Summary: On four two-hour boat trips out of Hualien Port (21-23 May 2026), I saw 6 cetaceans: a beaked whale (probably Cuvier’s Beaked Whale), Sperm Whale, one Dwarf Sperm Whale, Spinner Dolphin, Pantropical Spotted Dolphin and Risso’s Dolphin.
Paul Carter: paulcarter@pacapix.com.
Posted: 2026 June 20.
Contents
a) Mammal List
b) Mammal Images and Notes
c) Trip Information
d) Site Information and Operators
e) References
Appendix 1: Cetacea Checklist for offshore Hualien
A. Mammal List
- Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus); 23 May (about 15).
- Dwarf Sperm Whale (Kogia sima); 23 May (one).
- Spinner Dolphin (Stenella longirostris); 21 May.
- Pantropical Spotted Dolphin (Stenella attenuata), 22 May.
- Risso’s Dolphin (Grampus griseus); 22 May.
- Cuvier’s Beaked Whale (Ziphius cavirostris), probable; 22 May.
B. Mammal Images and Notes
(1) Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus)
We saw about 15 on the afternoon trip of 23 May. They were also seen by the morning boats. Images posted at iNat (here) include the two photos below.
iNat post here.
(2) Dwarf Sperm Whale (Kogia sima)
On 23 May I spotted this Kogia logging about a hundred meters from the boat as we were about 2 miles from the harbour. I alerted the crew, but they said we were too short of time to stop, so I only managed a few photos.
(3) Spinner Dolphin (Stenella longirostris)
Seen on 21 May.
(4) Pantropical Spotted Dolphin (Stenella attenuata)
Seen on 22 May on both morning and afternoon trips.
(5) Risso’s Dolphin (Grampus griseus)
We saw a few on 22 May.
(6) Cuvier’s Beaked Whale (Ziphius cavirostris), probable ID
A pair were seen on 22 May. My iNat post with 18 images include the two images below. The two animals were distant (about 300m?) and none of the images shows a clear view of the rostrum. One of them has a distinctive notch at the base of the dorsal fin but it is not yet in the database maintained by KOEF. Hopefully this pair gets spotted later in the season. Ginkgo-toothed Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon ginkgodens) is also recorded in the area.
C. Trip Information
On three days over 21-23 May 2026, I went on 4 whale-watching trips out of Hualien Port, including two trips on 22 May. The boats leave from Sunward Plaza. The first trip was with Whale World and the last three were with Turumoan Whale Watching. Trips by both companies lasted 1.5 to 2 hours and each trip focused on sections of about a 10 x 10 km area offshore from the harbour. Each trip produced different species, as listed below, and it is certainly worth doing more than one trip.
Trip 1: 21 May 8:00 AM (Whale World):
Species: (1) Spinner Dolphin. Another boat reported Short-finned Pilot Whale that day.
Trip 2: 22 May 8.30 AM (Turumoan):
Species: (1) Beaked Whale (probably Cuvier’s Beaked Whale) and (2) Pantropical Spotted Dolphin.
Trip 3: 22 May 2:00 PM (Turumoan):
Species: (1) Risso’s Dolphin and (2) Pantropical Spotted Dolphin.
Trip 4: 23 May 2:00 PM (Turumoan):
Species: (1) Sperm Whale and (2) Dwarf Sperm Whale.
D. Site Information and Operators
I used Whale World and Turumoan Whale Watching. I chose them based on online reviews. There are other operators as well that may be worth considering. Trips with both operators cost NT$ 900 (US$29) but they discount by NT$ 100 if you reserve online. They charged NT$ 100 for a van shuttle from within the city, including both pickup and drop-off. My pickups were from Hotel Bayview which was a 10-minute drive from the Harbour. Reservations at short notice were most easily done using LINE. The Turumoan boats seemed busier (more crowded) than the Whale World boats.
Whale World (https://www.whaleworld.com.tw/) have a brochure that shows 19 cetaceans that might be seen whilst the Turumoan brochure shows 8 key species.
Turumoan (https://www.turumoan.com.tw/en/index.php) have three boats with capacity of 32, 50 and 83 pax. Turumoan trips have a guide onboard from the Kuroshio Ocean Education Foundation (KOEF).
KOEF apparently keep a database of cetacean recordings but it seems that neither they nor the operators post their daily sightings online. Check Facebook postings of the operators for recent sightings.
We stayed at Hotel Bayview (G-maps). It was very well run, and next to a coastal path and a few restaurants. They offer free shuttle to and from the train station. Their staff were very helpful in organizing train tickets and taxi pickups (Uber did not work in Hualien).
Beibin Park, a sports park opposite the harbour’s sea entrance, is good for Japanese Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus abramus) and Ryukyu Flyingfox (Pteropus dasymallus). There are signs along the main walkways marking them as Flyingfox flyways.
F. References and Links
Hu C-H, Yu HY, Hoh DZ, Lin DL (2023). The observation records from whale and dolphin watching inshore of Hualien, eastern Taiwan. Biodiversity Data Journal 11: e109649. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.11.e109649
Huang, J.C-C., Y-Y. Ho, H-C. Kuo (2020). Illustrated field keys to the bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) of Taiwan. Journal of Threatened Taxa 12(6): 15675–15710. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.5485.12.6.15675-15710 .
Kuroshio Ocean Education Foundation (2025 July 8). Longman’s Beaked Whales Sighted off Hualien, Taiwan (Northwestern Pacific Ocean). https://www.kuroshio.org.tw/newsite/article02.php?info_id=1057 .
Lynx Edicions (2020 Oct). Lynx Illustrated Checklist of the Mammals of China. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.
Appendix 1: Cetacea Checklist for offshore Hualien
- Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae).
- Bryde’s Whale (Balaenoptera brydei) / Eden’s Whale (Balaenoptera edeni).
- Omura’s Whale (Balaenoptera omurai).
- Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus).
- Pygmy Sperm Whale (Kogia breviceps).
- Dwarf Sperm Whale (Kogia sima).
- Cuvier’s Beaked Whale (Ziphius cavirostris).
- Ginkgo-toothed Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon ginkgodens).
- Blainville’s Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon densirostris).
- Indo-Pacific Beaked Whale (Indopacetus pacificus), aka Longman’s Beaked Whale.Orca (Orcinus orca).
- Risso’s Dolphin (Grampus griseus).
- False Killer Whale (Pseudorca crassidens).
- Pygmy Killer Whale (Feresa attenuata).
- Melon-headed Whale (Peponocephala electra).
- Short-finned Pilot Whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus).
- Rough-toothed Dolphin (Steno bredanensis).
- Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus).
- Pantropical Spotted Dolphin (Stenella attenuata).
- Spinner Dolphin (Stenella longirostris).
- Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis).
- Fraser’s Dolphin (Lagenodelphis hosei).