More orca sightings 'great news' for tourism

Boat tour operators say another sighting of orcas in the same coastal area is "great news" for tourism.

After decades of rare appearances, killer whales, as they are also known, have been seen off the Northumberland coast three times already in 2026, most recently on Monday by boat trips going to the Farne Islands.

Andrew Douglas, from Serenity Farne Island Boat Tours, said for the marine mammals to appear on a public holiday, one of the busiest days of the year for the trips, was "wonderful".

He said: "The people on our boat weren't actually saying a lot as they watched them but their eyes and the smiles on their faces said a thousand words."

Douglas has been doing boat trips for 30 years and said orca sightings "almost never" happened in previous years, but he did see them in 2025.

"Usually on bank holiday weekends the weather is dreadful but we had a lovely day and to see killer whales as well, it was just fantastic," he said.

"It's great news for business too, the Farne Islands are a special place anyhow but these orcas are a real bonus."

Douglas thinks killer whales have been coming to the area "for years" but now they are moving in closer to the shore.

"You used to get the odd fisherman say he'd seen one, but like 20 miles away, but there's not so much fishing these days so I think more fish are attracting them back in a bit more," he said.

The North East Cetacean Project's coordinator Martin Kitching said it was not clear if it was the same pod which was spotted by fishermen off Beadnell in April, but he thought there might be several groups of killer whales coming to the Northumberland coastal area.

"We think these are probably groups of animals that spend most of their time around Shetland and Orkney, and occasionally Iceland," he said.

"What is clear there is a genuine change in their distribution which is great to see."

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