Whale watching in Dominica was started commercially in 1988 by Fitzroy Armour, of Anchorage Dive Center. Vivid in his childhood memories are whales swimming right past their house. Older people were claimed, almost in disgust at the incapability of fishermen, that if these whales were anywhere else they would have been profitably harvested.

Later, sailing trips were regularly punctuated with whale sightings and the accompanying cries of young cousins and aunts in fear of the boat being capsized. Later yet, seeing whales on a fishing trip was always an unexpected bonus for the clients. They often felt that they were more interested in seeing whales than in pulling up fish.

Fitzroy Armour's brother started going out in search of whales with or without clients, doing some photography. Then they were asked to act as the local guide for a live aboard which was whale watching a number of islands and from then started research and experimentation in earnest. Soon people were starting to hear about the whales in Dominica. They knew they were on to a good thing when Peter Benchley of Jaws fame came down with camera crew. His objective being to be caught in the same frame as a sperm whale, even if it was a baby (calf).

Seeing a sperm whale underwater for the first time is a unique blend of exhilaration and fear. Acting as scout boat for a group from Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, Fitzroy was hanging onto the boat's lead rope and could see the dark brown chunks of life swimming directly towards him. Adjusting his mask he put his head under water to see the other ninety percent of their bodies. His chest picked up the vibrations of multiple sonars targeted at him and the unmistakable sound of their clicks were becoming jumbled. He searched underwater for these descendants of the whale which swallowed the biblical Jonah.