Splashing around with bottlenose dolphins off New Zealand’s North Island may be a dream for travelers, but it’s proven problematic for the species, leading the Oceanic nation to put the kibosh on up-close encounters with bottlenose dolphins in the Bay of Islands.
Tour operators will no longer be able to offer visitors the chance to swim with the marine mammals, nor will they be permitted to have any interactions exceeding 20 minutes. To ensure the dolphins are not inundated, operators will also have to visit all at once, either in the morning or afternoon.