stewardship at every level of the sport.

Results and impact

The release of the Marine Megafauna Guidelines establishes a clear global standard for how sailing engages with marine biodiversity.

By formalising reporting systems and promoting education, World Sailing is helping to close long-standing data gaps around marine wildlife interactions. Over time, improved information sharing is expected to support better spatial planning, safer race design and stronger collaboration between sport and science.

The guidelines also send a powerful message: sustainability in sailing extends beyond carbon reduction and plastic management. Protecting life below water is fundamental to the future of the sport.

Lessons learned

This case highlights that environmental responsibility in sport is not limited to land-based infrastructure. Activities taking place in open, shared ecosystems require coordinated governance and evidence-based action.

By grounding its guidance in science and aligning it with race management practice, World Sailing has created a scalable model for other ocean-based sports to follow.

Proactive risk reduction, transparent reporting and athlete education can significantly reduce harm while strengthening trust between sport, regulators and conservation communities.

In doing so, sailing reinforces its identity not only as a sport powered by nature, but as one committed to protecting it.

For more information about the Guide: World Sailing – On Watch: World Sailing Releases Marine Megafauna Guidelines