A new study finds no evidence that exposure to whale watching boats has any long term negative affects on humpback populations in the Gulf of Maine. Keith Shortall spoke with the lead author of the study, which looked at 30 years of data on 300 female humpbacks, and more than 500 calves.

Mason Weinrich is Executive Director and chief scientist at the Whale Center Of New England in Gloucester, Massachussetts, which set out to determine whether exposure to whale watch boats affected the animal's reproductive process or the mortality of calves. Weinrich says the study, published in the research journal "Biological Conservation," may help address part of the concerns raised about the larger issue of so-called "wildlife tourism."