During the summer months, the waters off our coast are buzzing with motor boats and whale-watching tour boats carrying passengers enjoying the sea breeze — and hoping to catch a glimpse of a humpback or minke whale.

And the speed of whale-watching boats is putting whales in danger, according to a New England-based study in the Journal of Conservation and Biology released last month.

But Gloucester whale specialists note that, while some whale-watch boats may not be adhering to speed guidelines, Gloucester whale-watch boats have not been responsible for the death of any whale in local waters. They point to more serious environmental issues that pose real dangers to the sea animals.

Researchers say they're concerned that speeding whale-watching boats could hit a whale, causing injury or death and further endangering the two species.

"This is something we have suspected was a problem for a long time, certainly more than the two years we looked into it," said report co-author David Wiley, a research coordinator for Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary in Scituate.

The study aimed to test whether voluntary speed guidelines set by the whale-watching industry were being followed. The test did not study the effect of whale watching on whales.

Undercover researchers participated in unnamed whale watches across the New England region 46 times in 2003 and 2004 to test the speed of boats at five-second intervals. The study found boats exceeded speed-limit guidelines every time.

"All boats were out of compliance every trip, the noncompliance rate was very high on every single trip," Wiley said. "In general if you have voluntary guidelines, they should be adhered to."

According to federal law, whale-watching boats are banned from "harassing whales," though they are allowed to get close to the animals. In 1999, the whale-watching industry strengthened voluntary guidelines to protect whales. But the guidelines do little to protect whales from the hundreds of boats and shipping vessels that hit the seas each spring and are often going too fast.

Mason Weinrich, executive director and chief scientist at the Whale Center of New England, based at Harbor Loop in Gloucester, said the report was well done and a good piece of science.

While he understands that the industry in general has not been abiding by speed limitations, Weinrich said the study has to be seen against a larger context of issues facing whales.

"Since the rules were established, there is no known strike of a whale by a whale-watch boat that has taken place in our waters," he said.

The Whale Center of New England places naturalists on Capt. Bill's Whale Watching boats and has data collectors on Seven Seas Whale Watching vessels.

Weinrich wanted to talk about the larger issue of managing whales in the area.

"We just completed a long analysis that looked at the response of humpbacks to whale-watch boats," he said.

The 25-year study was conducted from 1980 to 2006 and involved the reproductive success of hundreds of female whales. The study looked at the amount of time a female humpback was watched by a whale-watch boat and studied how often they had calves and how long the calves survived.

"They watched to see if she was less likely to have a calf and was the calf less likely to survive, but the study found no effect whatsoever," said Weinrich, noting that the researchers wanted to study whether the whale-watch boats caused particular stresses on the whales, and therefore the offspring.

"Given the number of problems that we know whales to face, like entanglement, collision with boats and destruction of its environment such as with LNGs (liquefied natural gas terminals), is whale watching what we want to concentrate our efforts on?" he said. "What we say is 'no' in terms of protection and management of whales. Whale-watch boats are easy targets. Our data indicates we are not really addressing what is the problem for the animals. There are much more serious issues."

Capt. Jim Douglass of Cape Ann Whale Watch noted that part of the industry's role is to educate the public.

"Looking at the bigger picture, there are so many other pressures out there relative to the well-being of whales. Our operation around whales is important, and we try to police ourselves the best we can. We're the professionals and we're not going to do anything to harm the whales. That is our livelihood," he said.

Douglass said whale-watch companies take hundreds of thousands of people out every year.

"I don't hear people saying (the whale-watch boats) are running erratically around whales. But if you came out and watched many of the other boaters around whales, you would have many concerns," he said.

According to federal guidelines, once a whale is spotted, tour boats are to go less than 15 mph when within about 2.3 miles of the mammal. As they get closer than 1.2 miles, boats are not to exceed 11.5 mph before speeds drop to 8 mph when the whale is within a half mile. The only exception to viewing whales at short distances is in the case of the endangered Right whale, from which, according to federal law, boats must keep three-quarters of a mile away. But not included in the study is how to measure distance when a whale is spotted at different times.

In the two-year study, Wiley conceded that no whales were hurt by whale-watching boats, though three were killed last year in shipping vessel accidents off Cape Ann.

r On May 14 last year, a 2-year-old humpback whale washed up dead on Cape Hedge Beach in Rockport, the victim of a vessel strike to the head and back, researchers said. Their conclusion came after conducting a necropsy on the 25-foot, 8-ton animal. Rockport officials buried the remains — minus the skeleton taken by New England Aquarium officials — behind the beach parking lot.

r Last June 1, a Sei whale was seen off Lobster Cove in Manchester and washed ashore following a storm. It weighed nearly 25 tons, was about 45 feet long and had been struck in the back by a vessel.

r At the end of last June, a dead whale was found in the Stellwagen sanctuary near the shipping lanes.

Following the deaths of the three whales, the Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration pushed to shift the major shipping lanes into Boston Harbor way from Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary by several nautical miles.

The switch last July added 3.75 miles to the overall distance of the shipping lane and 10 to 22 minutes to overall travel time. Researchers say the move has lessened the number of close calls between shipping vessels and whales off the coast.

"The educational aspect is an issue; we want to have behavior that is as respectful as you can be," Wiley said. "Even though none were hit, the faster the boats go, the more noise you create and the bigger the disturbance."

In a report scheduled to be released next week, suggestions on how to manage issues such as whale entanglement, habitat alteration and ecosystems will be presented. Wiley hopes the plan does more to further the public's awareness of whale-related issues in New England.

"The draft management plan includes more than 25,000 public comments and thousands of hours of people participating in groups to create a draft management plan," Wiley said. "We are hoping people look at it and get involved."

Gail McCarthy can be reached at gmccarthy@gloucestertimes.com