The Potential of Whale Watching in the Caribbean: 1999+

tourism are distributed more evenly throughout the island, especially to rural communities
while ensuring minimal impact on natural resources. The overall aim is to make St. Lucia
'the most diversified and sustainable tourism destination in the Caribbean'.
The recognition of the importance of maintaining nature as the backbone of this
new directive is vital. This recognition of the importance of maintaining marine resources
has contributed to the recent designation of some 23 modest-sized marine protected areas
all around the island, mostly centering on coral reefs and mangroves. The Soufrière
Marine Management Area, for example, which contains four different marine reserves, has
a balanced, comprehensive programme modelled on the biosphere reserve concept which
includes protection, management, and local education while allowing for some tourism
and fishing development.
Some of the reserves have populations of cetaceans as regular visitors, though
official recognition of cetaceans has been slow to come. There is no listing for whale
watching in the 98-page A4 colour glossy Visions St. Lucia 1998/99 Tourist Guide. In the
comprehensive 36-page St. Lucia Marine Guide 1998/99, there is not even a single
mention of a dolphin or whale, much less of 'whale watching'.
The most common cetaceans seen by boat year-round in St. Lucian waters are
various dolphins, especially spinner and pantropical spotted, sighted from inshore to 2-3
miles offshore (3-5 km) and short-finned pilot whales some 3-20 miles (5-32 km) from
shore. Sperm whales are also regularly seen off the northwest, west and southwest of the
island, as well as false killer whales. Occasionally, Bryde's whales, as well as humpback
whales (several 1999 sightings off the NE tip of the island), are seen in the period from
January to April. The regular hunting of pilot whales has occurred mainly (though not
entirely) on the southwestern and eastern coasts of St. Lucia (away from the main tourism
areas in the northwest); pilot whales and various dolphins have been landed regularly at
the following ports: Soufrière, Choiseul, Laborie, Vieux Fort, Micoud, Dennery, as well as
Castries, but most have been reported at Vieux Fort, at the southern tip of St. Lucia, in the
latter part of the year. Pilot whales can also be seen (and are sometimes caught) out of the
northwest and the peak period for sightings is November-December, though they have
been seen in every month, often travelling in pods of 20 to 100 animals. There are other
regular sightings and landings from hunts of rarer cetaceans, including dwarf and/or
pygmy sperm whales, and possibly goosebeaked and Antillean beaked whales. The
reported sightings have been off the Pitons on the west side of St. Lucia out of the port of
Soufrière, sometimes as close as a mile (1.6 km) from shore, especially during the months
of April through July.
According to St. Lucia's Chief Fisheries Officer, the best sites where cetaceans
occur commonly and in fairly large numbers are in Soufrière Bay, on the southwest coast
which has deep waters close to shore, and off northwest St. Lucia, from in the lee of the
island to the waters between St. Lucia and Martinique. The second locale is closest to the
main tourist area, although both are easily accessible on half-day boat trips. A third
location at Vieux Fort was not recommended, perhaps in part because it is a centre for
dolphin hunting and is away from the main tourist areas, although the Maria Islands, off
Vieux Fort, are a special attraction for nature lovers.
Land-based sighting opportunities largely take advantage of the above three areas
of cetacean concentration. Recommended are various spots along the west coast, in the lee
of the island, especially from slightly elevated locations in the northwest from Castries to
Gros Islet, including Pigeon Pointe. Also, at Anse Chastanet (near Soufrière), a number of
dolphin and large whale sightings were recorded by Randall Reeves. Headlands and
promontories around Vieux Fort and from the Maria Islands should also be investigated
for possible land-based whale and dolphin watching.
With tourists already coming for the diving and other marine activities, as well as
for the nature offerings on land, a substantial whale and dolphin watching industry would
seem to be a natural for St. Lucia. However, several problems have prevented the tours
from becoming popular to the extent that they have in, e.g., Dominica. One is that
fishermen still take cetaceans in some numbers around St. Lucia. There may be a slight
uneasiness with the ascendancy of whale watching in other parts of the world and whether
this might threaten the fishermen's cetacean-hunting income. It might be useful to measure
the potential benefits in a socioeconomic study, weighing the potential of whale and
dolphin tourism, and the value of nature to St. Lucia's image, vs. the value from hunting to
these families. There may also be some conservation implications to these hunts. Although
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